Hello, My name is Randy and I finally have my first Mini! Yay! It's a 2009 Clubman S and I LOVE it! I had a license plate bulb out and I decided to replace it with a Sylvania LED Premium White Light. It worked. No big deal. I decided I didn't want a LED and 1 non LED, so I purchased an identical light. Both work. I like the bright, white light but the car believes 1 or both lights are out. I could live with the warning indicator when I start the car but I'd rather not. I'd also rather not lose the LED lights but not sure if I have a choice. Thoughts or suggestions? Thanks for your comments and your time! Randy
Normal incandescent bulbs have a filament wire that creates the light. The filament acts like a resistor....when the bulb stops working the ecu detects a change in resistance... That's what gives you the "Bulb Out"... Led lights don't typically show a proper resistance so the ecu thinks the bulb is out. Some companies add a shunt resistor to their led lights to fool the ecu. These led lights are listed as CAN-bus compatible. Search for CAN-bus compatible led bulbs on the interwebz or placeing a small piece of black electrical tape over the irritating indicator light also works....
Metalman nailed it. If you do a little research you can find a resistor to add that will make it work right.