Puddle (light) Problems

[MrWolf]

Oh hi,

So. My driver side mirror puddle light died a little while back on my R36, and I only just got around to replacing it with some LED versions instead.

In about 3 minutes I had replaced my passenger side puddle and tested both LEDs to be working. Looked awesome and matched my new parkers. Puddles eBay Link for those interested.

3 minutes later, I had the drivers side puddle installed and.. nothing. I had a bit of a play around to see if anything was out of place or incorrectly inserted, but no dice. All other functions/lights on the same mirror work fine, so I'm not sure if there is a fuse I need to tend to, or if there's something that's a likely culprit.

I did a quick search and everything seems to point to either nothing working at all, or people struggling with a retrofit (neither of I believe apply here).

Thoughts?

Cliffs -

- Drivers side mirror puddle light dead
- Replaced both sides with new super hectic LEDs
- Passenger side works, driver side doesn't
- Both LEDs tested to work using passenger wiring
- Unhappy feeling inside

[greg32]

It sounds like a broken wire to me. Have you checked the connector where the mirror plugs into the controller?

[kamold]

Should have used hektik ones instead. They're heaps mad.

Anyway back to the problem at hand, mine have worked flawlessly since install.
There isn't a separate fuse per side as far as I am aware. So you're looking more at a wiring issue. Check the cable bundle that goes through the rubber tube at the door, these cables can get brittle and break sometimes.

[MrWolf]

Appreciate the quick responses.

@greg32 - I haven't checked the controller, mainly because I'm not sure where it is. Rough idea of where it sits?

@kamold - These ones are pretty mad as well . Fair point, I didn't even consider checking that part. Hopefully it's some glaringly obvious. The OCD in me can't handle only one light working, haha.

[MrWolf]

Bumping my original thread because I did some more investigation.

It turns out that the wire isn't broken, but power is being cut whenever the light is meant to turn on. It's potentially the door control module (~$550 to replace), but I'm not sure if there's any other means to diagnose what the issue is (via VCDS or other)?

The other side still works fine, and have tested to make sure it's not the LED itself.

[Darkhorse Developments]

Have you tried it with a normal bulb back in?

[MrWolf]

Yeah, I had initially tried with several different bulbs so that wasn't the issue.

After thinking about how the module was shutting of power when the lights were triggered, I figured it was a coding issue, so I checked VCDS for anything that was relevant. Turns out the driver side door mirror illumination setting was disabled for whatever reason. After coding it in, the light was back in action.

Have attached the relevant screen grab for anyone else who goes through the same problem.