Vehicle is a 2007 Pre-FL sedan.

I bought some Leds for the front "parkers" (the white T5W bulbs).

The parkers were working with the std bulbs. I removed the std bulb & fitted the LED. It didn't work so I removed it, rotated it 180degrees & refitted. Still dead. Tried another (known to work) - no joy. Refitted the std bulb & it doesn't work either. Tested the continuity of the bulb (0ohms) & the voltage at the fitting (0.33v - wtf?).

Repeated the process on the other side with the same result (at least they match).

The maxidot is giving a bulb error for both lights. I'm sure the bulbs are still good. It appears that the bulb error has registered in the ECU/BCM & doesn't want to clear?

I've checked fuses but it appears the lights are all on the same 2 (LH & RH) fuses?

What have I done wrong & what do I need to do to reset it, get my light back?

Out of interest you turn the ignition off between testing the LED and the ordinary bulb? I would be suspicious of an ordinary bulb that measures 0 ohms because it should measure several ohms when cold and increase to maybe  20 or 30 ohms or so when lit?

 

Edit: I would imagine the 0.33 v measured at the fitting is the Canbus system test signal.

Edited 2 January, 201412 yr by paddypaws

Vehicle is a 2007 Pre-FL sedan. I bought some Leds for the front "parkers" (the white T5W bulbs). The parkers were working with the std bulbs. I removed the std bulb & fitted the LED. It didn't work so I removed it, rotated it 180degrees & refitted. Still dead. Tried another (known to work) - no joy. Refitted the std bulb & it doesn't work either. Tested the continuity of the bulb (0ohms) & the voltage at the fitting (0.33v - wtf?). Repeated the process on the other side with the same result (at least they match). The maxidot is giving a bulb error for both lights. I'm sure the bulbs are still good. It appears that the bulb error has registered in the ECU/BCM & doesn't want to clear? I've checked fuses but it appears the lights are all on the same 2 (LH & RH) fuses? What have I done wrong & what do I need to do to reset it, get my light back?

 

CANBUS system shuts off power, at least most of it (sparing around "0.33v" for internal diagnostics) when it detects there is no bulb or that the bulb is fused and it does this on both the sides; LH & RH even if the defect is on just one side. The power is once again enabled (provided the bulb is fixed) only after turning the ignition off and then on (if the ignition was already in the on position) or simply by switching off and on the parking lights switch (with Ignition off).

 

Are the LED's "error-free"/CANBUS compatible? If yes, turning off the parking light switch off (with Ignition off) and then rotating the LED by 180degs should do the trick and the warning light on the dash should disappear when the ignition is turned on.

 

A lot of LED's nowadays are "bi-polar", meaning you needn't turn them by 180degs if they fail to light up in one direction (polarity) as they are designed to work in both directions just like halogens.

Gents

 

Thanks for the replies.  I hadn't relised I had to subscribe to my own thread to get notifications. /face palm

 

i'll try a few of your suggestions over the weekend when time permits & report back.

Just to close this off.  Drove around without parkers (I have headlights on when I drive so no drama) for 2 months because I had the dirts with the whole thing.  Then I went back to first principles & started checking bulbs, etc.  Both bulbs had gone open circuit.  2 new bulbs & all working again.