DIY: Wiring your Angel Eyes as DRL's.

timmay77 · May 5, 2009

It may not bother some people, but it drove me nuts that I had to turn on my parking lights to have my Angel Eyes on. I knew I could wire them up to have them turn on with the ignition with some new plugs and a relay, but I didn't want the error on my dash for a bulb being out when it did not get a pulse return from the missing bulbs. So when Chris (Hdhntr23) explained to me that the Navcoder software would eliminate that, I new it would be pretty easy.....

DISCLAMER: Do this at your own risk, I am not responsible if you let the magic smoke out of your electronics....

Basically, I just ran two new plugs with a 5 amp inline fuse for each Angel Eye bulb powered with 12v+ from the battery and grounded to the chasis. I used a relay to switch 12v+ on and off with the key from a wire under the passanger side cabin filter where the ECU is. (Thank you Peter and Raza) I soldered all of the joints that would be exposed to the elements. I did not solder the connection up in the ECU box because I was afraid of getting a hot soldering gun that close to my ECU, so I just used a crimp butt connector.

Parts list:

(1) 20-30amp relay $10
(2) universal plug $5 each
(4) wire pig tails for the plugs $3 each
(2) wired fuse housings $12
(1) pack of 5amp fuses $5
(100') of 16 gauge red and black wire (you don't need this much, I was making enough for 3 cars; mine, Hdhntr23's and Mx5's) $35 for both
(2) packs of 20' protective loom $20
(1) pack of small black zip ties $7

I did my car first as the guinea pig, then Chris's after we knew it would work. I still need to meet up with Mx5 to get his done. I left the hard work to Chris to change the software so it would ignore the bulb out error. Of course he had that finished in a snap....

Some of the parts I used...

Passanger side cabin filter.

Cabin filter box removed, top of the ECU box.

This is the wire I used, it is about in the middle of the ECU box all the way in the back against the firewall. Red/white stripe wire.

I pulled my ground from the Passanger side shock tower. (my daughter's AWSOME tape job before I made her mad and covered it up with loom)

I used the battery connector on the Driver's side of the engine bay for my 12v+ constant.

Here is the new plug in the Angel Eye bulb with the OEM socket wrapped in plastic and taped up to protect it from the elements.

The same thing on the other side...

VetteRacer · May 5, 2009

Nice write up!
How does it work when you turn the parking lights or headlights on? Still light up?
Matt

timmay77 · May 5, 2009

Your Angel Eyes will always be on as long as your key is turned onto position 2, the headlight switch no longer controls them, so yes they will still be on. But if you have your car turned off and your headlights on, no they will not be on.

razahyde said:
pics of headlights tim?

Will do....

Infamous Q · May 5, 2009

Thanks I think I'll do this.

razahyde · May 5, 2009

pics of headlights tim?

Dr Pooface · May 6, 2009

Couldn't you just wire this in parrellel with the oem plug so the ecu won't see the bulb out?

timmay77 · May 6, 2009

I would bet you would still get an error, you have voltage on a bulb that is not suppose to have voltage. Plus I didn't want to take a chance of the voltage back feeding and causing issues....

timmay77 · May 6, 2009

Raza, best I have right now.....

Hdhntr23 · May 9, 2009

Love this mod. Thanks to Tim for thinking of it and working out the logistics. Dont let him fool you when he says the software was the hard part. Those effing looms are the *****. (not really but you get the idea, if anything is hard on this its the looms)

This mod is motivating me to upgrade my angel eyes. Soon as Umnitza stocks the brighter bulbs (mid-June they say) I am ALL over them. Now that they are always on it will look so hot with hyper-white bulbs.

Thanks Tim!

Mover · Jul 11, 2009

Hdhntr23 said:
Dont let him fool you when he says the software was the hard part. Those effing looms are the *****. (not really but you get the idea, if anything is hard on this its the looms)

Haven't really messed with the software but if a shop could shut down the DRLs being on during the day, shouldn't they also be able to eliminate the 'Check side lights' error ? Anyone have any experience with this ?

Any tips on routing the looms or where they were routed ?

Great mod !

blackxs · Jul 11, 2009

So am I to understand I need "Navcoder" software for this not to throw an error? Theres gotta be an easier way to do this...

timmay77 · Jul 12, 2009

Search the forum, it has been discussed several times. There isn't. This mod is not that hard, just time consuming.

timmay77 · Jul 25, 2009

While installing AE on an E46, I ran into this issue. If the ECU sees voltage on an output that it isn't suppose to have it, it usually throws a code thinking there is a short.

Like I said, try it and let us know.....

Mover · Jul 26, 2009

I'm not going to 'try it' just to determine if a code is thrown or not. Thats not the issue here although .... :haha:

Mover said:
If I tap 12v into the +ve side of the AE, it looks like the tail lights will light up due to the LCMs internal wiring

This is the issue.

timmay77 · Jul 28, 2009

I have no clue why you even brought it up then when it is known to cause issues.....

Like I said, the method I used is very easy, cheap, and only requires 1 splice into the car's harness. If you think there is a better way, please DO IT, post it, and add some good info to this thread. That's what this forum is all about, sharing information.

Mover · Jul 29, 2009

timmay77 said:
I have no clue why you even brought it up then when it is known to cause issues.....

Because you were 'guessing'. Thats why I looked at the wiring diagrams.

The tail lights coming on is the issue as far as I could see from the wiring diagrams.

BTW, like I said before, I think your mod is an excellent one done very well.

I was just investigating a point someone brought up earlier in the thread.

Dr Pooface said:
Couldn't you just wire this in parrellel with the oem plug so the ecu won't see the bulb out?

Kinder · Aug 13, 2011

Sorry to bump this thread but, does anyone know if a "plug & play" product for AE as DRL's has been made?

bimmerule · Feb 12, 2012

timmay77 said:
I did my car first as the guinea pig, then Chris's after we knew it would work. I still need to meet up with Mx5 to get his done. I left the hard work to Chris to change the software so it would ignore the bulb out error. Of course he had that finished in a snap....

What exactly is needed done to suppress the side bulb out error?

BPMSport · Feb 12, 2012

Coding. In the module you can remove checking for whatever light you want to. There are cold and warm checks for many of them. Removing the checks will also take care of the flickering/strobe that happens with some aftermarket lighting.

BPMSport · Feb 12, 2012

If someone is local to LA, I might be able to do this with coding. I just need an R&D car to look at how the E39 is coded.

jfoj · Feb 12, 2012

Navcoder software and a modified VAGcom USB to OBDII cable to turn off the cold/warm check or possibly a small resistor to spoof the cold check sequence of the LCM.

jfoj · Feb 12, 2012

As for plug & play, if I ever get off my lazy backside, I am working on a PnP for my car. It will keep all wiring intact and will keep all the AE functions as stock and also function as DRL and should not light the bulb out indicator. Even with LED replacement AE. Not sure I will try to seel the set up, but I will need to see what might be involved overall?

The problem I see is getting a decent connector to emulate the bulb to plug into the OEM harness. I have the OEM connectors that plug into the actual bulb, it is the opposite end that seems to be the tricky part. I could cannibalize a bulb, but I really did not want to. I have a pseudo solution for the connector that plugs into the harness, however, it is not really something I would want to brag about, but it works.

I just need to get back on the project.

If I have time I will also try to figure out what resistor value might work to spoof the cold/warm check so software coding will not be needed.

Just a side note, on cars running OEM LED tail lights and brake lights, BMW turns off the cold/warm check anyway. Assume new platforms that started with LED's do not have cold/warm check as an option for the LED bulb location even programmed into the LCM?

Tho///a5 · Apr 15, 2012

That's pretty awesome. Where are you at on this?

kevin300z · Apr 26, 2012

Harness Install Video:

Remote Fade Feature:

Modifying Harness:

http://www.umnitza.com/umnitza-wiring-harness-angel-eyes-p-1230.html

Kinder · Apr 27, 2012

kevin300z said:
http://www.umnitza.com/umnitza-wiring-harness-angel-eyes-p-1230.html

Do you still need to do the coding, or is it PnP?

Tho///a5 · Apr 26, 2012

that's funny you posted those videos because i bought a comparable relay harness from ddm and have had this for about a week now. Pretty neat. hardest part was getting into the ECU box because the screws stripped.

Tho///a5 · Apr 27, 2012

I still need to code mine with the ddm harness. Anyone know how to use navcoder?

JaxPlanet · Dec 20, 2012

Awesome mod! Where can I find the "universal plug $5 each" in the USA? Is there a part number I can search for? Thank you in advance!

timmay77 · Dec 21, 2012

I may still have the bad at home with the part number. I just went to the parts counter at the dealership and asked for a plug/pigtail for my angel eye bulb. Apparently they use that style of plug/pigtail for a lot of models, so they weren't hard to come by. They had 6+ in stock, because I bought 6 and he said he still had more. The parts guy I dealt with was very nice, that may have made a difference as well.

JaxPlanet · Dec 22, 2012

Thank you for pointing me in the right direction.

JaxPlanet · Dec 23, 2012

As expected, I get the "check side lights" message when the factory harness is disconnected from my angel eyes. I don't want to have pay the dealership or for some device/software to disable this warning message.

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I am thinking about buying another pair of error-free LED bulbs to put on the factory harness. I would get the weaker 3 watt LED and then cover them up. This will eliminate the warnings and LED bulbs don’t generate much heat so they shouldn’t melt down. A pair of these bulbs are about $25 on eBay which is much cheaper and faster than having my dealership disable the warning message.<o

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Please let me know your thoughts on this idea. Am I making things too complex, is there an easier way?

timmay77 · Dec 23, 2012

As stated above, you need the Nav coder software to get rid of the SES light?

josiahg52 · Dec 25, 2012

Keep in mind that these "error-free" LED bulbs utilize a resistor in the base to simulate an incandescent and that resistor, alonf with the LED(s) itself(themselves) can emit a great deal of heat under the right circumstances.

My angel eyes are powered directly from the battery via a relay and I left the side-light harness completely disconnected. I had a fellow member turn off the side-light bulb check, 'fasten seat belt' warning and the fog light cold check. Took five minutes and I think I slipped him a $20.

Get the car properly coded.

JaxPlanet · Dec 27, 2012

I am not having any luck finding the male plug for the angel eyes. My dealer says they don't sell plugs. The part numbers are not found at RealOEM and Digikey. Can anyone point me to a vendor for these plugs? Thank you in advance!

Here is the information from the plug:
AMP 2-968642-1
BMW 8 373 330
2-968643-1 C

jfoj · Dec 27, 2012

You can hack something up using mini fuses and cutting them to use the blades. Follow up with hot glue or epoxy to form a plug if you do not want loose blades. Not very glamorous, but it works.

josiahg52 · Dec 27, 2012

The plugs are most certainly available through BMW. I have purchased these plugs and plugs for other applications on numerous occasions. It depends how hard the computer jockey at the dealer wants to look whether you get them or not. I purchase them at Bav Auto but I walk in there and they come in official BMW packaging. I am not at home right now and I don't know if I have the sales slips handy.

JaxPlanet · Dec 28, 2012

I just ordered the plugs from BavAuto using part number 8373330. Thank you josiahg52!

josiahg52 · Dec 28, 2012

JaxPlanet said:
I just ordered the plugs from BavAuto using part number 8373330. Thank you josiahg52!

I am glad they could help you! They have always been great when I am trying to find some obscure part. Even when I was trying to get the replacement fuse/relay guide sticker that goes on the right side of the trunk when I replaced it with the Euro cubby piece from a 5er.

I was going to mention that you listed the part number in your prior post.

DIY: Wiring your Angel Eyes as DRL's.

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