There's a little notch on one side of the cover (assuming it's the same as the r56), just insert a flat screwdriver gently into the slot and pry (down for the doors) them out. I actually hadn't cut my nails in a while and just used my thumbnail.

 

Got it! Thank you!

 

Nice PDF diagram Gagamel! Now I have a renewed interest in replacing the bulbs. I just recently went back to stock on the eyelids because of the loose fitting issue and warning symptoms.

 

Anyone actually installed/tested LED bulbs that FITS Clubman?

 

I'm wondering the same thing...

 

Check my post on page 4. You will find picture, too.

I installed no error 4xLEDs from Ebay on 2010 MC clubman.

gagamel

 

Anyone know if these would fit? Seems like the festoon style could spin around and point in odd directions. This design could help avoid that. They're supposed to fit a variety of BMWs, wondering if maybe they happened to use the same design for Minis:

http://www.cargym.com/bmw-super-whit...de-p-1815.html

Here's an image off the site:

 

the festoons fit very tightly, i haven't had any noticable movement. actually, i'd rather it turned 180, i think it's too bright, and im too lazy to remove the plate again.

 

Thanks gagamel! How do you get to the bulbs on the clubman to change them?

Also, look what I found on eBay. These look to be the exact same thing as all the no error bulbs out there for less than $4! I ordered them last night, so I will try them in my clubman license plate and see if I get a bulb out light.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...#ht_3050wt_916

 

Received the lights I mentioned in my post above. Just as I suspected, they work for CLUBMAN license plate lights with NO bulb out warnings. $3.92 shipped sure beats other places charging $29.99+. They arrived from Hong Kong 11 days after I ordered. Put them in my footwells & boot as well.

Here's a link since the one above has ended:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2x-T1...22700025125815

 

Cawtou

Are you asking about a Clubman or a coupe? It makes a difference because the clubman uses a T10 or 194 style bulb and the coupe uses a festoon (looks like a big fuse). There are a few Festoon solutions that eliminate bulbout. I have had great luck with mine 6 months and counting. But for T10 on the clubman there is less room to work with and the goal is to get a light that draws about 3 watts to avoid a bulbout. If possible you don't want a bulb with a single LED and a big resistor to make up the difference. The resistor makes heat that can burn out the LED. And plate Led's are on a long time so they can get pretty hot. Last time I checked (which was a while ago so take this with a grain of salt) Hoen LED's used resistors and there was more heatsink than light. Maybe someone who has had a Hoen LED long term can chime in to set me straight.

 

Any pictures after install?

 

Will try to take some pics when it gets dark out

 

Got the bulb on Thursday and just installed it an hour ago...NO BULB WARNING LIGHT at all Thanks 3one3

 

can yall help me with my problem? bout the led i bought from www.superbrightled.com for the license plate and the led dont turn off. it just dims?

 

LEDs are way more efficient than incandescent bulbs and can light up even with very low voltages. The mini computer monitors bulbs by sending a low voltage just to make sure the circuit is still closed and the light has not burned out.

You can either deal with it (it usually turns off after a while anyway and it is probably pulling less power than if you had the stock light in place) or find a bulb with on board voltage regulation to snuff out that small current (usually a LED bulb specific to your car). Or you can add a resistor to the circuit to pull that voltage down to the point that the led goes out.


different subject:
OK guys the 05 MCS is toast and in its place I got a 2010 JCW Clubman. I will be flat broke for a few months covering that down payment but the mods definitely are going to begin. LED plate light may be doable now. I have been away for awhile. Did anyone ever find an inexpensive plate LED for the clubman? I really wont need to mod this car much to make it mine. Ain't nothing like it on the road right now guaranteed. Just need to fix stuff that bugs me. I'll update the gallery this weekend.

 

I have an 06 Cooper, Are you having any problems with your replacements LED's? Do you have any Warnings? Do they stay on or flicker? Did you have any problems with installation? And What model led did you buy....for reference.

 

You should not have a bulbout problem on the 06. It does not monitor bulb out. What it will do is come on dimly when you unlock the door. It may flicker at that time too. The regular ebay .99 cent festoon leds will work fine in the 06. The flickering is caused by the car and I think others have used the more expensive LED automotive lights with the same results as the cheap ebay LED's for generation 1 applications. I had one minor problem with the Ebay LED's, water got inside one. It did not fail, it just changed colors slightly and dimmed. This was dirty water too, so it stained the enclosure. I just replaced it rather than trying to re-use it but that was surprising to find a LED 1/4 filled with water with the electronics fully wet and it still was working. Again this was a generation 1 application, the cheapies and the more expensive ones behave the same. If you can't live with a light show when you unlock / lock the car I think I would skip the LED option on generation 1 and use maybe a Hoen incandescent substitute. Be prepared to tweak the mounting clips to hold them in because they are a little short for the Mini application.

For 07+ Cooper, cheepies and LED automotives still behave the same (no light show on that car with either, only difference is the bulbout of the cheepie) but that LED automotive product 129 is the ticket, although I think others have found something similar for less. 9 months later, I am still 100% satisfied with the LED automotive-129 lights on my 09 JCW Cooper. They are bright and reliable, 0 problems. I haven't even had them open since I put it in to dinker with the angle like some have reported with other makes. These fit snug and don't move. I would buy again today for sure.

On my 2010 JCW Clubman I just put in some regulated T10 ebay specials over the weekend, no bulbout. I chickened out and got the $8.99 ones advertised to work on BMW instead of the $3.49 ones. I got another set of $4.99 13 element LED's for the eyelids and they fit snug, coloring is 6000K, no bulbout and are really bright. My wife was following me yesterday and I got maybe 1/3 mile in front of her at Noon on a bright cloud free day. She had DRL's on and I could easily make out the Halogen headlights and the LED eyelids in my rear view mirror from that distance.

Tintman, if you are still lurking we need to talk about your LED back up lights. I got some ungodly bright 64 element 1156 LEDs Friday and for some reason they don't work in the car. I tested them with a power supply and they are working really well (these are going to be much brighter than stock, I swear I heard angels singing!). I tried them in the back up light position and the tail / brake light position and it didn't work in either position even though the bulb fits perfectly. I am wondering if the polarity is reversed or maybe the center tab is not making good enough contact. I know Tintman has some 3 watt reverse LED's. Anyone else try LED reverse lights? I just want to verify what bulb number you used.

update: Success! got the 64 element 1156 LED back up lights working ($3.50 winnig bid for the set!). The trick is you need to use load resistors to fake out the computer so it actually sends 12 volts to the lights. 6 ohm 50 watt resistors work great. Time to update the signature again. I would take a pic if I could figure out how to cut the engine and still have the light come on. I may need the wife to drive or something.

 

Anyone have any luck finding yellow or amber LED's for the R56 eyelids?

 

They have the product for MINI. http://www.cargym.com/mini-cooper-su...de-p-2032.html

I placed the order today. Yes, it is a bit pricey, but I will give it a try.

I will keep everyone posted as soon as I receive and install the product.

 

Here is the amber version of the 13 element LED's I have had good luck with. US Seller, 9.99.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2Pcs-...Q5fAccessories

 

Hey Smoke
I am talking about the r56 coupe. Yea I know it uses c5w festoon bulbs. I currently have one pair installed it definitely throws a bulb out. That's why I am wondering if anyone has installed the hoen c5w leds and got a bulb out.

On a side note: I have experimented with different number and size of smd led on the w5w bulbs. Turns out if you want a bright bulb get leds with less smd meaning a 194/w5w that has less than 13 led or one that has big led. Its kind of hard to tell with these ebay sellers. Anyway though I use a bulb that has about 5 leds. That seems to work fine for me because it fits in the interior. Not sure for outside you can probably use long bulbs like the ones in the previous posts.

 

I had ebay special festoons too for a while and got the bulbout. It went away when I switched to the LED Automotive-129's, brightness was the same, they even look the same so it is scary when you first use them. They somehow size the LED's to pull just enough current to ward off the bulbout because there are no added resistors on the board. A real efficient / reliable way to tackle the problem. Correct me if I wrong but I think Hoen adds a large resistor to their festoon and it has a really big heatsink. Maybe someone who has the Hoen setup can chime in especially if you have had it installed for a while to let us know how those are working out for you.

I've always been curious if those 5 SMD LED's work in the eyelid without a bulbout. If you could get away with less in that application I think it would last longer than the 13 element. The holder problems some experience probably would not happen and less heat from fewer LED's would hold up better during the long run. Please try it when you get a chance and let us know.

Give that panel set up a try and let us know. It looks like it would be really bright. 2 pods of 6 smd's seems to be plenty good. That is 2 pods of 18. My dome light only has 12 and it is really bright. Let us know.

 

Thanks!

No problem with bulb out warnings I would assume?

 

I have never tried that bulb in Amber but I have had a few different types of the same bulb in white and have not had a bulbout warning using a 13 element bulb before in the eyelid. I think it would be a safe bet and also it should be ungodly bright. Post some pics when you get them in. I am curious to see the color combo of your car.