AstroCoop - so it's only the the lights that cause the condition? Have you unplugged the other devices and plugged in only the lights?

As it's been said, you probably aren't overloading that circuit but it's easy enough to throw in an add-a-circuit on a seperate fuse and isolate the lights as a test (and so your lighter doesn't look like an octopus!)





Have you considered TV? I hear David Carradine is retiring. "When you smash my windshield with this rock, it will be time for you to leave."

 

I have 30+ years of experience with BMW electronics, and I can tell you that it is not a short, or bad ground. BMW I-Bus & Most Bus systems are very intolerant of RFI (Radio Frequency Interference), and/or power line noise generated by "dirty" electronic add-ons.

Shorts are what make fuses blow & circuit breakers trip, bad grounds make devices intermittent, or inoperable.

BMW does not put the clear aftermarket electronics warning label on the windshield above the driver, just for grins. The warning, and consequences for ignoring it are very real.

 

Does this mean I shouldn't try to plug in my microwave and blender?

 

No microwave, but a blender and an ice maker would be great, then all you need is margarita mix and tequila. :-p

 

I like my big screen TV and satellite dish.

 

BMW does not put the clear aftermarket electronics warning label on the windshield above the driver, just for grins. The warning, and consequences for ignoring it are very real.[/quote]

I don't remember having a little sticker...but I believe in what you're saying. Thanks everyone for all of the help and hopefully I can continue with my bad taste safely!

 

I don't remember having a little sticker...but I believe in what you're saying. Thanks everyone for all of the help and hopefully I can continue with my bad taste safely![/quote]

Not the best pic, but here you go..

 

So are you saying BMW electronics are that inferior to Ford, Chrysler or Mercedes? I have always run a lot of accessories and never had any problems. Seems the more I learn about BMW, the more I learn their quality image is undeserved.

 

"Inferior" is a matter of opinion...no, I don't think that they are inferior, but BMW electronics are notorious for having a lot of gremlins. Strange, non-repeatable behavior, unintended consequences, etc. Go over to X5world.com, and read some of the posts in the electronics section.

IMHO, much of this is caused by rushing technology to market, and letting early buyers become beta testers. A lot is also caused by BMW's fear of enriching the Japanese auto industry, by being very selective of what they subcontract Japanese suppliers to develop and manufacture for them. I, personally am not a big fan of Japanese cars, but their electronics are usually first rate, and bullet proof. In the end, all cars are becoming big computers, and as we all know, most computers need to be re-booted, from time to time.

With regard to quality, I believe that in most cases, quality is subjective, and is mostly based on perception...the problem is that for many, perception becomes reality. Nothing made by humans will ever be perfect, but as cars have become more reliable over time, I think that most of us expect them to be defect-free. You appear to be about my age, so you may remember the days of MG's overheating, and SU carbs. that needed dashpot oil on a regular basis. Thankfully, cars have evolved past these concerns, but the new concerns are primarily electronics based.

 

A lot of neon/cold cathode flourescent add-on lighting is notorious for generating TONS of EMI that can affect even fairly tolerant circuitry. It's not a case of excessive load on the branch circuit sullying the circuitry, it's usually due to strong RF interference being pumped back along the power wires from the ballast or more often being radiated from the bulb and wiring from the other end of the ballast (actually a power inverter). The worst for this type of interference are neon lamps that have an inverter box connected to the lamp with a long section of two-lead 'zip' wire. The nature of the simple inverter with it's unregulated, high frequency AC voltage running in the hundreds of volts makes the inverter a high-powered radio transmitter, and if the frequency the things fall on is around that which a particular sensor or inter-ECU interface runs at, you will lose communications with that sensor or module and get a fault light. Or worse.

Switch to an inverterless LED light bar instead of a neon and your problems will disappear.

 

Of course inferior is a subjective term. But, an automotive electronics system that cannot handle ordinary after-market electronics other cars handle without problem qualifies for inferior in my view.

 

You guys are being a little hard on Astro's choice of customization. While neon is not an addition I will be making to my car either, I think we need to remember that he has the same taste in cars as the rest of us!

As far as the problem, it is most likely that the lights are producing noise either through the power circuit or with RF ( radio frequency ) that something in the car doesn't like. Maybe it's the car's way of choosing not to be neon'ed...

Paul

 

You can get close enough to a neon effect using LEDs: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=103321

 

OMG

 

You must realize that these "aftermarket neon " are OLD gagets that are based on
technology that TESLA, EDISON, MARCONI , WESTINGHOUSE, MORSE and others played around with. It generated a bunch of RADIO FREQUENCY HI voltages , If you introduce them to a computer oriented auto.like the Mini or other modern car, You couldl surely mess its brain up. Lucky for us they have systems in place in your case that did not damage the busTO be SAFE Go with LEDs. they dont emit any signal other than light. ( BTY. if you put one of those RF ballasts in your home PCcomputer cabinet now you probably would not be able to post back your reply.

 

Yeah, like he said, go LED. And take that ugly warning sticker off the windshield with a razor blade and goobegone too.

 

It looks like I'll be purchasing some LED's! Again, thanks a lot! I would have never guessed that the neons were producing feedback to make the car mad. I guess it doesn't like the blue taking away from the mood lights.

 

Lynne, I think that the operative word in your post is "ordinary". Unfortunately, there is no such thing as "ordinary" when it comes to aftermarket electronics. Designers of aftermarket electronics do not have to operate under the constraints of making certain that what they design will not have an adverse effect on a specific automotive electronics platform. I'm not defending BMW, but I can tell you that I've been in the electronics test lab in Munich, and any electronic component that ends up in the production of a BMW, or Mini, is tested and tested to make certain that it will perfom as intended, and not have unintended consequences on any other electonic subsystem.

 

• Quote:

  Originally Posted by Coffeeman

  With regard to quality, I believe that in most cases, quality is subjective, and is mostly based on perception....

Tell me quality is subjective next time you're stranded by the side of the roadway.

 

Will do

 

I think this thread helped the OP, don't you all? And that's what it's all about.

 

I went and removed the lights from the car. I plugged the two lights and radar detector in (as I did before) only with the lights outside of the car with the door closed. The power problem did not appear in the few minutes I sat there. I guess I'll be buying some LED's soon! Thanks for all of your help, I would have never guessed that was the problem.

 

The term may be correct, you may not be applying it to the right component. I have an inferior auto that cannot handle an outstanding string of neon lights....or....I have an inferior string of lights that emits enough RF feedback to destroy the hardware on a $20,000+ car.