[GoughX5]

Hi all. Was wondering if you guys could help me out in any way possible. Last month I bought a 2011 BMW X5 40d LCI. The passenger rear side lights (LEDs) are flickering, both light units flicker together. Literally feel like I’ve checked everything, and can’t work out the issue. The main thing that’s bugging me is that both units flicker together. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, as it’s really bugging me now. Both units on the the drivers side work fine and no issues. Cheers 👍🏻

 

[Tomcat05]

That’s a pretty annoying problem.

Have you checked for water intrusion into the rearmost tailgate wells? Water seems to be the most likely culprit for tail light problems.

You can pull up the wiring diagrams if you get ISTA running on a laptop. This would be the roadmap for troubleshooting.

 

[GoughX5]

That’s a pretty annoying problem.

Have you checked for water intrusion into the rearmost tailgate wells? Water seems to be the most likely culprit for tail light problems.

You can pull up the wiring diagrams if you get ISTA running on a laptop. This would be the roadmap for troubleshooting.

Hi Tomcat05, thanks for your reply. I really appreciate it. Yeah it’s very annoying haha. Looks like there’s been water intrusion on the inner cluster but nothing too major. I’ve cleaned up any corrosion that I could see and made sure the power supply is getting a good connection.
Yeah I thought about downloading ISTA but I thought I’d check the power supply first. When I checked the power supply to both units, they were both getting ample amount of power so ruled that out.

 

[dukedkt442]

Clean the ground connections.


Buy socks on Amazon, not car parts.

 

[GoughX5]

Clean the ground connections.


Buy socks on Amazon, not car parts.

Hey,
First thing I did was clean all the ground connections. Also never bought a car part off Amazon haha!

 

[Dekero]

Don't the X5 led Tail lamps have the same driver boards as the X3? Cuz If so they can be replaced quite easily as I did all 4 on the X3 for less than $50 bux.... Never had any issue with the X5 tho...


Edit:

Nevermind that did some research and it uses a completely different driver board... There is a you tube video of a guy repairing it though... But it looks quite involved.... I think I'd just replace and move on....

 

[Tomcat05]

...nothing a dremel cannot open up. lol

I recall having to repair the sequential tailight assembly in my wife's Mustang. As opposed to the people prying off the lens, I cut through the softer case and sealed it all back up with epoxy after replacing one of the driver boards.

Like @Dekero said, you will probably be miles ahead to buy a used one off FleaBay and move on. This presumes there is a driver or a connection common to both assemblies. You might focus on getting ISTA installed as this will give you the wiring diagrams for your vehicle.

 

[Addictive ShoppeRx]

Had a similar issue on my F07 BMW. Tail light would flash oddly when using my turn signal. Bought a used complete tail light off eBay and solved my issue. I believe it's because the LCI's have integrated circuit board behind each of the LED lights that go bad and "hyper flash".

 

[GoughX5]

Had a similar issue on my F07 BMW. Tail light would flash oddly when using my turn signal. Bought a used complete tail light off eBay and solved my issue. I believe it's because the LCI's have integrated circuit board behind each of the LED lights that go bad and "hyper flash".

Hi,
I appreciate your response. I’ve replaced the outer cluster which hasn’t solved the issue and just waiting on the inner cluster to arrive so I can fit it. Fingers crossed it sorts it 🤞🏻

 

[GoughX5]

Had a similar issue on my F07 BMW. Tail light would flash oddly when using my turn signal. Bought a used complete tail light off eBay and solved my issue. I believe it's because the LCI's have integrated circuit board behind each of the LED lights that go bad and "hyper flash".

Replaced both units for brand new and still not solved the issue 🤦🏻‍♂️

 

[Tomcat05]

There isn't much there...

Personally, I would use a digital voltmeter to check voltage coming into each tail light at pin 3 - should be a yellow/black wire. We're looking to see if it is flickering, as well.

It may be your FRM module going bad. The FRM is shown at the top. Pin 16 at the X14260 connector...

 

[Tomcat05]

The passenger rear side lights (LEDs) are flickering, both light units flicker together.

Quick question.

Is there any chance your vehicle originally had light bulbs and you installed LED tail light assemblies?

 

[GoughX5]

Quick question.

Is there any chance your vehicle originally had light bulbs and you installed LED tail light assemblies?

Thanks for your reply mate. No it was definitely LED tail light assemblies. Replaced them both for brand new units exactly the same.

If it was the FRM wouldn’t I get a message on the dash? Also it’s the only area of the car that is playing up, all the other electrics are absolutely fine.

 

[Tomcat05]

The FRM is a collection of transistorized I/O. Individual outputs can have failure modes that may not report in a diagnostic.

if you go to that particular pin-16, checking with a digital multimeter, and the FRM is outputting erratically - then, that tells you not to bother looking further downstream toward the lights.

Also, have you had any coding done to your vehicle prior to this issue? I ask because there are several settings related to bulb-checks and incandescent bulbs as opposed to LEDs.