New look

Stevo7682

Stevo7682

Zorg Expert (II)
Supporter
The M44 Massive
Scottish Zeds
Joined
Apr 1, 2016
Points
253
Location
Maybole , South Ayrshire
Model of Z
Z3 Individual Dakar / Orinoco Individual
Finally decided to pursue something I've been thinking about for a while and trying to retrofit front sidelights back into the headlamp by not changing them to pre face-lift .
I had asked @Z3I about the ones in his pre face-lift lights he has for sale and he very kindly took them to to photograph and look for part number (none on them) so he then very kindly again went on real oem and got the number for them (when i go on real oem for mine it doesn't show them as they are not fitted to face-lift cars ) Thanks again for doing that.:thumbsup:
So checked with bmw still available £21.98 in vat for both.
So ordered up arrived on Saturday morning
20170106_142047.webp
So on sunday i decided to take the plunge and removed the headlamps ( need to come out no room in place) i should have taken some pictures of the work ( sorry guys) anyway i had decided that all bmw had done was fit a blanking disc over original bulb holder socket ( i was hoping this was the case as when you look through the main beam glass you can see the hole in the reflector wher the bulb would go ) so out came the Stanley knife and various other things and after a bit of delicate cutting i found that indeed the disc just covered original fitting ( a word of warning when trimming off the plastic 2 things
1. It has to be cut flat the new bulb holder has to seal on it
2. Dont get the bits you are cutting off inside the headlights)
So after checking the new holders fitted ok next i had to deal with the wiring as there are no plugs for the new lights ( they already go to the bumper markers) so i ended up soldering cables directly to the new holders pins heatshrinked an insulated looks like meant to be there .
Then i hed to solder the new mini loom onto the existing sidelight loom at the marker lights .
But im well pleased with the result as i have the 4 sidelight look but still got the chrome finish lights and not the black ones .
20170107_182420.webp
the night picture over exposed the lights slightly (looks like headlamp on )
20170108_142631.webp
20170112_100334.webp
 
Excellent Mod!

love this!

What bulbs did you use and do face lift lights have the blanks?

so doing this mod!
 
The bulbs are cob led 501 replacement i have them in my front sidelight, front marker lights , footwell lights and number plate lamp
Look at this on eBay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161796387343
And yes all face-lift lights that I've seen have the blank (@Z3I Sorry for borrowing yor pictures)
20170102_230745.webp
The picture is of @Z3I pre face-lift lights the bit circled is the bulb holder if you look at your lights you will see it has a plastic disc there
 
The other alternative is to fit a set of pre face-lift lights that already have them fitted (they will still need wired to the marker lights either way) Also not all pre face-lift lights have sidelights fitted to headlights if you were wanting to go down this road @Z3I has a set for sale in the for sale section
 
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Thanks for the Info,

I have upgraded my lights to post facelift so will do the modding route
 
Juts had a look on RealOEM and the same part came on the X5

you can get the connector for the end and cable to go with it!
 
@Z3I Paul can i maybe ask another favour that would help this thread is there any chance of taking a close up of the hole the bulb holder fits into (your headlamp is out the car ) that would be appreciated and would help @5harp3y to see what is underneath the blank. Stephen.
 
I did to mine as i never really liked the look of the front marker lights only .
I always thought it looked like it should have sidelights in the headlamp units
 
Hey.. how about retrofitting the sidelight back into the main lights of a facelift then changing the ones in the front bumper to amber like they have in some American cars.. maybe @t-tony our friendly MOT tester can shed some light on the legality of this? Could amber lights in this position be considered as side markers if you have a white sidelight in the headlamp?
 
Yes that would be OK, you see these on various older Volvo cars. Side marker lights aren't a testable item in their own right on class 4 tests. As long as you have a white, forward facing position light on each side of the vehicle, at approx. the same height and distance in from the sides of the vehicle, then the lights in the bumper become redundant as far as the test.

Tony.
 
t-tony said:
Yes that would be OK, you see these on various older Volvo cars. Side marker lights aren't a testable item in their own right on class 4 tests. As long as you have a white, forward facing position light on each side of the vehicle, at approx. the same height and distance in from the sides of the vehicle, then the lights in the bumper become redundant as far as the test.

Tony.
Click to expand...
I had already thought about this as i have amber units all round looked at some American dakar with amber front marker.
I also noticed they must have stop/tail front indicators as most I've seen seem to utilise the indicator as a position lamp also
 
Redsheep said:
Steve - are these just a straight swap?
Click to expand...
Hi Dave yes straight fit :thumbsup:only ones i had a problem with is
i also bought a set of amber ones for the side repeators but these are quite small on the z3 got them in just had to file the led down a bit :eek:
 
Just had a quote from sopers for the full retrofit kit

Bulb holder: 63128389744 (2x) - £18.73 for the pair
Socket: 61138352390 (2x) - £29.36 for the pair
Wire: 61130007569 (4x) - £13.14 for all 4
 
Hi Everyone

Interesting mod has anyone considered making the side lights LED daytime running lights and if so how would you go about it?

Regards

Jim
 
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