E53 right hand indicator light stays on outside
 

Hi guys I have a 2005 x5 e53 in Australia. The right hand indicator light outside stays on constantly. I've changed globes and holders. There is no warning coming up on the dash. The only way I can turn it off it to unplug the connection to all the lights on that side, not ideal but it will stop the battery going flat. Any suggestions? Please help

Front, back, or both?

How's the condition of your turn indicator? Your BMW may have a feature that turns on the front & rear turn indicator when the ignition is off when you flip the turn indicator to either the left or right...this is a park light feature for when parking at night on narrow dark roads. It alerts oncoming traffic to your vehicle being parked on the roadside.

If your turn indicator is malfunctioning...it may be the reason why the lights are on.

Just the front right.
The indicator switch seems ok?
I always park with the indicator switch in the off position.
If I turn the indicator on when driving etc the correct lights flash just not the front right. It just stays on solid :(

Check to see if your angel eye bulb on that side is OK. I noticed that the side indicator would light up on the side that the angel eye had a burned out bulb (I had my US specs side indicator turned off as parking light - it only operates as indicators).

Possibly a burnt out lamp driver chip in the light control module. Hard to verify unless it shows massive physical failure (a black hole in the chip!).

There's a couple of threads here about repairing and working on the light control module (LCM or LKM).

This situation would result in a warning on the BC display (check control) and the lamp would turn off when you turn off the car or the lights.

I'm betting Danny will wish it was this simple! :(

Thanks guys..
wpoll your right I wish it was that easy.
It did have a blown angel eye on that side and I replaced it about 6 months ago the indicator came on then to display that side but the indicator is still on since then. I even swapped angle eyes from right to left just in case it was a dodgy globe. My mates a mechanic and he cleared all the codes for me too and no fault codes have resurfaced.

Yep, sounds like the LCM turned on the indicator to proxy for the failed AE lamp (you would have had a CC message about this) but then the LCM has either "locked" the indicator on or suffered an internal failure in the driver circuit.

The LCM is a pivotal module in the car's systems - don't monkey with it without being well informed. There's a couple of pretty skilled Aussies on this forum (deepblonde for one...) that may be able to help you out. :dunno:

Awesome thanks. Il try to message him?

Sure - but I can't speak for him. ;)

Here's a thread that will either help you or give you a heart attack....

https://xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/...lcm-issue.html

And here's another one with some LCM info...

https://xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/...-troubles.html

HTH... :p:

Had a look hmmm interesting. Hopefully not lcm :) I'm just waiting to hear back from deepblond:)

Just noticed this thread;
I haven't received any message.?

Sorry I'm only new and not real puta ritrate :( I must've done something wrong in the message spot. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Before replacing the LCM, would be a good idea to try and find out what caused this issue from just replacing the Angel eye globe, seeing as it occurred right afterwards...?

Otherwise it could ruin your replacement module, if you get one.
I don't think these later model LCMs can really be repaired; the chip that sometimes goes and can be replaced I think was on slightly earlier versions, like e39.

If you buy a used module, look for same number, year, and whether you have factory xenon's.

The indicator came on at the same time as the angel eye blew. I thought it was a safety feature and thought how cool is that. It was a few weeks till I had a chance to replace the angel eye globe I don't know if that would cause any issue?
The car was from a deceased estate so it had sat for a while before I purchased it. I've had the battery replaced as well after the light issue.
I've noticed that the wires to the angel eyes and high beams are bared in places so maybe they shorted at some time?? No fuses have blown tho?

You are right - it IS a safety feature. but it's supposed to revert back to normal operation once the AE lamp is replaced.

Not sure if the bare wires are relevant but there are very few coincidences in these cars. Have you sorted the bare wires or are they still an issue?

deepblonde - spunbearing has managed to replace one of the driver ICs in a late model LCM - twice, I think. Not for the casual DIY'er though, as they are surface mounted ICs. :D

The angel eye blew due to the bare wires rubbing together. Very common on the X. Try covering each bare wire with electrical tape and test with the working AE. My AE never blew but they were flickering a lot....followed the advice on this forum and problem solved.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

Wires shorting together does not cause lamps to blow but it does cause many other problems! :thumbup:

Get all those bare wires sorted first.
It'll probably fix your problem.
If all the wiring is all ok, that feature of your indicator staying on, can be coded out.

I don't believe the chip in the module is the cause of module failures in these later models.

:iagree: (even though I mentioned module failure!)

I mentioned a possible LCM module or IC failure as a possible cause before the bare wires came to light. ;)