R1200GS Forum banner
1 - 20 of 32 Posts

BMW Pains

· Registered
Joined
·
119 Posts
Discussion starter · #1 ·
I have a 2007 GSA.

I recently replaced the H7 halogen headlight with an H7 LED one.

Then the bike started displaying the "Bulb" error code in the display.

As soon as I switched back to the normal H7 bulb the error code went away.

The same thing happened when I did the same thing in my 2002 Volvo V70, in the display it showed (Left bulb is out). I looked but the lights were on but for some reason the computer in the car and the bike don't seem to recognize the LED bulbs.

I know many of you "Upgraded" to LED lights, how did you get rid of the error codes??

Apparently the LED bulbs draw less current than regular bulbs triggering the error codes.

Is there a simple solution to this ??

Thank you.
 
Hi , l run 2007 with full led conversion, sometimes comes up lamp error, but does not effect running or lights, you can see on the diagnostic that the voltage draw is low and l l think the bike thinks it has a blowed bulb, I have checked mine many times just to be sure all bulbs are working, everything has been ok 🤙😎
 
Discussion starter · #3 ·
Yes, the light works fine. I was simply asking about the Bulb error because mine keeps flashing. I know it doesn't effect the running or anything else. Was just wondering how people do this and if they attach a Resistor or something in the Circuit to get rid of the error. ?

Are the LED bulbs brighter or do they just seem brighter ? And do they wear out the battery slower than regular bulbs ?

Thank you.
 
I have found they are incredibly better, day time and especially at night brake and indicator are so bright, if you find someone without, put them together and see the difference, as for anything technical l have no idea , apart from the led doesn’t use the power/watts, which causes the error code??!!,
 
Discussion starter · #5 ·
I have found they are incredibly better, day time and especially at night brake and indicator are so bright, if you find someone without, put them together and see the difference, as for anything technical l have no idea , apart from the led doesn’t use the power/watts, which causes the error code??!!,
One of the bulbs I also bought are H7 Halogen Yellow bulbs, 100 Watts instead of the regular 55 Watt ones. I install that on the bike and it is bright, but I think the White LED maybe brighter but the Yellow seems to make you more visible to traffic.

Since you have a 2007 GSA also, do you have the problem that I have with the Fuel gauge ? Mine stopped working 2 years ago (The typical BMW sensor/wire inside the fuel tank).

Did you get your replaced or is it still working?

Thank you.
 
You effectively get the error code because your LEDs have lower wattage than what is expected.
Your LED is possibly just 35 watts while the CANbus expects 55 watts.
I have previously installed an H7 bulb from ADVMonster, still works fine, no error codes. Others have had good results with bulbs from Cyclops. Look for LED headlight bulbs that are CANbus compatible.
 
The LED bulbs you bought are not CANBUS compliant. SInce LED draw much less power than a comparable halogen there need to be a resistor to fool the computer to think its drawing the full amount of power. IF not the bike thinks the light is burned out and is displaying the effort/fault. Return the bulbs and get CANBUS compliant ones and the issues will go away, or run the bulbs yuo have and get used to the light fault being illuminated on the dash.

For LED I prefer them in the 5000K spectrum. Another thing higher and they go from white light to blue light. HAlogen will always look yellow compared to a LED.
 
  • Helpful
Reactions: Krons
Discussion starter · #8 ·
You effectively get the error code because your LEDs have lower wattage than what is expected.
Your LED is possibly just 35 watts while the CANbus expects 55 watts.
I have previously installed an H7 bulb from ADVMonster, still works fine, no error codes. Others have had good results with bulbs from Cyclops. Look for LED headlight bulbs that are CANbus compatible.
These LED bulbs I bought from a Chinese online site. They are advertised as 100 Watt LED's but I DO get the "Bulb" error on my 07 display. And I also get "Left bulb out" display on my car when I install both bulbs as low beans on my 02 Volvo. SAME H7 bulbs.

Does the 2007 GSA has a Can bus? The bike has hardly any electronics.

I am sure these "Can bus compatible" bulbs are expensive which negates the reason of why I bought these bulbs in the first place.

The Yellow H7 Regular bulb I am using now is 100 Watts and the bike has given no codes. I assume it is Safe to run a Higher wattage bulb ? Hopefully it is not going to melt anything??

So far everything seems to be fine with the higher wattage bulb.

Thank you.
 
Discussion starter · #9 ·
The LED bulbs you bought are not CANBUS compliant. SInce LED draw much less power than a comparable halogen there need to be a resistor to fool the computer to think its drawing the full amount of power. IF not the bike thinks the light is burned out and is displaying the effort/fault. Return the bulbs and get CANBUS compliant ones and the issues will go away, or run the bulbs yuo have and get used to the light fault being illuminated on the dash.

For LED I prefer them in the 5000K spectrum. Another thing higher and they go from white light to blue light. HAlogen will always look yellow compared to a LED.
Just to clarify, I also bought YELLOW Halogen H7 bulb, which I am using now in the bike. It is sold as 100 Watts. It is really Yellow, not appears yellow compared to LED.

Have you tried the 6000K Blue Light LED's ? Are they better in terms of lighting up the road (Blue Light) or is the 5000K White ones better for that purpose ??

Thank you.
 
Discussion starter · #10 ·
You effectively get the error code because your LEDs have lower wattage than what is expected.
Your LED is possibly just 35 watts while the CANbus expects 55 watts.
I have previously installed an H7 bulb from ADVMonster, still works fine, no error codes. Others have had good results with bulbs from Cyclops. Look for LED headlight bulbs that are CANbus compatible.
By the way: I can NOT find this ADVMonster website, I searched & searched. And the Cyclops.com seems to sell only spot lights, flash lights,...etc. but no H7.
 
These LED bulbs I bought from a Chinese online site. They are advertised as 100 Watt LED's but I DO get the "Bulb" error on my 07 display. And I also get "Left bulb out" display on my car when I install both bulbs as low beans on my 02 Volvo. SAME H7 bulbs.

Does the 2007 GSA has a Can bus? The bike has hardly any electronics.

I am sure these "Can bus compatible" bulbs are expensive which negates the reason of why I bought these bulbs in the first place.

The Yellow H7 Regular bulb I am using now is 100 Watts and the bike has given no codes. I assume it is Safe to run a Higher wattage bulb ? Hopefully it is not going to melt anything??

So far everything seems to be fine with the higher wattage bulb.

Thank you.
Yes, your '07 has the CANBUS.
My experience with high output halogen bulbs is they are really bright but they don't last long.
 
To freshen and modernize the look of the bike changing the whole assembly is a good change and IMO worth the $200.

As stated the right bulb is needed to go LED and keep the Can bus from thinking the bulb is out. Cyclops is a proven choice.
 
A buddy of mine who puts on more miles in a year than most rider will ride in a lifetime, and I were talking just yesterday about the cheap LED headlight buckets he puts on his BMW's. He said he tried LED bulbs and they do not last. He only gets about 10,000 miles out of them. The P-N-P LED headlight buckets are lasting him way more than that.
 
I have already used H7 led bulbs from AliExpress on my car. The ones I used are Zdatt and they worked for years without blowing. As I made sure on purchase they were canbus friendly, I had no error code. For those bulbs to work properly, they have to be the kind with a fan or they'll overheat.
Image
 
I have already used H7 led bulbs from AliExpress on my car. The ones I used are Zdatt and they worked for years without blowing. As I made sure on purchase they were canbus friendly, I had no error code. For those bulbs to work properly, they have to be the kind with a fan or they'll overheat.
View attachment 36371
But cars ain't motorcycles.

Also new tech has made fans and heatsinks go the way of the Dodo.
 
But cars ain't motorcycles.

Also new tech has made fans and heatsinks go the way of the Dodo.
When I sold that car I removed a pair of Zdatt H7 and installed on my friend's '07 GS. He still rides that bike with the same pair of bulbs. We managed to put the drivers inside the cluster too. We just needed to replace the original bulb connector as it's been completely melted (known problem). LED bulbs don't draw that much power but we installed ceramic connector anyway.
 
1 - 20 of 32 Posts