BimmerFest BMW Forum banner

umnitza ICE V5 Resistors?

3K views 26 replies 9 participants last post by  umnitza 
#1 ·
#2 ·
I have a set of V5. Plug and Play. Fit the housing well and the connector is correct.

I don't think you're supposed to need external resistors. That said, the V5 flash on my 2001 530i. That's not supposed to happen. Maybe external resistors would solve that problem.

I like the appearance, but I don't like the flashing. I'm think of going back to the original bulbs.
 
#3 ·
^telling me. OEM just works better. That goes for all aftermarket parts. Wish BMW would just update the yellow bulbs in their factory bubls. I'm probably doing to do these Umnitzas with the resistors.
 
#4 ·
I purchased a pair of angel eyes (5 watts per bulb) and they look great with no obc warning and no flickering on ebay... I can post the llink to the exact item if anyone is interested.

They have a one year warranty and they ship from china, but I have no issues so far.
 
#6 · (Edited)
#7 ·
umnitza had a special onblack friday weekend on the vxx for 80$ you just missed out.
but the v5 are still great and cant beat the life time warranty :thumbup:

they look cheap sorry.
Looking cheap is one thing.... Having the item in your hand and installing it, is completely different. Just trying to help, I have no benefits from posting this.

They look and feel premium and give the headlights an updated look for less than $30.

granted I've only had them on for about 2 weeks, but with items such as these, there really is no difference between brands except the price tag which is a bit high in my opinion. This is coming from a very detail oriented person. I always prefer oem to aftermarket but in this case I was pleasantly surprised. i've used one year warranties in the past through ebay and they have been great, so i feel confident.
 
#8 ·
TK9- Hate to break you the bad news, but those are the ones I bought and currently have for about 2 months!!!! JUNK. the connectors absolutely are shizi. On both ends, going into the LED and the cars harness. I actually dremeled the LED bulb deal down and soldered a connector to it. Better, but one of them is still intermitently going out. They'll last 2 months like mine did... oh and one of the locking tabs already cracked and fell off.
 
#9 ·
The fitment was good and I don't get any intermittent flickering even during startup, also they've been on and working correctly for almost 15 days now, so I don't expect to have any problems.

Side by side with the OEM units they look much more premium.

I guess I got a good pair. Use your warranty and have them send you a new pair. No cost to you.

I think it's a win win situation.
 
#10 ·
I just bought Umnitza ICE VXX's. All aluminum. 10W. Done and over with. Lesson learned, everytime I try to cut corners I get burned. I should learn by now.
 
#13 ·
mine don't, this was when i first got them taking round 1pm still bright


by night time they look much brighter.
 
#14 ·
My V5 bulbs flash about 12 times when I start the car. No bulb failure notification. It's like the resistance is almost, but not quite correct.

I don't know if they flash at other times. How would you know if they flash when you're driving? :)
 
#15 ·
I noticed with my Ebay specials i get less flickering if i leave the headlight switch in Auto.
 
#16 ·
I don't have auto lights, but I notice no flickering if I turn on the headlights. Obviously, my early 2001 530i has a different LCM than yours. Maybe I need to add a resistor pack.
 
#17 ·
The flickering is caused by the LCM (lighting control module) doing its check. It sends pulses of electricity to all the bulbs in order to determine if a bulb is out by reading the return voltage or resistance. A burnt bulb won't return a signal so a "bulb out" will display on the dash. LED's are very sensitive to electricity and can light with such a short burst from the LCM whereas a standard bulb never shows. If a resistor is used, it will allow the LCM to receive the signal that the bulb isn't burnt but will absorb the pulse enough to not let the LED flicker. The flickering upon start-up is only an indication the system is working properly. I hope this clears up some of the concerns over whether the LED bulb is cheap or not.
 
#19 ·
T...The flickering upon start-up is only an indication the system is working properly. I hope this clears up some of the concerns over whether the LED bulb is cheap or not.
from the Umnitza V5 webpage:

That's right, your car will not cause the dreaded flicker at startup or the periodic FLASH during driving.
I guess it's not a flicker at startup, it's a flash.
 
#18 · (Edited)
I have had recent experience with Umnitza and feel It may help. I got a pair of the V5's in June from Umnitza. These were silver aluminum machined housings with one LED. A bit of research showed these were CREE LED's, so if you see an eBay set, pretty much the same thing. Even though I stated no resistors, they came with the black aluminum canisters, normally referred to as "resistors". These devices match the 12v of the car to the proper voltage and current needed by the LED's, as well as always providing the LCM a load so there are no errors. These little cans also generate heat, so should be tied to some metal structure under the hood if you can. Mine did produce flashes at startup (and I think while driving, as I got some odd looks at times, not good!) but they were VERY bright.

One of the bulbs stopped working and I called Umnitza for support. They honored the warranty, as they should, and sent me a replacement. Well, it turns out the ICE V5's had changed since my initial purchase and I was sent a different bulb than the first one. I installed it and it was noticeably dimmer than the original. The new bulb looks like the one pictured on the website now for ICE V5. The staff @ Umnitza were more than willing to get this right, so I sent the new, wrong bulb back. They tried to source one of the original CREE type bulbs for me but could not. They then offered me two choices, go with a set of the "new" V5's or upgrade to the VXX for a fee. I chose to go with the VXX and couldn't be happier. Not only are they brighter than the first set, but operate like OEM bulbs once installed, and DO NOT use "resistors". Bright, white light, OEM functionality, great customer support AND lifetime warranty......VXX is a slam dunk!! Good call FLE39 :thumbup:
 
#20 · (Edited)
Just installed the VXX's this evening. Nice quality blue aluminum housing, the wiring connectors are a huge improvement over the Ebay specials. They are brighter too. But not tacky bright. We'll see tomorrow about flickering on startup. I only offer 3 areas of concern or constructive criticism. But yes, worlds ahead of the Ebay gimics they replaced.


1- The wires coming out of the housing do not have a boot, or dab of sealant. Not sure how water-proof the internals are from that point.
2- The jumper that goes between the cars harness and the VXX. Why not cut off the harness they have and just go right to the OEM harness? Eliminating one whole connection.
3- Do the above note and then use black heat shrink to make it look all OEM black and not see any wires.

It would not be difficult to do all 3 mods.... but I'm sure my warranty would be gone. OR Umnitza could look into these and make the best Angel eyes ever made and call them VXXFLE39's. Don't get me wrong, I am happy with them. But the persuit of perfection does not end.
 
#24 ·
Just installed the VXX's this evening. Nice quality blue aluminum housing, the wiring connectors are a huge improvement over the Ebay specials. They are brighter too. But not tacky bright. We'll see tomorrow about flickering on startup. I only offer 3 areas of concern or constructive criticism. But yes, worlds ahead of the Ebay gimics they replaced.

1- The wires coming out of the housing do not have a boot, or dab of sealant. Not sure how water-proof the internals are from that point.
2- The jumper that goes between the cars harness and the VXX. Why not cut off the harness they have and just go right to the OEM harness? Eliminating one whole connection.
3- Do the above note and then use black heat shrink to make it look all OEM black and not see any wires.

It would not be difficult to do all 3 mods.... but I'm sure my warranty would be gone. OR Umnitza could look into these and make the best Angel eyes ever made and call them VXXFLE39's. Don't get me wrong, I am happy with them. But the persuit of perfection does not end.
Good to hear you are happy overall. Wanted to address your 3 concerns directly:
1) Since there is hardly ever any water that gets into the engine bay, and in all the years we've been doing this it was never an issue, we chose not to have those pieces potted. It also makes it easier for our factory to swap out parts if they go bad without mucking around with potted material.
2) We have this because the good folks at BMW made 2 different connectors, and instead of making 2 separate products, like BMW, we made one with an adapter.
The normal non-adapted piece fits:
E60, E65, E87 etc. styles
The adapter fits:
E39, E83, E63/4, etc. styles

however, the adapter does need to be improved for sure, our next version due out in February will potentially have that.
3) Noted, good idea for February.

Thanks:thumbup:
 
#21 ·
I still stick with the lesser priced eBay angel eyes for 3 reasons:

2003 745Li (e66)
2005 530i (e60)
2007 328xi (e92)

I've used them for all three of my past vehicles and had no issues. I'm using them now on my e39 and they work as described with no issues (bright, nicely made, no flickering, no error codes, and low price).

So, in all honesty, I really cannot justify paying more for anything else. But that's just me and my personal experience.

P.S. I had one issue with the e66.... after 8 months one light blew out. I asked for a warranty replacement and they wanted to see a picture of my headlights turned on showing the blown angel eye. Thats all, then they sent me a pair for free.
 
#22 ·
I too have used ebay ones and haven't had any issues. Still going strong for three years now. If one burns out, I feel like I got my moneys worth out of them and would order another set and have a back up one.
 
#23 ·
i just ordered a pair of the umnitza ice vxx, i asked about the resistor packs and was told my car (2003 530i) did not need them. im thinking because it is a later model e39 it already has some sort of resistor pack. anyways i should be getting them within the next few days, ill post my thoughts on them once i get them installed
 
#26 · (Edited)
Umnitza- Been driving around for a few days, these are nice and bright. Glad I did them. I may do 3M electrical tape wrap in lieu of the the heat shrink. being mine are already assembled. Put some di-electric greas on the connections and call it a day. What about doing a anodized black set? That would be very sweet. and OE looking. I do industrial construction, so I deal with a lot of @$$hole engineers that nit pick everything to death. And what we build is to last 20-30yrs. Guess I'm picking that mentality up LOL.
 
#27 ·
great idea on the electric grease, most people would be better served using that. really really great tip!!

Black anodized, not our corporate colors - we're blue and orange, but we ARE making an Orange one - yeah yeah, not what you wanted to hear:thumbup::thumbup::rofl:
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top