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Kmoy's DIY $5 OEM Hella Remote Angel Eyes DIY (Lots of Pics)

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35K views 36 replies 17 participants last post by  sealbeach740  
K
#1 · (Edited)
2003 E39 540i $5 Remote Hella Angel Eye DIY

 PURPOSE
The purpose of this DIY is so you are able to remotely turn on and off your OEM Hella Halos; a feature similar to aftermarket kits. The halos will fade on during unlock and fade out during locking. The fade will be smooth with the stock incandescent bulbs of the angel eyes. I cannot speak for the LED bulbs if you have upgraded.

Not my car but this depicts what this particular mod does
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFHgg5ZJSIE&feature=player_embedded

DISCLAIMER
This was tested on my car. I am uncertain if the wiring to similar to other vehicles of this vintage. I take no responsibility for any damage done to your car from you following the following tutorial.

I got my inspiration from the following thread however it was a bit cluttered as well as confusing.
remote angel eyes - Bimmerforums - The Ultimate BMW Forum


Lets get started.

Parts


  • Rectifier Diode - $2.49 Radio Shack P/N 276-1661
  • Butt Connectors (2)
  • Wire Splice Connectors (4)
  • Electrical Tape
  • Assorted Wire
  • Wire stripper or a razor blade
  • Screw Drivers (Phillips and Flat Head)
  • Favorite pair of Pliers (I used Needle Nose)

Image


The following two steps are optional unless you do not know which wires to splice. You may skip the next two steps if you know which wires to tap into

1. There are a numerous amount of connections you can splice from. I chose to tap from the puddle light. To do so, start out by removing the kick panel. There are three rivets that pop straight up.
Image


2. Please if you have not already open the hood. Remove the dead pedal/foot rest by removing the Phillips screw on the hood release handle. There is a hidden plastic screw under the handle and that will come out with the flat head screw driver. The panel comes straight out towards the drivers seat and will require some effort. This was the biggest pain for me. Don't forget there is a connector for the trunk release so unplug this before you go man handling the footrest.
Image


3. There are four Phillips screws and two plastic knobs that need to be removed. The four screws are located the forward-most and the two plastic knobs are located behind the brake and clutch pedal. The panel is hooked on the accelerator side and will need to be unhooked before it drops straight down. Unplug the two connectors if you wish for more room.
Image


4. Once everything is removed, peel back the carpeting and you will find the wonderful wire loom. Locate the thickest one.
Image


5. Since your doors are open, pop open the puddle lights to see what color your wires are. Browsing through this forum, it seems like everyone has different coloring. In any case, my front and rear driver side puddle lights have a red with a thin blue stripe. Select the wire-loom and look for your (in my case red/blue) wire. There should be two wires and in my logic, this accounts for the front and rear puddle lights.
Image


6.Take your diode and connect it inline with the wire by crimping it with your butt connectors. Tape up your work so everything is neat when done. Feed the wire through the grommet in the firewall. A coat hanger works fine for such task.
Image


7.Once the wire is fed through the firewall, remove the cabin filter housing and tuck the wire through the various cable holders throughout the cabin. Splice the wire to the positive lead of the angel eye lamp. You may test to see if everything is in order by turning on the interior lights. The driver side halos should turn on. If everything is in store, please proceed otherwise go back and make sure you selected the correct wire.
Image


8.I chose to route my wire through the radiator support. Once the wire is on the passenger side, splice similar to before.
Image


9.Clean up your mess, reassemble the interior and neatly tuck in the wires. Test by locking and unlocking your vehicle. If everything is in store, congratulations and enjoy your neat little modification. I know I will.
Image


Kmoy2002

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFHgg5ZJSIE&feature=player_embedded
 
M
#4 ·
That's really creative! Thanks for sharing the detailed write-up.
 
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J
#9 ·
Thank Sor.

I thought it was a 540i, and I know that the 6speeds come with some slight ///M features, but was surprised to see the door sills with the ///M badge in them.

No disrespect to it being a 540 6speed...those are beautiful cars, I was just unaware of some of it's cosmetic parallels to the true M5. I only think it's silly when people put the ///M5 bad on the trunk of a regular 5.
 
K
#10 ·
The '03 540i had a few goodies from the M parts bin slapped on it (bumpers, steering wheel, door sills, etc). The only thing not OEM are the aluminum pedals, berber mats and the matte grille. Everything else was standard on the sport package
 
S
#16 ·
If that is the case, I think it would either look really weird or really cool. Not sure about this mod.
 
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S
#17 · (Edited)
I tried this on my 2003 540i (thanks for the write up & pics!), but, now I get a "check side light" error when I turn on my headlights. I've updated my DDEs/AEs to LED bulbs. Before this mod, I had no error messages due to the AE LEDs.

Is this because the LCM now sends it's bulb check test to the AEs (now LED bulbs) thinking it's the interior lights? When I first turn on the headlights I can see the corner lights flashing quickly for like 3 or 4 seconds & then they stay on (as normal).

From what I've read (if the above it true), I have 2 options to fix the error message.
1) Wire in a 12 volt/5 watt bulb to the AEs so the LCM thinks there are still regular bulbs there
NOTE: Tried this, but I still get the "check side light error" message (I wired the 12 volt bulb in parallel to the LED bulb)

2) Use NavCoder to instruct the LCM not to check the side lights & bypass the side lights bulb test

Other than trying with NavSoft, is there any other solution?

Thanks. I know I don't have an M5, but this write up was originally done for a 540 & I like the AEs coming on as I lock or unlock the car via the key remote.

You guys have a great forum. Lots of really good info & you all really help each other out. :applause:
 
S
#19 ·
FYI, I got the same error message a week after I installed my custom Angel eyes LED setup. In my case, the passenger side puck driver that powers my LED's for the Angel eyes began to fail and eventually did. It started giving me the "check side light" error while the power puck was slowly dying. The LCM activated the passenger side signal light bulb to act as a marker light to compensate for a "dead angel eye bulb" so it confused the hell out of me at first. I thought the actual side light in the headlight housing had died but it really didn't. As soon as I replaced the power puck with a new one, the lights all worked properly again.

I suggest the following:

Swap in your original Angel eye halogen bulb(s) to see if that makes a difference to either eliminate/ID the angel eyes as a root cause.

Perhaps swap in one at a time and test to see if an LED angel eye bulb in particular is causing the error.

Good luck.
 
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N
#18 · (Edited)
I would think the LEDs don't dim smoothly. They may flicker/glow faintly if the voltage ramps up or down.

Thanks for the write up.

Anyone know the wattage of the stock angel eye bulb?
 
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N
#20 ·
If the lamp check works based on resistance in a circuit, the LEDs would cause a fault b/c of their lower resistance vs. an incandescent bulb.
 
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K
#30 ·
Reviving an old thread but to fix the check side light error, you're going to have to code it using PA Soft under the cold and hot check section. I disabled cold and hot checks for the side lights and haven't received an error since.
 
S
#31 ·
Since Kmoy2002 (the OP) brought this back up, I'd like to add I used NavCoder to eliminate the hot & cold check of the parking lights.
And, to thank him for starting this thread. I now have AEs/DDEs that come on with the interior lights (ie - when the alarm is set & unset) on my 2003 540i, my 2000 740i & my son's 2000 528i. And, whenever I have friends walking with me as we head to my car at night, they all comment on the DDEs coming on as the car is unlocked.
 
R
#32 ·
Hi,
I just noticed this thread on the remote angel eyes. But I also noticed that the original photos from Kmoy are no longer visible :(

It now says "click and discover Imageshack"... would someone be able to upload these photos again? I really would like to add this mod to my BMW as well.

Thanks in advance (from the Netherlands)
 
S
#37 ·
If inline wire taps are used to clamp over an existing wire to make a connection with a new wire (not breaking the existing wire connection), then sure, that should work, as long as the taps are for the existing wire's size.

Personally, since it's a bit of a pain to get access to the wire bundle up by the footwell, I'd vote to carefully strip a small part of the insulation & solder your wire to the existing under door wire so that it never works loose. Some of the inline wire taps don't stay solidly connected over the long haul.
 
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