Tailgate tail light mod

[Clockwork]

Originally Posted by Bmwe5320023.0

What I'm wondering, is there any point doing the fog light retrofit?
Why not simply connect these lights directly to tail lights on the quarter panel?

That is all I did.
I installed LED bulbs and wired them to the brake light portion of rear lights. So they illuminate nicely when stopping and lower back down when no brake pedal pressed. I was going to just wire them to the park lights, but I like the idea of more break lighting so no one behind can say they didn't see my brake lights. AND they serve as a backup to the filament brake lights, should it burn out.

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[dkl]

Originally Posted by Clockwork

That is all I did.
I installed LED bulbs and wired them to the brake light portion of rear lights. So they illuminate nicely when stopping and lower back down when no brake pedal pressed. I was going to just wire them to the park lights, but I like the idea of more break lighting so no one behind can say they didn't see my brake lights. AND they serve as a backup to the filament brake lights, should it burn out.

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Did you have to put a capacitor on it to prevent the LED bulbs from flickering? A picture of your wiring would greatly be appreciated

[Clockwork]

Hey, I will jump on computer tomorrow and send some pics, if I can find any. I have pdf or word doc guide on how to do properly if you need more instruction.

No I never needed to use any caps to reduce flickering.

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[dkl]

Originally Posted by Clockwork

Hey, I will jump on computer tomorrow and send some pics, if I can find any. I have pdf or word doc guide on how to do properly if you need more instruction.

No I never needed to use any caps to reduce flickering.

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A guide would greatly appreciated, if you have one

[Clockwork]

I sent you an email through xoutpost which has my email in it. If you didn't get it, let me know and I will send a PM through xoutpost next time. It's a great document showing exactly how to do it

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[dkl]

Originally Posted by Clockwork

I sent you an email through xoutpost which has my email in it. If you didn't get it, let me know and I will send a PM through xoutpost next time. It's a great document showing exactly how to do it

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Got your message and replied - thanks!

[amancuso]

Originally Posted by Clockwork

That is all I did.
... they serve as a backup to the filament brake lights, should it burn out.

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Since you have an '05 (LCI) If the brake light burns out, it will light the other tail light bulb at brighter capacity when you brake. (AFAIK) I did the rear fog mod, and I find it extremely useful when driving on foggy mornings in New England or in the mountains. (lets people behind you actually see you when driving in low visibility conditions) I have never had a problem seeing an e53's brake lights when driving behind other ones.

[RocketyMan]

I'm actually interested in this mod, i'm subscribing...

[Bmwe5320023.0]

Originally Posted by Clockwork

That is all I did.
I installed LED bulbs and wired them to the brake light portion of rear lights. So they illuminate nicely when stopping and lower back down when no brake pedal pressed. I was going to just wire them to the park lights, but I like the idea of more break lighting so no one behind can say they didn't see my brake lights. AND they serve as a backup to the filament brake lights, should it burn out.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

In this case your brake lights, tail lights and fog lights are all on all the time and illuminate brighter when stopping?

[80stech]

AFAIK rear fog lights are illegal in a lot of places because they can fool people into thinking that a car is coming at them, especially in places where they are not normally being used because they are/were illegal. So that could be something to consider.
I would say that any added lights should probably be LED (without loading resisters) to reduce the risk of burning out the LCM and/or connectors. It would probably be best to convert the filament bulbs on the same circuit to LED and code that way as well.