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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > E90 / E92 / E93 3-series Technical Forums > Cosmetic and Lighting Modifications (exterior/interior) > ***World's first E90 HID Reverse Light Retrofit!***



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      11-25-2011, 09:32 PM   #1
DimSum
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***World's first E90 HID Reverse Light Retrofit!***

For those who know me, know that I’ve been playing around with the E9x platform for quite some time. I’m an expert on electrical and coding work for all of the e9x chassis’s, providing only the best to the community.

Today I just want to share with you one of my recent projects, as per discussed on this thread: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=611349.

I want to introduce to you the world’s first HID reverse light retrofit on an E90, to my knowledge it has never been done before. You may ask why did I do this mod? Simple, to increase safety and visibility when reversing. The E90 reverse lights are so dim… when you have tinted windows, you can’t even see the original reverse lights!

It is direct plug and play; just some simple wire tapping was done. As always it is non-flickering and error-free. I did not need error cancelers of any sort, just some custom coding was done. I will post videos shortly, however for now you can enjoy the photos I have taken earlier this evening.

Right now it is only in phase 1, phase 2 will include a simple switch will allow you to turn them on even when you’re not reversing. Nothing has been mounted down yet, but you get the point. Unfortunately the pictures don't justify how bright the reverse lights are, but from what I see when reversing it looks like I've got headlights on the back of my car!









Last edited by DimSum; 11-25-2011 at 10:52 PM..
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      11-25-2011, 09:33 PM   #2
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Videos coming shortly... need to find a good day to record them so you can see the difference!

Last edited by DimSum; 12-12-2011 at 08:53 PM..
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      11-25-2011, 09:36 PM   #3
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whoa, nice!!
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      11-25-2011, 10:42 PM   #4
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Niceeee i wish it can be dont on LCI
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      11-25-2011, 10:50 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by elitefusion View Post
Niceeee i wish it can be dont on LCI
Yup... It's unfortunate that the LCI car uses a t10 wedge bulb for the reverse light, you pretty much can't see anything
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      11-25-2011, 10:57 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DimSum View Post
Yup... It's unfortunate that the LCI car uses a t10 wedge bulb for the reverse light, you pretty much can't see anything
Is that the bulb? Could you help me find the e92 LCI bulb for LEd reverse lights? I only know of one kind. It's like $140 though.........
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      11-26-2011, 01:09 AM   #7
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haha so bright
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      11-26-2011, 01:17 AM   #8
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u can increase wattage via coding nothing new or LED alone will be brighter than oem
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      11-26-2011, 01:44 AM   #9
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whoa...i need that for my e92
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      11-26-2011, 04:41 AM   #10
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awesome! ^__^ glad to see you took one for the team and did it! How much have you spent on it so far?
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      11-26-2011, 07:41 AM   #11
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Great job bud!!! Thank you for giving it a go...

I am sure a lot of us would like a bit more detail on how you went about it.

Such as:
The code you edited
Whether or not relays were needed to cope with the 8amp ballast current compared to the stock 2 amp bulbs... (no one wants to fry their wiring)
What kit you bought... obviously no CANBUS was needed to cancel errors because of the coding, but supposedly some kits are a little dodgy.

So this basically means, a regular, cheaper, but reliable HID kit can be used. Relays? and just splicing it into the electrics?

Did you connect directly to the battery? and did you ground to the body or the battery?

Sorry about all the questions, but i am dying to get this done but dont want to fry my wiring... and just need to know which code needs to be edited.


MANY MANY THANKS FOR CARRYING THIS OUT

Josh
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      11-26-2011, 02:14 PM   #12
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Alright so its directly wire tapped to the purple wire (red), and brown wire (ground).
No need for canbus/error cancelers because of the coding I had done on the car.
HID ballasts are not 8-amps. They are truly only around 3-amps and this is only when they ignite for the first time from being cold. After 1-2 minutes they reach efficiency (warm enough) drawing only 20% of power to produce 80% of the lighting (being less than 2amps).

Here's the catch, the hid ballast I used in the picture seem to be a cheaper HID kit however is not the truth. It is actually manufactured by a very reputable company producing automotive products for Japanese cars for quite sometime. The housing is just generically stamped and sold to a different market. I am not able to say which brand/manufacturer.
But! I will tell you, after coding, most quality ballast on the market will/SHOULD work perfect.

Costs involved were little to none for me, I wholesale HID kits so I just grabbed the second best quality ballast I could find. However I can say that the kit I used retails for $160.00.
What you need is a H3 kit. Do not go with 12V kits, get something that rates 9-16v if you do plan on buying the HID kit from somewhere that is your first time.

Of course if you plan to DIY this, it is at your own risk!
But I am telling you, it is EFFING BRIGHT!

Last edited by DimSum; 11-26-2011 at 02:21 PM..
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      11-26-2011, 03:56 PM   #13
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Thanks bud!

Great, so a little coding, and splice right into the power and ground on the original reverse cables.

I was always going to tap the battery for power, but of this works then why not keep it simple and less wiring mess!

I might try and install a switch but I think I will then need relays and definitely run off the battery to do so?

Nice work!
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      11-26-2011, 05:08 PM   #14
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One more question... How did you fix the h3 bulb to the stock housing? Did you use glue or have to alter the housing in any way? If it fitted in comfortably and has little movement, that would make everything a lot easier!

Many thanks
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      11-26-2011, 06:21 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mashimarho View Post
Is that the bulb? Could you help me find the e92 LCI bulb for LEd reverse lights? I only know of one kind. It's like $140 though.........
LCI E92 uses a non-standard bulb (funky bulb fused to a base...) LUX is your best and brightest option.

LCI E90 uses t10 wedge bulb, HighPerformanceBulbs.com sells an HID kit as a 921-type replacement @ $85, I would assume a similar install method (relays, coding) would get a similar result
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      11-26-2011, 07:50 PM   #16
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Awesome. I want to see how hard it would be for an e92.
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      11-26-2011, 08:06 PM   #17
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I did this over a year ago lol...granted on the E92.

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=415718
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      11-26-2011, 08:37 PM   #18
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I'm looking forward to putting the HID kit in when deployment ends... ^__^ i think the switch for turning it on for tailgaters is pretty nifty too...

overall... impressive!

Last edited by N0OS3; 11-26-2011 at 08:45 PM..
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      11-26-2011, 09:22 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Krozi View Post
I did this over a year ago lol...granted on the E92.

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=415718
Great work! I am going to integrate the HID reverse lights with the rear euro fogs. So there will be no modification or wire running needed.


Quote:
Originally Posted by lync9763 View Post
I'm looking forward to putting the HID kit in when deployment ends... ^__^ i think the switch for turning it on for tailgaters is pretty nifty too...

overall... impressive!
Hahaha, just imagine what the guy would think when he's riding on your rear bumper and suddenly sees your reverse lights light up!
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      11-26-2011, 10:36 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DimSum View Post
Great work! I am going to integrate the HID reverse lights with the rear euro fogs. So there will be no modification or wire running needed.
Yea, I was thinking about doing that too, but I wanted them on separate switches because I do occasionally use the rear fogs for their intended purpose lol


Quote:
Originally Posted by DimSum View Post
Hahaha, just imagine what the guy would think when he's riding on your rear bumper and suddenly sees your reverse lights light up!
It works like a charm! hahaha
Must safer than brake checking lol
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      11-26-2011, 11:20 PM   #21
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nice love it
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      11-27-2011, 12:24 PM   #22
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Good job! Looking forward to your videos.

BTW, your not the first one. Your 3 years late. :P
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