trailer lights,again

[LeMansX5]

[surgeondress]

Outrageously as expensive as it is, what is this adapter called?

[surgeondress]

I have the same trailer light/blinker rate issues discussed by others here. I went to my dealership in Fort Walton Beach, FL and they were clueless about both the problem and any fix for it. As was the customer support line for BMW. Does anyone know the BMW part # for this LED trailer light adapter?

Thanks,
surgeondress

[shaunatl]

Sorry to bump such an old thread, but...

I connected up to my new trailer (with LED lighting), and I had all the symptoms mentioned in the thread (fast blinking, lights blinking even when car is off, and the rear PDC not disabling when the trailer is connected). I then tested with a trailer with conventional lighting, and everything behaves perfectly.

In the absence of a better solution, and to get everything functional, I replaced the tail/stop/blinker on my new trailer with old fashioned bulb units. At the risk of stating the obvious - the "always on" lights have no effect on the behavior. I left those as LEDs. Everything now works the way it should - normal blink rate, no flashing when car is off, rear PDC is disabled when trailer connected and immediately re-enabled when trailer is disconnected.

I don't think it has been mentioned, but if your blinkers are flashing too quickly when the trailer is connected, chances are the X5 has no idea a trailer is there (which is the reason PDC isn't disabled properly). In addition, this almost certainly means that the trailer stability control program won't be enabled.

Given that this thread is over a year old, has anyone come up with a clean solution for the LED lighting issue? A resistor wired inline prior to each LED tail seems like the most cost effective solution available currently.

[JCL]

BMW came up with a software flash for the vehicles that have the hitch and BMW wiring harness installed. I never got it, because I had no problems with my wiring, but others reported that trailer wiring worked better after the initialization was done by the dealer. It means hooking up the diagnostic computer and setting a configuration. I believe it addressed both the rapid blinking, and the occasional flash when the vehicle was off.

[tomgtv]

Originally Posted by shaunatl

Sorry to bump such an old thread, but...

I connected up to my new trailer (with LED lighting), and I had all the symptoms mentioned in the thread (fast blinking, lights blinking even when car is off, and the rear PDC not disabling when the trailer is connected). I then tested with a trailer with conventional lighting, and everything behaves perfectly.

In the absence of a better solution, and to get everything functional, I replaced the tail/stop/blinker on my new trailer with old fashioned bulb units. At the risk of stating the obvious - the "always on" lights have no effect on the behavior. I left those as LEDs. Everything now works the way it should - normal blink rate, no flashing when car is off, rear PDC is disabled when trailer connected and immediately re-enabled when trailer is disconnected.

I don't think it has been mentioned, but if your blinkers are flashing too quickly when the trailer is connected, chances are the X5 has no idea a trailer is there (which is the reason PDC isn't disabled properly). In addition, this almost certainly means that the trailer stability control program won't be enabled.

Given that this thread is over a year old, has anyone come up with a clean solution for the LED lighting issue? A resistor wired inline prior to each LED tail seems like the most cost effective solution available currently.

I refused to pay for that $200 circuit board that BMW recommends for towing lights. My hitch guys just hardwired the light harness (running lights, left/right brake/turn) to the cars wires which run to the appropriate lights.

We used a "converter" that takes the three wires of the car to the two wires of the trailer. Worked fine with single jetski trailer with reg lights. I bought a double jetski trailer with many more lights and I had issues. I switched to LED's which draw much less current and it works fine.

Hidden Hitch makes a whole line of these converters. The best way to go is to get the "power converter". It runs a line directly to battery for power. It only relies on vehicle light circuits for the "signal". Therefore shouldn't screw up BMW diagnostics. http://www.hiddenhitch.com/
you can buy them online for $40 at
http://www.trailerhitches.com/electr...tion118176.cfm

I have an 01 X5, maybe they've done something else since, but I doubt it to prevent use of this product.

From attached install instructions:

Some vehicles combine stop and tail light
functions onto 1 circuit and then also have
an additional tail light function wire that is
independent of the stop (such as the BMW X5).
These vehicles will require that you attach the
trailer light power module red "stop" wire to
the same combined circuit on the vehicle and
then attach the brown "tail light" circuit to the
independent circuit on the vehicle.

[shaunatl]

Originally Posted by JCL

BMW came up with a software flash for the vehicles that have the hitch and BMW wiring harness installed. I never got it, because I had no problems with my wiring, but others reported that trailer wiring worked better after the initialization was done by the dealer. It means hooking up the diagnostic computer and setting a configuration. I believe it addressed both the rapid blinking, and the occasional flash when the vehicle was off.

Yes, I had that done Friday. It didn't change anything. "Bulb'd" trailers work fine, LED trailers not so much.

[shaunatl]

Originally Posted by tomgtv

I refused to pay for that $200 circuit board that BMW recommends for towing lights. My hitch guys just hardwired the light harness (running lights, left/right brake/turn) to the cars wires which run to the appropriate lights.

We used a "converter" that takes the three wires of the car to the two wires of the trailer. Worked fine with single jetski trailer with reg lights. I bought a double jetski trailer with many more lights and I had issues. I switched to LED's which draw much less current and it works fine.

Hidden Hitch makes a whole line of these converters. The best way to go is to get the "power converter". It runs a line directly to battery for power. It only relies on vehicle light circuits for the "signal". Therefore shouldn't screw up BMW diagnostics. http://www.hiddenhitch.com/
you can buy them online for $40 at
http://www.trailerhitches.com/electr...tion118176.cfm

I have an 01 X5, maybe they've done something else since, but I doubt it to prevent use of this product.

From attached install instructions:

Some vehicles combine stop and tail light
functions onto 1 circuit and then also have
an additional tail light function wire that is
independent of the stop (such as the BMW X5).
These vehicles will require that you attach the
trailer light power module red "stop" wire to
the same combined circuit on the vehicle and
then attach the brown "tail light" circuit to the
independent circuit on the vehicle.

Thanks for the info! I also doubt BMW has done anything that would prevent a product like that from working. However, that only seems like a good solution for people who:

- don't have PDC, or are ok with turning it off every time they put the car in reverse with a trailer connected
- only tow trailers with 4 pin connectors
- don't care if the X5 isn't aware a trailer is attached (need for trailer stability control)

Currently, I don't fall into any of those categories.

[racebmwm3]

I have this flashing on my LED trailer when the X5 is off. I have the towing module and OEM wiring. I guess it is off to the BMW dealer to get the software patch. Any other options?

[Effduration]

Originally Posted by racebmwm3

I have this flashing on my LED trailer when the X5 is off. I have the towing module and OEM wiring. I guess it is off to the BMW dealer to get the software patch. Any other options?

What does this mean " I have this flashing on my LED trailer" what is flashing? is it a trailer test light?. And your OEM wiring was a harness you made, right?

I think I saw somewhere that occasionally (not always) the towing module had to be coded after installation.