Melted Clear Corners (DEPO) and Michiba Silver coated 12V 21W bulbs

Well it seems my DEPO clear corners have melted from the chrome bulbs. In searching these forums I have found that a number of Silver colored bulbs (including Solaris) cause melting in OEM clear corners and DEPOs.
See here for that thread: http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthr...melted+corners

In case anyone is wondering, I purchased the kit from ebay seller
http://stores.ebay.com/fishcake321
Ebay auction (enter this in the search query) :
BMW E46 4D CLEAR CORNERS SIDE MARKER 4 CHROME BULBS

Interesting fact : these silver colour bulbs are rated at 21W, just like the OEMs
I am curious because the corners are always on when I start the car due to the DLRs (no I do not wish to defeat the DLRs feature as it is illegal in Canada ) This is normal right?

Sponsors, what's my best bet at this point? I've seen the LED corners but they look kinda weird... no?

What brand of bulb did you get from the ebay seller?


Sorry, didn't read the title. I just got a set of those brands and thinking about replacing it. Better not?

Yikes! I've only seen that happen with the cheaper brand bulbs that overheat and cause melting problems. I'd recommend you either go with our LED based bulbs or one of our mirror coated bulbs like you had before. Here are a few options for you:

LED Front Turn Signals

Umnitza Predator Titanium Bulbs

Stealth Mirror Coated Bulbs

Bimmian Solaris Invisibulbs

Originally Posted by t_amo_bimmer

What brand of bulb did you get from the ebay seller?


Sorry, didn't read the title. I just got a set of those brands and thinking about replacing it. Better not?

Well, If you like your clear corners medium-well, go for it !

Originally Posted by Nick@Jlevi SW

Yikes! I've only seen that happen with the cheaper brand bulbs that overheat and cause melting problems. I'd recommend you either go with our LED based bulbs or one of our mirror coated bulbs like you had before. Here are a few options for you:

LED Front Turn Signals

Umnitza Predator Titanium Bulbs

Stealth Mirror Coated Bulbs

Bimmian Solaris Invisibulbs

Hey Nick,

The Solaris are documented on these very forums to melt DEPOs and OEM Clear Corners. I'm very leary to buy chrome colored bulbs again. BTW, what's the warranty of any of these clears ?

Can you post a picture of the LEDs [off, not flashing] inside the Clear Corner housing ?

Thanks In advance !

To the OP, did it happen to your side marker too? or only to your front corner?

Originally Posted by t_amo_bimmer

To the OP, did it happen to your side marker too? or only to your front corner?

Side markers are fine.

The issue seems to stem from the bulb so I'm not sure if you can claim warranty with DEPO on the corners themselves.

Come to think of it, I don't think I have a picture of our LEDs off inside the housing. You can't really see them so I have never thought to take a picture. I will try to get one for you

I purchased my DEPO clear corner lenses from European Auto Source and got their Invisilite stealth bulbs. Mine melted exactly as thefys said. This thread is from 2007 and its been 2 years and the issue is still occuring. sucks that they haven't corrected this. I even treid going with the Solaris bulbs and they melted the housing interior as well.

then buy leds

I wish I had searched for this problem before buying my Depo clear corners and mirror bulbs. I am having the exact same problem. I initially bought mirror bulbs with my Depos, and the right front burned out after two months. I then replaced them with Solaris Invisibulb Ultrabright Editions, and after one week, the right front burned out again. When I pulled it out, I found that the plastic around the bulb had melted and fused onto the glass part of the bulb. The inside reflective part of the housing is rippled and melted. I checked the other side and found the same thing with the reflector. The LED solution seems like too much work and more money, so I guess I'll just replace the bulbs with ambers.

I just had this happen to BOTH of my corners. I purchased new ones from JLeviSW and solaris bulbs. I thought it was an issue with the oem socket. Now I'm a little pissed that there has been no warning posted on JLeviSW website that this may occur! Regardless if it's the bulbs or the corner, it is a known fact. Any idea of how to fix this??? Is there another bulb I can purchase after returning my Solaris bulbs? JLeviSW, any ideas?

If you want silver bulbs I would suggest sticking with OEM or convert to LED. You can get them from TischerBMW:

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=610587

it doesn't matter that the bulb is rated the same. the mirror coating that they use is what's causing the corners to melt. it tends to hold in heat more than a regular bulb. i'd rather use LEDs than those bulbs. the OEM ones would be just as good because they have a thinner coating (hence why you can kind of see through the bulb)

I now use standard clear BMW bulbs (non mirror coated, or amber bulbs) It's just not worth the hassle...

Sounds like we ALL got screwed on this one.

i have two sets of clear depos that melted by this solaris bulbs, what a waste!

yep happened to me too. and even the OEM ones start to bubble after awhile.

Originally Posted by thefys

Hey Nick,

The Solaris are documented on these very forums to melt DEPOs and OEM Clear Corners. I'm very leary to buy chrome colored bulbs again. BTW, what's the warranty of any of these clears ?

Can you post a picture of the LEDs [off, not flashing] inside the Clear Corner housing ?

Thanks In advance !

The very first iteration of Solaris bulbs did have this issue several years ago. The problem was that the coating was too thick, the new bulbs have a thinner coating that provides a brighter output and do not suffer from these issues.

We did just release the Version 3 LED Turn Signal Bulbs which are very efficient and do not emit any heat.

I hate those resistors or else i would get LED's

So i checked my Depos and sure enough they are starting to melt too, After only 20 days of use, Purchased from Khoalty.