'04 tail lights on '02

[AdamE53]

Hey there, just a quick question regarding tail lights.
I have an 02 X5 with the amber tail lights. They were corroded so I found some post face lift tail lights and swapped them in. They work perfectly fine but now my dash says that both tail lights are out. Any ideas why my dash is saying they don't work?

[Henn28]

Electrics aren’t my strongest suit, but I’m going to guess it is related to differences in the pulse width modulation coding between the OE and new lights.

[wpoll]

Simpler than that - the tails are not plug and play between pre-LCI and LCi. The wiring is different and the bulbs are different.

[TriX5]

I think the switch was not at pre/post-face lift. My '03 is pre-face lift but I am using post facelift tail lights without a mod. I think the wiring assignments in the taillight connector are different for some earlier years.

[wpoll]

There are pin assignment differences, along with bulb differences and differences in the circuit tracks in the tail assembly.

The pre-LCI uses a dual filament 5W/21W tail/brake bulb while the LCI uses a single filament 21W bulb that is PWM modulated from dim (tail) to bright (brake).

This change may have occured prior to the LCI change date (09 2003?) as BMW modified the assembly line for LCI builds. The change in tail lights would also infer a change on the LCM etc...

[andrewwynn]

I'm "that folk".

I had an '01 but had replaced tail lights due to an accident. I noticed that the 21w filament had a trace that went nowhere. I added a jumper so all four brake lamps lit when braking.

Also, there exists a jumper than will adapt before and after LCI hookups.

[AdamE53]

Interesting. I will investigate this as well and see if I can incorporate this all together.
Thanks everyone

[AdamE53]

So, quick update. I reconfigured the inside of the new lights to reflect the wiring schematic in the old lights. Wasn't hard to do, just took some time. I only did one light to see if there was a difference but it didn't change anything. Both of the lenses work as needed but the dash is throwing me the lights telling me they don't like what's going on back there. My next thought is to try the old bulbs to see if that makes a difference.
I had to rebuild the rear end so this hasn't been much of a priority since they do work.

[Clockwork]

AdamE53, there is a MUCH faster and simplier fix for your common problem.
you actually buy Mercedes Bens light socket to fix the problem with your original lights. So basically you bought facelifted tail lights, for no purpose

read this
https://xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/...t-fix-diy.html

[AdamE53]

Originally Posted by Clockwork

AdamE53, there is a MUCH faster and simplier fix for your common problem.
you actually buy Mercedes Bens light socket to fix the problem with your original lights. So basically you bought facelifted tail lights, for no purpose

read this
https://xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/...t-fix-diy.html

I like your idea and would definitely give it a go. However, the wife and I prefer the look of the newer lenses over the old amber ones. They do work exactly as they should which is good enough. The lights on the dash are temporary, I'm sure I'll solve that when I get back around to it. Thanks for the link though.