[Squibby1996]

Seeing a post about benzinfabrik led thought I'd get some, cutting a long story short I ended up ordering x4 nee door cards as was changing the interior colour, guy advertised them wrong and the rear door cards were for a convertible which don't fit mine.

Bought the correct ones from someone else and think they're lci as had the new type led in and as you can see from the photo the rear are a lot brighter than the front but can anyone tell me is this normal? As they are shorter and not as curved?

[eff32fl]

Originally Posted by omie

Please keep updating about this! I mailed benzinfabrik last week, but they said maybe a couple of months before ready. It's now already been a couple of months since I mailed, so it might take a while before they have it. In the meantime I just let it go for now, but if your method works, I'll do the same

Sanding down the door panel LED module to try and fit it into the radio trim didn't work

I emailed Benzinfabrik to get an update on when their radio trim modules will be released but no new information available "they're trying to get them out."

[watermannc]

Originally Posted by omie

Well, I didn't enjoy it a lot to be honest, because everything was so small! :P

But I like to work on this stuff yes, all of my previous cars had something very specific which was I created. At my previous car I bought a diffusor which was slightly different then what I wanted, so I cut pieces off, and used fiberglass and fillers to adjust and shape it perfectly. In another car I build a complete high-end sound system and adjusted a lot. I'm a perfectionist, so I'll work on just about anything, not scared to discover new stuff, and take things apart. It needs to work and look like high-end OEM, so I spend a lot of time on perfecting the details.

Another thing I'm annoyed about is the screen and navigation, also looks outdated/low-res, even though I have the big screen and prof. navigation with live traffic. So I want to upgrade that to an Android system soon. Then I'm done with interior for now, and will move to the outside.

Damn, the interior work you did on your car looks absolutely fucking amazing

[omie]

Originally Posted by eff32fl

Sanding down the door panel LED module to try and fit it into the radio trim didn't work

I emailed Benzinfabrik to get an update on when their radio trim modules will be released but no new information available "they're trying to get them out."

Damn I was coming up with some free time and thought I do the sanding and fitting. Thanks for the update! Guess we have to wait until benzinfabrik finally comes through. Don't get why it is that hard as they already should have everything :/

[omie]

Originally Posted by watermannc

Damn, the interior work you did on your car looks absolutely fucking amazing

Thank you! I'm still enjoying every single night drive

[eff32fl]

Originally Posted by omie

Damn I was coming up with some free time and thought I do the sanding and fitting. Thanks for the update! Guess we have to wait until benzinfabrik finally comes through. Don't get why it is that hard as they already should have everything :/

No prob. Yeah I was super sad that it didn't work either.

I'm not sure what's taking Benzinfabrik so long. I agree they already have all the components that are needed they just need to design a different PCB and that can't be that time consuming. Admittedly and personally, I'm being impatient though lol.

I have the power going to the LED's in my radio trim unplugged right now so it doesn't look weird having white LED's when everything else is blue. The blue looks freaking awesome at night though!

[F30Mo16]

Originally Posted by Sigge

I agree that the orange feel a little outdated, but at the same time its something that defines BMW. I like it because of that reason. Its BMW and it makes you feel that you are driving something of high quality

But still, hella impressive work! Do you have any idea how many hour this has taken you so far?

It's actually a science to this... Pulled this quote from a pretty cool article in regards of using orange ambient colors in BMWs.. German Engineering at its finest...

"After some mostly unhelpful internet research, I reached out to BMW and was put in touch with President of BMW Designworks Oliver Heilmer. Designworks is a design shop wholly owned by BMW in LA, and it was intimately involved with the entire process that resulted in BMW's X family of SUVs. So it's appropriate that I'm speaking to Heilmer about the X4's dashboard.

Heilmer told me that BMW's characteristic orange-red hue is generated by light at a wavelength of 605 nanometers. The color was chosen to allow the driver to clearly see the instrument cluster, but also to be able to adjust to the darkness outside the vehicle quickly after looking up. The eye doesn't tire as quickly trying to read gauges illuminated with red-orange light, he said. BMW discovered this in the 1970s, and it's been both an aesthetic trademark and a conscious ergonomic decision ever since.

Heilmer didn't get into it, but the research I came across about how the human eye processes light lends a lot of credence to 605 nanometers being the ideal wavelength for night driving. Remember in anatomy class, when you leaned about rods and cones in your eyes? You might not remember much beyond that – I certainly didn't – but rods are very sensitive and essential in low-light situations. They're much more numerous, and more concentrated in the periphery of your eyes, not in the center. They also don't really process color, which is why it's tough to discern hues or sharp details in dim light, but they're great for detecting motion. Imagine our prehistoric predecessors checking out a cave in the dark: Rods are there to help you figure out if there's a bear in the back of that cave, and if it's coming to eat you, but not what color it is.

And then there are cones. Basically, cones do details and color very well. They're concentrated in the center of your eye. Most of them are tuned to detect red light, so you need less light overall to see something illuminated in that color. The other piece of the puzzle is that those motion-sensing rods are particularly insensitive to red light.

So imagine red light from a gauge cluster hitting your eyeball. The rods, very sensitive to light in general but not so much to red, aren't dazzled by it. The cones, less sensitive to light overall but highly attuned to red light, are able to pick out the details of what's illuminated pretty well. When you look up from the instrument cluster, your rods are in good shape and able to scan the road ahead for bears while your cones chill and wait for the next glance at the gauges."



https://www.autoblog.com/2017/02/28/...-illumination/

[fredde85]

What type of diod from benzinfabrik should i order for the radio trim lightning?

[eff32fl]

Originally Posted by fredde85

What type of diod from benzinfabrik should i order for the radio trim lightning?

Unfortunately they haven't released a replacement LED module for the radio trim yet. I've been checking their site pretty regularly but so far no dice They were supposed to be released back in April or something like that lol.

I tried using the door card LED module in the radio trim by shaving it down to be smaller but it didn't work. Will just have to wait I suppose.

[FRANKLINDEE]

hi all,
i wanted to install something similar but i don't have any inerior light 12v

do you know form were i can pick up the 12v for the itnernal light ( when the light turn on basically)

thank you

[Sparkovic]

Hi folks, I'm new to the forum, just picked up a 2017 F36 with the S563A light package, I expected there to be a small light in the panel above the cupholders, but there isn't. CAn anyone advise if this is normal? Many thanks

[Onizukachan]

It is. LCI have relocated cupholders and the radio trim light so they ditched it.

[Blue_Lightning]

Hi all, I love this forum, but haven't been able to find any discussion on adding lights externally. I'd like to add lights to the side 'boomerang' vents on my 4 Series, that might throw glow down the side of the car.
Has anyone seen it done, or have some ideas?

[Billfitz]

Start a new thread. Tagging on to a totally unrelated thread isn't going to get you anywhere.

[eff32fl]

Great news everyone! The German company that sells the replacement LED modules has finally released the LCI radio trim modules yay! The link is now up for pre-order and they will ship out January 2022. I just ordered some, you need 2 of these if you're going to place an order (there's an LED module on each side of the radio trim).

I will finally be able to finish the ambient lighting switchover to blue/white (already have the door panels and footwells replaced).

https://www.benzinfabrik.com/de/bran...B803852&c=7432

[chuckles01]

Originally Posted by eff32fl

Great news everyone! The German company that sells the replacement LED modules has finally released the LCI radio trim modules yay! The link is now up for pre-order and they will ship out January 2022. I just ordered some, you need 2 of these if you're going to place an order (there's an LED module on each side of the radio trim).

I will finally be able to finish the ambient lighting switchover to blue/white (already have the door panels and footwells replaced).

https://www.benzinfabrik.com/de/bran...852&c=7432

Awesome! I got the door panel lights but haven't switched them out yet. For these radio trim ones, are they actually brighter than OEM or is it just purely an option to get different colors outside of the OEM ones?

[eff32fl]

Originally Posted by chuckles01

Awesome! I got the door panel lights but haven't switched them out yet. For these radio trim ones, are they actually brighter than OEM or is it just purely an option to get different colors outside of the OEM ones?

They're much brighter than OEM while providing other color options. At least the door panel and footwell modules have proven to be. I'm sure the radio trim modules are brighter as well. This company's MO is offering brighter and better than OEM solutions. I have an LCI F32 that supposedly has brighter OEM ambient lighting than pre-LCI but it's still very dim. I bought blue/white modules from Benzinfabrik and I had to turn down the brightness after installing the aftermarket modules. Their products are awesome.

You should pick up 2 of the footwell modules while you're at it. The footwell in another color (or brighter OEM) looks great at night.

[chuckles01]

Originally Posted by eff32fl

They're much brighter than OEM while providing other color options. At least the door panel and footwell modules have proven to be. I'm sure the radio trim modules are brighter as well. This company's MO is offering brighter and better than OEM solutions. I have an LCI F32 that supposedly has brighter OEM ambient lighting than pre-LCI but it's still very dim. I bought blue/white modules from Benzinfabrik and I had to turn down the brightness after installing the aftermarket modules. Their products are awesome.

You should pick up 2 of the footwell modules while you're at it. The footwell in another color (or brighter OEM) looks great at night.

I think I'm pretty sold and will get the radio trim and footwell ones. I was gonna do the doors first and see but might as well!

Actually I started on the door but didn't give myself enough time, I ended up having to run to an appointment. I took the door off, had trouble pulling the ambient light module off, and gave up and just put the door back on. Was the ambient light module on really tight for yours? Did you just pull it off or did you have to pinch any connector to release it? I was afraid of breaking something by just yanking hard.

[eff32fl]

Originally Posted by chuckles01

I think I'm pretty sold and will get the radio trim and footwell ones. I was gonna do the doors first and see but might as well!

Actually I started on the door but didn't give myself enough time, I ended up having to run to an appointment. I took the door off, had trouble pulling the ambient light module off, and gave up and just put the door back on. Was the ambient light module on really tight for yours? Did you just pull it off or did you have to pinch any connector to release it? I was afraid of breaking something by just yanking hard.

The LED module for the front/rear door panels is inside a gray plastic encasing. It's difficult to get open but I used a tiny flathead screwdriver to pry it open. I ended up breaking it a bit for 2-3 of the door panels but the gray plastic encasing wasn't horribly mangled so it still closed ok after replacing the module. I'm not sure of an easier way to pry it open without any issues. Maybe using a metal pick tool to poke in the side tabs may produce better results.

There is a tiny little tab on each side you have to push in, then you can lift open the top cover to expose the LED module.

Be sure to disconnect your negative battery terminal as a precaution before messing with electronics in your car. I wrap a towel around the negative cable after removing it and wrap a towel around the trunk release "hook" so the trunk doesn't accidentally close with the battery disconnected.

[fredde85]

Anyone know if benzinfabrik have led lights for stronger anbient light to cup holder and roof light?

[chuckles01]

Originally Posted by eff32fl

The LED module for the front/rear door panels is inside a gray plastic encasing. It's difficult to get open but I used a tiny flathead screwdriver to pry it open. I ended up breaking it a bit for 2-3 of the door panels but the gray plastic encasing wasn't horribly mangled so it still closed ok after replacing the module. I'm not sure of an easier way to pry it open without any issues. Maybe using a metal pick tool to poke in the side tabs may produce better results.

There is a tiny little tab on each side you have to push in, then you can lift open the top cover to expose the LED module.

Be sure to disconnect your negative battery terminal as a precaution before messing with electronics in your car. I wrap a towel around the negative cable after removing it and wrap a towel around the trunk release "hook" so the trunk doesn't accidentally close with the battery disconnected.

I just ordered them, can't wait!

Thank you, very helpful to know how you opened the gray module. I actually didn't even get that far haha. I had trouble taking the gray encasing off the door. It seemed to be mounted pretty tight on the door and clear light tube. Should I just yank it off?

[eff32fl]

Originally Posted by chuckles01

I just ordered them, can't wait!

Thank you, very helpful to know how you opened the gray module. I actually didn't even get that far haha. I had trouble taking the gray encasing off the door. It seemed to be mounted pretty tight on the door and clear light tube. Should I just yank it off?

No prob good luck with your install! You can leave the gray plastic encasing attached to the door panel, just open it to replace the LED module. That's what I did at least.