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      11-11-2015, 01:41 AM   #1
d1saster
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Trunk Lighting Improvement

I did not like the OEM trunk lighting because it was basically blinding me at night time. It was also not working for my setup so I needed some improvements. What I did was:
1. Installed a light on the lid. Used BMW LED luggage compartment lamp 63312348803. This thing lit up the interior and surrounding of the rear as a floodlight.
2. Installed a mini switch to the OEM trunk light.
3. Installed trunk light with a switch on the right side of the trunk. This was a little bit tricky since i needed to put some padding to lift the textile lining.

I used 25' each black and red 18 gauge stranded wire. If you do only the the trunk light you can go with 10 feet of wire. I recommend to measure first. I could achieve the same result with only red wire for positive and using the car body for negative but I wanted to do it as OEM as possible, meaning installing switches on the negative wire.
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      11-11-2015, 09:17 AM   #2
BeEmVe
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Very nice. I have thought about doing the same for the interior as all it takes is one box to block the light on the left side light. Where did you connect the wiring into for the right side and hatch light?
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      11-11-2015, 11:28 AM   #3
vstolpner
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Very nicely done! Did you have two lights to begin with? Mine only has a single light on the left.
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      11-11-2015, 01:11 PM   #4
d1saster
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I took power source from the original light on the left.

I didn't have light on the right. Bought it used from ebay and put led bulb.
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      11-11-2015, 04:44 PM   #5
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I'm thinking that might be the best thing for me to do (the light on the right). I'm guessing you both the exact same light as the original and just cut the fabric to an appropriate opening? If it was some specific third party light can you include the link?
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      11-11-2015, 06:33 PM   #6
d1saster
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Yes I bought the same exact light and cut the fabric. I also had to buy connectors. I installed the right light lower than the left one and there is no room between the fabric and the wheel surround. So I had to put some extra padding to create room for the lamp.

Interior light 8W 07/2012 63319270506
Universal socket housing uncoded 3 POL. 61138377072
Socket Terminal MQS 0.2-0.5 mm/sn 61131393704
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      11-12-2015, 12:55 AM   #7
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Thanks!
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      11-12-2015, 07:47 PM   #8
BM319
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how do you put the rear shelf into 2 levels? Or do I miss something?
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      11-13-2015, 12:04 PM   #9
d1saster
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It sits on the wheels liner and the supporting cords locked on the top portion of the shelf.
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      11-13-2015, 04:34 PM   #10
blackhole
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Nice work .
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      11-15-2015, 02:53 PM   #11
harashil
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Nice work
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      02-08-2016, 03:58 PM   #12
andresilva252
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Hei, nice work.
I bought a bmw x1 120d sdrive recently. I saw that when I open the trunk the light keeps on. It doesn't turn off?
By the way, i saw that the the light is a little bit melted, I think it got to hot already.
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      02-08-2016, 07:28 PM   #13
d1saster
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Yes if you leave the trunk open the light will stay on until it drains the battery.
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      02-09-2016, 01:09 AM   #14
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Oh that's weird, I thought it would have turned off. Glad I have LED's in the trunk
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      02-09-2016, 04:54 PM   #15
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Thats really stupid :/
A bit desappointed with BMW in that simple thing...
Thanks for the help
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      02-09-2016, 08:20 PM   #16
vstolpner
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Actually this should be rectifiable... I'm sure there's a cheap 12v timer circuit out there we can use
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      03-22-2017, 11:12 AM   #17
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Digging up this old thread to ask a question. I am looking to perform this exact installation. The only difference is that I'd like the light on the right to always light up when the light on the left does. I'd like to only put a power switch on the overhead one. If I read your instructions close enough, you mention that you put the switch on the ground wire? In other words, you daisy-chain the power to all three lights directly, and you interrupt the ground wire only at the switch? For some reason I always thought that the switch goes on the power wire and the ground stays constant.

Just looking for some insight before I make the plunge.

For reference, I will be installing these components:
  1. LED panels in all three spots: http://ebay.to/2o4Qj3Q
  2. Two prong sockets: https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...132360043~oeb/ - Edit, this is incorrect. You need the 3 prong socket and prongs as listed above in d1saster's post.

Last edited by spoolinX1; 06-12-2017 at 12:16 PM..
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      03-22-2017, 06:51 PM   #18
vstolpner
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Quote:
Originally Posted by spoolinX1 View Post
Digging up this old thread to ask a question. I am looking to perform this exact installation. The only difference is that I'd like the light on the right to always light up when the light on the left does. I'd like to only put a power switch on the overhead one. If I read your instructions close enough, you mention that you put the switch on the ground wire? In other words, you daisy-chain the power to all three lights directly, and you interrupt the ground wire only at the switch? For some reason I always thought that the switch goes on the power wire and the ground stays constant.

Just looking for some insight before I make the plunge.

For reference, I will be installing these components:
  1. LED panels in all three spots: http://ebay.to/2o4Qj3Q
  2. Two prong sockets: https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...132360043~oeb/
I haven't done this, but in electronics you're always supposed to switch the hot wire. Reason being that you can always ground against something by accident, but if there's no power going to the device then you're fine.
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      03-22-2017, 10:31 PM   #19
d1saster
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You guys have probably more knowledge than me about electronics so put the switch where you think is right.

@spoolinX1: Be careful putting the oem led panel on the sides without switch. It's extremely bright.
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      03-22-2017, 10:57 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by d1saster View Post
Yes if you leave the trunk open the light will stay on until it drains the battery.
That was one of the question I ask the Dealer tech about the trunk light staying on without going out after not closing the trunk gate, he said it takes between 20 to 30 minutes for the light to go out, so I did try at the Dealers service ramp and we stood by the X1 and by George the light did go out almost at the 30 minutes of waiting.

Last edited by Carlin/14/E84; 03-23-2017 at 11:38 AM..
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      03-23-2017, 12:19 AM   #21
vstolpner
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If everything is LED then you should be fine, but just keep in mind not to exceed the wattage of the original bulbs as that will put stress on the electronics. Not much, granted, but still something to keep in mind.

If you want to run something extremely bright then you should be using a relay.
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      03-24-2017, 08:18 AM   #22
spoolinX1
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Carlin/14/E84 View Post
That was one of the question I ask the Dealer tech about the trunk light staying on without going out after not closing the trunk gate, he said it takes between 20 to 30 minutes for the light to go out, so I did try at the Dealers service ramp and we stood by the X1 and by George the light did go out almost at the 30 minutes of waiting.
Yes, this is true. I pulled my car into the garage where I could easily access a battery charger (Just in case). I did the test myself and although I couldn't tell exactly how long it took because I was doing yard work, the light did eventually turn off well under an hour. Good to know that it's about 20-30 minutes.
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