X5 ambient lights not working !!!

[Violator]

Originally Posted by Kappy

I just purchased a 2008 X5 SD.

All the ambient light works except the passenger side.

Do these lights fail or is it just a case of maybe not connected, as I hant window tint fitted and they remove the trim to do that.

Cheers
Kappy

More than likely something was left disconnected/unplugged or was damaged. Remove the panel and inspect everything.
Good luck!

[zenyatta735]

Originally Posted by kiankur11

Hi Guys I have 2014 x5 f15 and I recently discovered the ambient lights are not working on the all four doors . the only light what I can see is the lights on the dash.

Has anyone faced this issue ?? I tried reading on the net but no luck so far.
Any one knows how to fix the issue ???

I noticed the same exact problem on my wife's X5. The only ambient lighting that was working was on the passenger side of the dash. The driver's side and all four doors did not light up. I do not usually drive it at night so I have no idea when the problem started. Dealer SA quoted a ridiculous price for hours of troubleshooting and potentially replacing a module, since the CPO does not include that system.

After coming across this thread, I asked a local service shop to check if the module was sending voltage, and to also check the wiring. They ended finding that a connector behind the glove box was disconnected. I suspect that it was disconnected when the dealer replaced the cabin air filter during a scheduled service. Simple fix cost me $77, which was fair for the time they took to find the problem.

It's frustrating that the dealer didn't bother to eliminate simple possibilities for a fix. (Nevermind that they caused the problem.)

[jaysont96]

Originally Posted by jo2134

Thanks everyone for your responses.

I just solved the problem. When I was swapping out my original cluster it seems that one of the Ambient Lighting power cables got disconnected (I attached a photo showing it).

Popped it back in and now everything is working perfectly =)

Hey there jo2134. I have the exact same issue. Ambient lights working on passenger side dash but nowhere else. I understand this power connector is somewhere around the cluster assembly, but I cannot determine exactly where from the picture. Where exactly can I find this power connector and what is the easiest access to it? Hope to hear back from you!

[ProjektAutoScott]

+1, I just picked up 2016 50i and I have a very strange situation. The upper strips are dead on the right two doors, and the left rear door. All other lights work, (drivers upper and lower, dash, and the lower strips on the other three doors are fine). Can someone point me to common failures, or connectors? All of the plugs in the door panels are hooked up, and I don't believe three strip bulbs would all fail at the same time

[ProjektAutoScott]

Update: I unplugged the lighting connector on the driver's door as a test, and reconnected it. For some reason that did the trick, all the lights came back on again. Strange

[mrfochon]

Originally Posted by ProjektAutoScott

Update: I unplugged the lighting connector on the driver's door as a test, and reconnected it. For some reason that did the trick, all the lights came back on again. Strange

Can you show where it is ? Have the same problem all of a sudden

[CatalinP]

Remove the door panel and you will see it.

[mrfochon]

Originally Posted by CatalinP

Remove the door panel and you will see it.

Hate to remove door panels. They never get back together properly

[CatalinP]

Then use magic...

[mrfochon]

Seems all doors, left dash are not working.
Back seat and front dash are on.
Are they others ? Is the plug for all light or only per door ?

[ProjektAutoScott]

In my case, you have to remove the door panel. Remember, my driver’s door was working 100% and that’s the one I unplugged as a test. I have zero clue what it did, but maybe it reset the module or something? If you are having problems with the dash lights you may want to check the connectors in the foot wells, behind the cluster, or behind the idrive screen. And no, I don’t know exactly where they are I just know that’s what was recommended to me.

[AlexChiki]

Originally Posted by jo2134

Thanks everyone for your responses.

I just solved the problem. When I was swapping out my original cluster it seems that one of the Ambient Lighting power cables got disconnected (I attached a photo showing it).

Popped it back in and now everything is working perfectly =)

Could you please clarify where exactly behind the cluster ? Im not sure what does cluster mean.

[RED_Y_]

Your gauges cluster, OP got 6WB installed and got that cable disconnected somehow.

[AlexChiki]

Originally Posted by RED_Y_

Your gauges cluster, OP got 6WB installed and got that cable disconnected somehow.

Thank you for clarification! I appreciate that.

On my understanding, to troubleshoot this particular issue with the ambient lighting (when only passenger dashboard is working) I need to check the fuse #53 and then cable connections in multiple places, like:
1. Behind the gauges cluster
2. Under the steering wheel
3. Behind the glovebox compartment

And finally to check each door starting from a driver's one

I think, I should be able to use a voltmeter to test wires too.

Hopefully, I did not miss anything here. Please correct me if I missed something here

[onionzzzzz]

Hey guys!

Brand new to this forum - had this issue when I picked up my 6M (F86/F16) my ambient lighting was only apparent in the dash - all four doors were OFF no matter what combination of lighting I played with.

I did ALL of what the internet suggested, but couldn't identify any loose connectors etc. Long story short - I think there's a simple fix for this. I think the system just needs to reset the connection or something because it was disconnected at some stage and as a saftey thing switched off the ones in question.

Here's what I did, and it worked a charm:

1. Under the steering wheel column, undo the 3 torque screws
2. Reveal the wiring to the footwell light (don't need to remove it completely)
3.Unplug the footwell lighting plug
4. Turn ignition on (let the car know there's a d/c).. Then off again.
5. Plug the wire back into the footwell plug - and it should turn on (since your door will be open when attempting this)
6. Viola - should give it the "reset" it needed

Registered just to hope this helps someone one day!!

Cheers!

[FCX5]

Originally Posted by onionzzzzz

Hey guys!

Brand new to this forum - had this issue when I picked up my 6M (F86/F16) my ambient lighting was only apparent in the dash - all four doors were OFF no matter what combination of lighting I played with.

I did ALL of what the internet suggested, but couldn't identify any loose connectors etc. Long story short - I think there's a simple fix for this. I think the system just needs to reset the connection or something because it was disconnected at some stage and as a saftey thing switched off the ones in question.

Here's what I did, and it worked a charm:

1. Under the steering wheel column, undo the 3 torque screws
2. Reveal the wiring to the footwell light (don't need to remove it completely)
3.Unplug the footwell lighting plug
4. Turn ignition on (let the car know there's a d/c).. Then off again.
5. Plug the wire back into the footwell plug - and it should turn on (since your door will be open when attempting this)
6. Viola - should give it the "reset" it needed

Registered just to hope this helps someone one day!!

Cheers!

I believe plugging and unplugging any of the lights with the power on will do this. Happened to mine when the dealer installed the carbon fiber interior trims on the door and dashboard. It was connected but no lights on the door. Took them a few minutes to reset it so that the lights were back on.

copying and pasting from an earlier post here since this is 'exactly' what the technician at the dealer did:

"Update: I unplugged the lighting connector on the driver's door as a test, and reconnected it. For some reason that did the trick, all the lights came back on again. Strange"

[kevoncox]

Originally Posted by jo2134

Thanks everyone for your responses.

I just solved the problem. When I was swapping out my original cluster it seems that one of the Ambient Lighting power cables got disconnected (I attached a photo showing it).

Popped it back in and now everything is working perfectly =)

I have the same issue. Where is this plug located?

[jeebops]

Hey guys-

So I was also having this same issue of the ambient lighting only working on the passenger side dash and nowhere else in my '15 f15. After perusing this thread I was able to fix it, so thanks to you all

I dropped the panel in the passenger side footwell using the 3 twist off fasteners and as soon as the panel came down a bit the footwell light came back on. I unplugged the connector and plugged it back in and voila…it's fixed, all the doors light up again. I had gone under the footwell to access the fuse panel behind there a few weeks back to disable the transfer case because of a "stuttering" issue and must have jarred the connection loose. It was literally a 2 minute fix. Hope this is helpful to someone!!

[BMoore007]

Man am I glad I found this post. I just picked up a 2015 X6 (F16) and only the dash and footwells are lighting up. All door lights are off. Thought it was strange. I will try the reboot trick with a connector. Would anyone say the footwell area is the easiest to try versus taking off a door panel?

Lastly, I noticed in the driver side storage compartment near the wheel that there’s a wire there but seems to be capped off and not a wire that should attach to anything. Probably nothing, but curious. Will try one of these methods and see what happens. First post!

[Franktea1$]

Originally Posted by speuk

Hi, I have this exact same issue. Where is the connector in the photo located? The dealer has just replaced the passenger side microphone so I suspect they have disturbed a connector

the connector is taped to the wire harness that plugs into the instrument cluster.