trailer lights,again

[X5Flyboy]

The answer to fast blinking.

My dealer in Charleston,SC called me to tell me BMW knows of the problem. They say it only occurs with LED lights on the trailer. Single bulb lights are not a problem. No solution as of yet, but they are working on it.

[Xstatic Owner]

See my earlier post this thread.. The LED lights draw less current and I believe that is the root of the problem. I have trailered boats for many years with different vehicles and have always found this to be true. I have spoken to trailer hitch installers who did not have a solution to this annoying increased frequency of "flickering". Maybe BMW can find the answer but I doubt it's high on their priority list.

[UCrewX5]

Installing a resistor pack in-line might fool the system into thinking it's a regular bulb and not an LED light.

[LeMansX5]

Originally Posted by burkleymh

The answer to fast blinking.

My dealer in Charleston,SC called me to tell me BMW knows of the problem. They say it only occurs with LED lights on the trailer. Single bulb lights are not a problem. No solution as of yet, but they are working on it.

The Uhaul trailer I had rented was very old and I am sure it had no LEDs. But it did had a fused bulb.

[Mr. Incredible]

Has there been a solution from BMW on use of trailers with LED lights yet, and the associated "quick blinking" turn signals??

My new boat I have on order has LED trailer lights.....

Thanks!

TD

[JCL]

Don't know of one, but.......

I have never towed a trailer with LED lights. Approximately half of the rentals have caused my X5 to blink fast, half are fine. It often switches to high speed part way down the road. It isn't an LED issue, it is a current issue. Perhaps LEDs can cause that, I don't know, but in my case it was the ground connection between the trailer and the vehicle.

[Mr. Incredible]

About ready to take delivery of my new boat and trailer that has LED trailer lights. Someone on the Mastercraft boat forum with an X5 is having this same "fast blinking" problem and I am convinced my X5 will do the same.

In fact in addition to the "fast blinking", he is even experiencing the trailer lights flashing about every minute with the vehicle turned off!!

burkleymh,

Did you ever get a "fix" from the Charleston dealer or any idea what BMW came up with to solve the problem??

Thanks!

TD

[X5Flyboy]

No, I'll ask him when I get back into town (Charleston,SC) early next week - My own 12 x 5 trailer, which I purchased in 2001 for my move to Idaho, does not "fast blink" and operates normally with both my 2001 & 2006 X5s. Yet the last 2 Uhaul trailers have "fast blinked". You may want to ask your dealer to also inquire about this "fast blinking" as more requests to BMWNA may motivate them to develope a solution sooner.

And, yeah, that low voltage flashing when the X5 is turned off made me want to unhook the trailer ASAP. The X5 is already an electrical "hog" without adding more strain to the battery.

[Seedar]

As a previous poster said, if the power drawn by the lights is not what is programmed then the blinkers flash fast and the car will tell you to check trailer lights. This can be caused by missing ground or by LED lights on the trailer. I have just bought a trailer with LEDs and it does this. I have also noticed what a previous poster remarked on and that is that even with the car off, parked etc the trailer lights flash briefly at around 10 second intervals. I assume this is part of the circuitry checking that lights are ok (?)

I want to know how to get the car to recognise that LED lights are working - preferably without just adding load resistors to present the 21W load like a normal light since that will mean if the LEDs do die then the car wont tell me - apart from the extra power being wasted.

cheers,
Seedar

[Seedar]

BTW BMW do provide some kind of adapter for LED trailers to fix the problem - at ~$350 !!!! Seems like robbery after paying ~$1800 for the trailer hitch and wiring loom : (