Dashboard Lights Dim after DEPO Install
 

Just installed some DEPO HID + LED angel eyes in my 2003 X5 (OEM halogen lights) and now my dashboard lights are at the dimmest setting and completely unresponsive to the brightness-level thumbwheel. I'm stumped. Could I have burned out the LCM? It's not throwing up any warnings. Please, somebody tell me what's going on.

I don't know the installation instructions for the lights, but did you have to cut anything. Also is it possible you drained the crap out of your battery while installing and testing. When the battery gets very low, the car shuts off lights, radio, and a whole other mess of stuff.

P.S.
Please put your car info into your sig. Helps other ID your car on the fly and assist you faster. Plus makes you look more serious and interested in XoutPost. Thanks.

Sounds like you overload the dimmer circuit somehow by installing HID ballast or DEPO angel eyes.

The dimming is self sustaining (not part of LCM), the circuit is right there where the dial is. I tried to tap on one of the line for my angel-eyes relay (I like them on as parking light) and all the sudden my dashboard went dark. I untapped it and it backs to normal, dial work etc.

try to unhook the ballast and see if turning one click on the main switch will restore the dimming function.

BTW, where did you tap your DEPO angel eyes (DEPO comes with LED Orion style angel eyes).

You might have to plug the OEM ones back in and see if the problem goes away.

I was gonna say to adjust the dimmer wheel. I guess you thought of that. Im stumped.

I'm sure he did tapped the angel eyes into the parking lights.If so that is your problem there...

Sorry all, I've been on vacation the last week or so. I did the install myself, except for the wiring of the halos. For that I took it to a local shop, and I believe they attached the trigger to the parking lights.

Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to test everything out before leaving for vacation, so I get into it today and my AEs are blinking with the turn signals. My dash lights are finally responding to the dimmer switch, but only at 50% of its former brightness.

So, needless to say this has been a craptastic experience. I should've just done it myself but I'm an electrical novice and was too pressed for time to read through the multitude of guides available.

I'll say search "j.belknap" post where he taps the park-light from the LCM module by the front passenger foot-rest area. You still need to feed this line to a automotive relay just to be on the safe side (not overloading any LCM circuit).
The advantage:
- no flicker when AE is off (like you have now)
- no flashing with turning signal
- brighter, cause right now that park light is only powered about 6V then when turning signal is flashing it'll alternate between 12V and 6V.

You're freaking awesome, man. Apparently the guys at this place have been doing this wrong on every BMW that comes in (either that or they're putting the trigger on the ignition wire in the ECU so the AEs are always running, which just isn't for me.

I've still got the problem with the dashboard lights though... not responding the dimmer at all. They seem to vary themselves every time I get in the car. Sometimes it's at 50%, sometimes at 35%, and today they weren't coming on at all.

Just so y'all can see what the lights I'm dealing with, they're here

From what I can see they're the exact ones J.Belknap has.

Does anyone have experience with the LCM and what exactly can be programmed on it? I've had a lingering issue for years after I retrofitted 04-06 taillights where the taillight section is constantly as bright as the brake light. Alas, that's besides the point, I really just want my damn instrument cluster lights back 100%.

EDIT: Drove it just now to the gas station and midway through (it's dusk), my auto-headlights came on, along with a German message in my cluster that reverted to English after a couple of seconds warning me about my washer fluid level. I know I need washer fluid, so that's not disconcerting, but the fact it was initially in German was unsettling.

e30mpower,
did you have problem before th etech fiddling around during AE install?

I wonder if the tech open up the light switch (the one with dimming dial). I did, when I was looking for park light line to tap; the black wire in there is it for park light so I wonder if this was spliced and making poor contact (intermittent result on cluster).
Else I have no clue why your cluster is doing that.