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Old 12-15-2020, 10:27 PM
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LED Tails - Problems and Opinions

Hello friends, recently got in a set of the Spyder smoked LED tail lights for the 05' X5. After install, I noticed flickering when the lights are on, but not when braking. Some are saying that this is with all LED tail lights and is a byproduct of one of the X's lighting systems. Has this been seen by others who ordered the Spyder tails? If so, I guess I'd be better off just to add the capacitor that I've also heard about.
On the other hand, how about the SpecD tails with the fiber optic style brake light? If they don't flicker right out of the box, I will return these and get those instead.
I've decided that Spyder's support line isn't of much help as they get back to me every 48 hours, and you guys know first hand exactly what's going on, so if you would grace me with your opinions and experiences with both SpecD and Spyder lights, I would greatly appreciate it!
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Old 12-15-2020, 10:56 PM
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Had Spyder tails for years with no problems on the '01. If I remember correctly the capacitor fix should work to correct the adaptive brake lights flicker. More than a few articles over the years giving requisite values and connection instructions.
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Old 12-16-2020, 03:57 AM
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Since the LCI E53 power the tail lights (and other lighting) with pulses of power (called PWM - pulse width modulation) normal incadescent bulbs "integrate" the pulses and output constant light. When you switch to LED, which will respond to the pulses and not output constant light, you need an additional device to smooth out the pulses. Some folk use resistors, some use capcitors. Both will work and have advantages and disadvantages.

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Old 12-16-2020, 04:49 AM
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You can also adjust the PWM rate using software like PASoft. I did that years ago, and also turned off the error checking. It causes flickering on startup.
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Old 12-20-2020, 03:53 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jcp240z View Post
You can also adjust the PWM rate using software like PASoft. I did that years ago, and also turned off the error checking. It causes flickering on startup.


Do you know what lines/parameters you changed for the PWM and what you set them to? I don’t own PASoft so I’m taking it to my local mechanic and I don’t want to waste his time fiddling around with it for a long time, so any info would be helpful!


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Old 12-21-2020, 02:17 AM
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I played with the PWM setting
You can see the PWM https://www.e46fanatics.com/threads/...mmies.1067835/
Here
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2003 X5 4.6is Estoril Blue
2005 Infiniti G35X
1972 Datsun 240Z
1991 Isuzu Impulse XS Sold
1972 Fiat 850 Spyder Donated
1972 Datsun 240Z Sold
1972 Datsun 510 Sold
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Old 12-29-2020, 03:09 PM
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Originally Posted by jcp240z View Post
I played with the PWM setting
You can see the PWM https://www.e46fanatics.com/threads/...mmies.1067835/
Here
Thanks! So I have one side question. What would happen if I were to remove the pulse from the other bulbs as well? (signal bulbs, reverse bulbs) Would they get damaged or would it just decrease the lifespan of the bulbs?
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Old 01-01-2021, 03:06 AM
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Can’t really tell you. I left everything else stock. Figured that the engineers had reasons.
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2003 X5 4.6is Estoril Blue
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1972 Datsun 240Z Sold
1972 Datsun 510 Sold
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