[maddmatt02]

ok, tried to search and came up with people having trouble accessing them, or having problems with an individual light. Im havng problems with all 4 map lights. swapped to led bulbs and used the same bulb in the footwells, doors, maps, domes. have no problem with doors/footwells/domes. they come on when they should, time out when they should, stay on when they should... etc..

but on my first drive I turned on my map light and it came on for about 2-3 seconds maybe and went off. I thought "oh great, stupid bulb already quit working" so I turned on pass. side map light and it did the same thing, reached back and one after the other turned each one on on and watched it go out seconds later. later on they will come back on for a few seconds. wife went to use it and I thought maybe it didnt want map lights on while driving (although figured I was wrong since the map light would stay on). tried it today with the car not moving and same thing, they come on for a few seconds and then go out, and will not turn right back on...


I dont remember it happening with the incandescants but I swapped right away and dont even know if I turned them on for more than 1/2 second making sure they worked when I bought it.

anyone have any ideas why its doing this?

[wdeerfield]

more than likely its the LED bulbs you are using. I bought a set off ebay and theyve been working fine for over a year now

[maddmatt02]

but I bought a lot of 10 bulbs in one shot from same seller. footwells, doors, and dome lights have same bulbs, no issues. if one map light, maybe even 2 had problems id suspect a bad bulb, but not with all 4 map lights doing the same thing.

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

There is a reason reputable LED interior kits like the HPB are error free and trouble free. There is more that goes into these kits then just throwing any old LED in there

Here is a hint if you don't want to buy the real deal, the dome lights and map lights function differently then the rest of the interior.

[maddmatt02]

I knew I was taking a shot, but in my simple mind thought a bulbs a bulb... lol

Ill see if I can use your hint to figure my problem, which still confuses me a little because I have no problem with the dome lights either... I may have to find the original bulbs and see if they do in fact work correctly... too bad I didnt think Id want them for anything and have no clue where they ended up.

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Originally Posted by maddmatt02

I knew I was taking a shot, but in my simple mind thought a bulbs a bulb... lol

Ill see if I can use your hint to figure my problem, which still confuses me a little because I have no problem with the dome lights either... I may have to find the original bulbs and see if they do in fact work correctly... too bad I didnt think Id want them for anything and have no clue where they ended up.

With the utmost respect, I'd return what you have and look into the HPB kit.

It will not only work without a problem but it will be brighter and higher quality bulbs then any other generic stuff you found.

For the price you invested into trying to make your own, you were only a few dollars away from getting a full complete kit, hassle free.

Check out the vendor section or link in signature under the lighting section.

[Darkfox2002]

Everyone is right its the LED's you brought I was having the same exact issue with some cheap LED's I purchased that you're describing the only fix was to swap them for better ones. Make sure the LED's you buy are CANBUS I brought these ones to replace all of mine and they work perfectly
http://www.ebay.com/itm/251575872652...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[maddmatt02]

Originally Posted by Jeff@TopGearSolutions

With the utmost respect, I'd return what you have and look into the HPB kit.

It will not only work without a problem but it will be brighter and higher quality bulbs then any other generic stuff you found.

For the price you invested into trying to make your own, you were only a few dollars away from getting a full complete kit, hassle free.

Check out the vendor section or link in signature under the lighting section.

got my 10 bulbs for 4.89 shipped, http://www.ebay.com/itm/301021055917...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

only lights inside I didnt get was the glove box light. they are nice and bright, mainly white

I bought a set of 4 festoons for another 8.98 and took care of dome and license plate lights http://www.ebay.com/itm/361461561516...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

obviously didnt touch the vanity lights, might later but for now not worried.

but how do these map lights normally function? I found today that if I turn them on while driving, they dont stay on, pull in and park, they still wont stay on, turn the car off and they stay on(or come back on if I hadn't pressed the switch after they went out)

they are also nice and white (compared to some 20 led bulbs I bought a few of to try out which ended up being no brighter, just more blueish)

willing to spend, just need to confirm that the map lights are supposed to stay on, even if attempting to use them while driving (I don't see why not though)

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Originally Posted by maddmatt02

got my 10 bulbs for 4.89 shipped, http://www.ebay.com/itm/301021055917...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

only lights inside I didnt get was the glove box light. they are nice and bright, mainly white

I bought a set of 4 festoons for another 8.98 and took care of dome and license plate lights http://www.ebay.com/itm/361461561516...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

obviously didnt touch the vanity lights, might later but for now not worried.

but how do these map lights normally function? I found today that if I turn them on while driving, they dont stay on, pull in and park, they still wont stay on, turn the car off and they stay on(or come back on if I hadn't pressed the switch after they went out)

they are also nice and white (compared to some 20 led bulbs I bought a few of to try out which ended up being no brighter, just more blueish)

willing to spend, just need to confirm that the map lights are supposed to stay on, even if attempting to use them while driving (I don't see why not though)

Map lights are supposed to stay on while driving. The purpose of the them is for viewing a MAP (You know those things people had before navigation ).

Make sure your map lights work with the stock bulb. By no accident the HPB kit will be more expensive then what you paid but the lights will be brighter and whiter and will include trunk, vanity and glove box too.

We also chose specific lights for the footwell and courtesy lights to maximize brightness, this is primarily focused on the HPB max output kit. The max output kit also offers 12 LED or 24 LED dome lights and the map lights included are angled for increased output. You'll notice your map lights are angled, so output is greatly reduced without the use of an angled LED.

Also with regards to your remark about LED being bluish moreso then white, that's another sign of low quality LED.

There are many guys that insist that they are all the same and come from the same manufacturer, this is in fact the furthest thing from the truth. I've been playing around with these LED's for nearly a decade.

We even had guys that insisted that they can make kits for $15-20 and there are even some ebay sellers selling kits for $25-30; I told people countless times, you get what you pay for.

If you are price sensitive, stick with the factory output kit but these interior kits really shine (no pun intended) when you upgrade to the max output kit.

[maddmatt02]

the 20 led bulbs ended up being bluer, the 10s I have in are white enough for me, and bright enough as well. I may have done the trunk, dont remember. anyways the maps are also bright enough for me, IF they stayed on. I figured they should but thought, you shouldnt be looking at a map while driving... although your passenger should be able to.

any possibility of buying just map location bulbs off you?

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Originally Posted by maddmatt02

the 20 led bulbs ended up being bluer, the 10s I have in are white enough for me, and bright enough as well. I may have done the trunk, dont remember. anyways the maps are also bright enough for me, IF they stayed on. I figured they should but thought, you shouldnt be looking at a map while driving... although your passenger should be able to.

any possibility of buying just map location bulbs off you?

I only offer full kits. You can do a custom build your own kit direct from HPB though: http://www.highperformancebulbs.com/bmwe90e92buy.html