I was going to include some of your images of that work, Andrew. In the end, I figured it would only make this subject more confusing! ;)

Link to the article. I’m too tired to find it but the simplicity of drilling holes and using spring steel for the jumper was a winner


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Sure is/was... :thumbup:

But not relevant in this case, as the tail fittings don't have the dual filament build or wiring - just a single filament bulb of the wrong wattage...

Found a local napa that had them in stock and they fit in the facelift sockets and now light up properly and still no errors! Thanks for all the info!

Well done. It's a pain following a car on a dark night on a freeway when their brake lights are on full time - or have the wrong lamps fitted!!! :thumbup:

Your LCM will probably appreciate the change too... ;)

Yeah I agree! It would have been fine if the facelift tails I got had the bulbs still, but the PO yanked them all out... Silly me just swapped over the sockets from the prefacelift tail light middle portion to the facelifted ones without thinking further. Glad you mentioned this because I didnt have a competent tester. "Brake lights work, tail lights work!" I plan to do an LCM4 retrofit at some point to stop the LED plate lights from blinking...

Actually, you would have had the same issue - the facelift doesn't use low wattage bulbs like your car uses - if the P.O. had left the original (21w) bulbs in place, you would have had the same issue.

The point is, it's not just the wiring that is different between pre and facelift - it's the LCM, the wiring, the bulbs AND the electrical signals themselves that are different, i.e. everything... :D

re. license plate LED lights flickering - does the earlier LCM not have the ability to disable hot and cold monitoring, using something like BMW Scanner (PASoft)?

Surely it would be easier to install regular bulbs than to perform an LCM upgrade... :dunno:

The current LCM3 doesn't have the ability to turn the monitors in and off. I have done the LCM4 auto headlight retrofit in my e38 using NCS Expert and for the X5 it should be a breeze compared to that...

Installed some crystal clear DEPO sidemarkers to match the facelift tails...
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Getting exhausted from searching a good priced lower mileage manual in the nation.. people act like it's a Lamborghini and over price them

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