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2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10 BMW 5-Series (F10) Forums General 5-Series Sedan and Wagon (F10 / F11) Forum Retrofit ambient light
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      10-29-2021, 06:16 PM   #1
abotond
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Question Retrofit ambient light

Hello everyone, i’m going to do the ambient light upgrade on my F10, but i need your experiences. My mechanic will do the cables and that stuff, but he told me that i have to choose the ambient light , which is the best for me.
My bmw f10 is a pre facelift modell (2010) with CIC Navi. I want to buy a 9 color light kit, but i’m not sure which one has adjustable brightness. That is the most important thing for me, because somebody told it was too bright for him sometimes, but the OEM is too pale. I watched youtube videos, and i’m not sure that CIC has adjustable brightness, i only seen NBT navis with that function.
If some of you did this upgrade on pre facelift models (cic navi) , can you help me how does it work (which button to change colors, can you change brightness, does iDrive controls it, can you turn it off) for you, and send product links? Thanks for reading this, have a nice day!
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Last edited by abotond; 10-29-2021 at 06:30 PM..
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      10-30-2021, 08:41 AM   #2
WillemBMW
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Hi Abotond,

My car (528 LCi 2014) has the OEM ambient lights in it. In my opionion it is a bit of a disappointing option as the brightness is very low.... Only when it's completely dark and you know where to find them, you will see them.

The brightness and color (orange named classic, or white named modern) can be changed in the HU.

Unfortunatly I cannot help you with your questions, but are surely going to follow this topic.

Good luck!
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      11-01-2021, 06:03 AM   #3
abotond
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Thank you for your answer!
I got to know, that Pre LCI models can't control ambient light in the iDrive, only LCI models can. I ordered a LED kit from ebay, that looks the same as OEM, but brighter. It can change colors (orange and light blue) with a hidden button in the door handle, and adjust brightness with the instrument light brightness button (next to the fog light button).
If you want to do something about your low brightness, you can order a retrofit ambient light kit (make sure to buy one for NBT navi), it would be the same as now, and controlled from iDrive , but brighter. You can look for a 9 colored one too, same iDrive support, but you can choose from 9 colors.

If somebody has a Pre LCI model (cic navi) , and want the 9 color one, it could switch colors with the programmable buttons, but i don't know anything about how to adjust the brightness. So in my opinion, only choose the 9 color one, if you have LCI model (NBT navi) , because it can be controlled from iDrive.
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      11-01-2021, 02:19 PM   #4
Havanna Slicks
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check this out

Ambient Light Vid
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      11-12-2021, 01:29 PM   #5
WillemBMW
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Quote:
Originally Posted by abotond View Post
Thank you for your answer!
I got to know, that Pre LCI models can't control ambient light in the iDrive, only LCI models can. I ordered a LED kit from ebay, that looks the same as OEM, but brighter. It can change colors (orange and light blue) with a hidden button in the door handle, and adjust brightness with the instrument light brightness button (next to the fog light button).
If you want to do something about your low brightness, you can order a retrofit ambient light kit (make sure to buy one for NBT navi), it would be the same as now, and controlled from iDrive , but brighter. You can look for a 9 colored one too, same iDrive support, but you can choose from 9 colors.

If somebody has a Pre LCI model (cic navi) , and want the 9 color one, it could switch colors with the programmable buttons, but i don't know anything about how to adjust the brightness. So in my opinion, only choose the 9 color one, if you have LCI model (NBT navi) , because it can be controlled from iDrive.
Thanks for the tip! I will look for the upgrade. Did you already put them in?
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      11-12-2021, 01:31 PM   #6
WillemBMW
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Havanna Slicks View Post
check this out

Ambient Light Vid
This really looks great!!
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      11-13-2021, 04:28 PM   #7
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Tip for LCI (and maybe pre-LCI as well?) owners for ambient lighting: Use Bimmercode to lock the ambient lighting brightness at 100%. This lets you dim the dash and button lighting while keeping the ambient light on max.

Set up this way mine is plenty bright, enough for me anyway. Any brighter and it would be a distraction when driving on dark roads at night. If you want the inside of your car to look like a night club, well, you'll need to go aftermarket.
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      11-15-2021, 10:48 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Blue Angel View Post
Tip for LCI (and maybe pre-LCI as well?) owners for ambient lighting: Use Bimmercode to lock the ambient lighting brightness at 100%. This lets you dim the dash and button lighting while keeping the ambient light on max.

Set up this way mine is plenty bright, enough for me anyway. Any brighter and it would be a distraction when driving on dark roads at night. If you want the inside of your car to look like a night club, well, you'll need to go aftermarket.
Hi Blue Angel,

Thanks for the tip. It is certainly worth the try…
Still I am afraid that this would not work for me… don’t get me wrong, not looking for a nightclub in my car…….but, with dashboard lighting on full brightness, the ambient lights are barely visible. Does your car perhaps has a light interior? Because I read somewhere that that makes a big difference…
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      11-15-2021, 12:33 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WillemBMW View Post
Does your car perhaps has a light interior? Because I read somewhere that that makes a big difference…
Excellent point - yes, my car has the Ivory White interior which certainly would make the ambient lighting much more visible. Never thought of that!
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      11-16-2021, 02:15 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WillemBMW View Post
This really looks great!!
i'm using this kit, the brightness is controlled by the dash brightness control...
it's pretty bright but not glaring...
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