E53 right hand indicator light stays on outside

Danny woodland · #1 01-15-2017, 07:41 AM

Hi guys I have a 2005 x5 e53 in Australia. The right hand indicator light outside stays on constantly. I've changed globes and holders. There is no warning coming up on the dash. The only way I can turn it off it to unplug the connection to all the lights on that side, not ideal but it will stop the battery going flat. Any suggestions? Please help

Qsilver7 · #2 01-15-2017, 11:56 AM

Front, back, or both?

How's the condition of your turn indicator? Your BMW may have a feature that turns on the front & rear turn indicator when the ignition is off when you flip the turn indicator to either the left or right...this is a park light feature for when parking at night on narrow dark roads. It alerts oncoming traffic to your vehicle being parked on the roadside.

If your turn indicator is malfunctioning...it may be the reason why the lights are on.

Danny woodland · #3 01-15-2017, 03:31 PM

Just the front right.
The indicator switch seems ok?
I always park with the indicator switch in the off position.
If I turn the indicator on when driving etc the correct lights flash just not the front right. It just stays on solid

dkl · #4 01-15-2017, 04:06 PM

Check to see if your angel eye bulb on that side is OK. I noticed that the side indicator would light up on the side that the angel eye had a burned out bulb (I had my US specs side indicator turned off as parking light - it only operates as indicators).

wpoll · #5 01-15-2017, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dkl

Check to see if your angel eye bulb on that side is OK. I noticed that the side indicator would light up on the side that the angel eye had a burned out bulb (I had my US specs side indicator turned off as parking light - it only operates as indicators).

This situation would result in a warning on the BC display (check control) and the lamp would turn off when you turn off the car or the lights.

I'm betting Danny will wish it was this simple!

wpoll · #6 01-15-2017, 04:07 PM

Possibly a burnt out lamp driver chip in the light control module. Hard to verify unless it shows massive physical failure (a black hole in the chip!).

There's a couple of threads here about repairing and working on the light control module (LCM or LKM).

Danny woodland · #7 01-15-2017, 04:34 PM

Thanks guys..
wpoll your right I wish it was that easy.
It did have a blown angel eye on that side and I replaced it about 6 months ago the indicator came on then to display that side but the indicator is still on since then. I even swapped angle eyes from right to left just in case it was a dodgy globe. My mates a mechanic and he cleared all the codes for me too and no fault codes have resurfaced.

wpoll · #8 01-15-2017, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danny woodland

Thanks guys..
wpoll your right I wish it was that easy.
It did have a blown angel eye on that side and I replaced it about 6 months ago the indicator came on then to display that side but the indicator is still on since then. I even swapped angle eyes from right to left just in case it was a dodgy globe. My mates a mechanic and he cleared all the codes for me too and no fault codes have resurfaced.

Yep, sounds like the LCM turned on the indicator to proxy for the failed AE lamp (you would have had a CC message about this) but then the LCM has either "locked" the indicator on or suffered an internal failure in the driver circuit.

The LCM is a pivotal module in the car's systems - don't monkey with it without being well informed. There's a couple of pretty skilled Aussies on this forum (deepblonde for one...) that may be able to help you out.

deepblonde · #9 01-16-2017, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danny woodland

Thanks guys..
wpoll your right I wish it was that easy.
It did have a blown angel eye on that side and I replaced it about 6 months ago the indicator came on then to display that side but the indicator is still on since then. I even swapped angle eyes from right to left just in case it was a dodgy globe. My mates a mechanic and he cleared all the codes for me too and no fault codes have resurfaced.

Before replacing the LCM, would be a good idea to try and find out what caused this issue from just replacing the Angel eye globe, seeing as it occurred right afterwards...?

Otherwise it could ruin your replacement module, if you get one.
I don't think these later model LCMs can really be repaired; the chip that sometimes goes and can be replaced I think was on slightly earlier versions, like e39.

If you buy a used module, look for same number, year, and whether you have factory xenon's.

Danny woodland · #10 01-15-2017, 04:45 PM

Awesome thanks. Il try to message him?