instructables

80s BMW Keylight LED Upgrade

by e28m5blackie

I own a 1988 BMW M5, and this car, like many BMWs of (1) - 5mm white LED
its era, has a key with a button, and when you push
that button, it lights a small lamp embedded in the (1) - small piece of scotch tape
key. Except in the case of my key, the lamp was
completely missing. So I set out to x things. Sure, I O pt io na l Supplie s :
could have just bought a replacement lamp, but that
would have been too easy. The lamp is lit by a 1.5V Vinegar, salt, baking soda, water, 2 cups (for copper
battery, and many complain that it's not terribly cleansing)
bright. So here's a guide on to how to upgrade it to
use a high-e ciency LED. To o ls :

This instructable was inspired by:
https://www.instructables.com/id/BMW-LED-Key-
Mod/
I wanted to make an Instructable that required less
surgery, and provided more detail. So here you go...
Supplies:
Re quire d Supplie s :
Small at blade screwdriver (to pry open key
assembly)
Needle-nose pliers (to bend LED leads into proper
shape)
O pt io na l To o ls :
Metal le (to le down LED plastic casing)

(2) - CR1616 button cell batteries

80s BMW Keylight LED Upgrade: Page 1

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Step 1: Separate the Key From the Lamp Assembly

If you push down on the button and slide it to the left, the lamp assembly will separate from the key.

80s BMW Keylight LED Upgrade: Page 2

Step 2: Pry Open the Lamp Assembly

There are 2 small notches on the plastic casing of the lamp assembly. Use a small screwdriver to push the tabs and
pry open the lamp assembly. It will separate into two halves, one with the battery and push button, and one with
the lamp circuitry.

The battery is type V625U, and puts out 1.5V. That's bad news, because LEDs need more than 1.5V to turn on. But
we'll deal with that later.

Step 3: Take Apart the Lamp Assembly

The lamp assembly innards contain 3 metal pieces: a
spring, a piece of copper that I'll call the curved
copper piece, and a piece of copper that I'll call the
at copper piece. The lamp connects the at copper
piece to the curved copper piece. The positive
terminal of the battery is the at part with all the
writing on it, as well as most of the outer casing
around it. The negative terminal is the small circular
island of metal that you see when you ip the battery
over. The negative terminal connects to the spring,
which connects to the at piece. When you press the
button, the spring compresses, which causes the
outer casing (aka the positive terminal) to connect to
the curved piece, which then drives voltage through
the lamp, to the at piece and spring to the negative
terminal, and voila, light!
The copper pieces on my key looked a little crusty and
oxidized, but that can be xed with an optional step.

80s BMW Keylight LED Upgrade: Page 3

Step 4: Clean the Copper (optional)

80s BMW Keylight LED Upgrade: Page 4

In the case of my key, the copper pieces looked like 3. Put the copper pieces in the vinegar/salt solution
they had some oxidation on it, which could potentially for 5 minutes
impact connection quality. To clean up the copper, do
the following: 4. After 5 minutes, remove them and put them in the
baking soda/water solution for 30 seconds.
1. Prepare 1 small cup of vinegar and a teaspoon of
salt mixed together Result: More shiny copper. Yay science!

2. Prepare another small cup of water and a teaspoon

of baking soda mixed together

Step 5: Sourcing an LED

There's a bit of a Goldilocks choice that needs to be
made with the LED. The width of the channel that
holds the key bulb is about 4mm. LEDs come in 2
standard widths: 3mm and 5mm. If you choose a 3mm
LED, it will t, but will look a little loose in the hole. If
you choose a 5mm LED, the t will be snug, a little too
snug. You can address this by using a Dremel tool to
widen the hole, or by using a metal le to shave o a
little bit of the LED casing. Or you can do neither of
these, which is what I did. The lamp assembly casing
will be slightly ajar (it's hardly noticeable), but will still
work ne. Also, the 5mm LED will be locked into place
by the force of the plastic casing.
LEDs are kind of like on/o switches that have a light
built into them, the on/o switch being controlled by
voltage. The switch won't turn on until you reach a
critical voltage, but once the critical voltage is
reached the switch is closed and the light shines.
Unfortunately, due to the laws of physics, that critical
turn-on voltage is more than 1.5V, which is what the
existing battery puts out. So we need to retro t a
higher voltage battery.
LEDs will have one metal leg that is longer than the
other. The longer leg is the positive terminal. It's
important to connect the positive terminal of the LED
to the positive terminal of the battery, or it won't work
at all.
3mm and 5mm LEDs can be readily found on Amazon
and other retailers. Look for one that has an activating
voltage of 3V (nearly all of them do).

80s BMW Keylight LED Upgrade: Page 5

Step 6: Sourcing a Battery
Unfortunately, the classic CR2032 "button" battery
that is pretty commonplace is much too wide for this
application. We need a smaller button.
The battery size that works is a CR1616 battery. These
batteries put out 3V, so we need to stack two together
to create a 6V voltage source. Make sure that both
batteries are pointing together in the same direction.
Use a small sliver of scotch tape to attach the two
Sourcing a Battery
Step 7: Trimming/bending the LED Legs to Connect to the Copper
The at copper piece and curved copper piece have
some tabs that are bent in some interesting
directions. These bends serve a particular purpose - to
act as springs that push against the lamp terminals to
make a strong solid electrical connection.
In order to make a solid connection between the LED
and these tabs, the LED legs should be trimmed and
bent into a U shape with needle-nose pliers to provide
80s BMW Keylight LED Upgrade: Page 6
batteries together. Use as small a sliver of tape as
possible.
(Fun fact: the rst two numbers after "CR" denote the
battery's width, and the last two numbers indicate the
battery's thickness. A CR2032 battery is 20mm wide
and 3.2mm thick; a CR1616 battery is 16mm wide and
1.6mm thick.)
a similar spring-like action. The photo above shows
how I approached it. For those with the tools, you
could also solder these connections together.
Reminder: The longer leg of the LED is the positive
terminal, and should be connected to the curved copper
piece. The shorter leg of the LED is the negative terminal,
and should be connected to the at copper piece.
Step 8: Putting It All Back Together

With the LED appropriately situated and connected,
the lamp assembly can be put back together. Make
sure the battery pair is oriented properly; the at part
(the positive terminal) should face the plastic push
button, and the curved part (the negative terminal)
should connect to the spring.
The lamp assembly may not completely close due to
the size of the 5mm LED, but I was able to get it
IMG_3697.jpeg
"closed enough". At this point you can push the
button to test that the LED lights. If it does, great! You
can slide the lamp assembly back into the key and
you're done! If not, check the LED connections to the
copper pieces.
LEDs are very energy-e cient, so you can expect a
long functional life from this project.

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80s BMW Keylight LED Upgrade: Page 7