LED door handles

[BennyM]

I had some extra amber LEDs lying around and while I was attending to a door panel squeak, I decided I might as well stick them in the door handle to give it nice little backglow. So, I drilled the holes and put them in place, but then I realized that it would take a lot of work to wire them out from the door to the cabin (my original plan). Could I just wire them to the heated mirror harness? I understand that's the only thing in the door that's almost always powered. If that's a go, which connector should I tap into? With the insulation pulled back, I see three connectors.

Thanks in advance.

BennyM

[whiskychaser]

I had some extra amber LEDs lying around and while I was attending to a door panel squeak, I decided I might as well stick them in the door handle to give it nice little backglow. So, I drilled the holes and put them in place, but then I realized that it would take a lot of work to wire them out from the door to the cabin (my original plan). Could I just wire them to the heated mirror harness? I understand that's the only thing in the door that's almost always powered. If that's a go, which connector should I tap into? With the insulation pulled back, I see three connectors.

Thanks in advance.

BennyM

Just moved house and my Bentleys is... somewhere...! Part the connectors (or stick a pin through the wire insulation) and use a DMM to find which is permanent live. Hope you got LEDs that dont need a seperate resistor

[BennyM]

My Bentley doesn't show the heated part of the mirrors in its wiring diagrams. And, the wire harness going to the mirror only has 4 wires, all of which serve specific motor functions according to the diagram. Could the heating element share one of the wires with the adjustment motor?

Also, I bought the LEDs without resistors, but I have since soldered resistors in place.

Just moved house and my Bentleys is... somewhere...! Part the connectors (or stick a pin through the wire insulation) and use a DMM to find which is permanent live. Hope you got LEDs that dont need a seperate resistor

[BennyM]

Well, I think my hunch was right. I tested each wire from the mirror adjustment switch, and concluded that each mirror shares one common wire that's hot with the ignition ON. So, the mirror heaters are on whenever you are using your car. Since the wire is also used for mirror motor adjustments, there can't be a timer or temp gauge that turns the heater off after a while. Interestingly, according to the diagram, this wire can change polarity during mirror adjustment, which leads me to believe (though I haven't tested it yet) that the heating element probably stops working momentarily every-time one adjusts the mirrors.

Just thought you guys might like to know.

My Bentley doesn't show the heated part of the mirrors in its wiring diagrams. And, the wire harness going to the mirror only has 4 wires, all of which serve specific motor functions according to the diagram. Could the heating element share one of the wires with the adjustment motor?

Also, I bought the LEDs without resistors, but I have since soldered resistors in place.

[Omega]

On the e34 I thought that the interior light comes on when you lift the door handle with the doors locked? If so there must be a live feed somewhere near the handle that you could tap onto?

[BennyM]

That would be ideal, but I think that the sensor on the handle just sends a signal to the general module, which then tells the lighting module to turn on for 10 seconds. So, I would still have to wire into the lighting module to get power for the LED. I thought about using the heated door lock wiring so that the LEDs would illuminate when the handle was lifted, but then they'd only light up for 10 seconds.

I should specify: I'm illuminating the interior handles, not the external ones. Passengers seem to have trouble locating the interior ones at night as they blend into the black strip on the door, so I'd like the handles to stay on.

On the e34 I thought that the interior light comes on when you lift the door handle with the doors locked? If so there must be a live feed somewhere near the handle that you could tap onto?

[whiskychaser]

.

I should specify: I'm illuminating the interior handles, not the external ones. Passengers seem to have trouble locating the interior ones at night as they blend into the black strip on the door, so I'd like the handles to stay on.

I'd got the idea they were external and you really wanted them to come on with the side lights Sounded a lot better than putting a tiny torch in the key so you can find the key hole. Must be an age thing or I'm turning into Mr McGoo

[BennyM]

Naw, I'll get to the external handles someday (that does make more sense than a key torch), but that's also more involved.

I'd got the idea they were external and you really wanted them to come on with the side lights Sounded a lot better than putting a tiny torch in the key so you can find the key hole. Must be an age thing or I'm turning into Mr McGoo