Has anyone done this on the Z4 yet?

after hours of pondering... I have come up with an *IDEA* which i want to attept this weekend...

I want my FLASH TO PASS lights to come on (@ 100%) power when I turn on my HIGH BEAMS.

I have the xenon lights (which we know do low and high beams) BUT I would like to add a bit more "LIGHT" into the mix on those dark roads, by powering up the Flash to pass lights.

SO THIS IS THE PLAN:
1. REMOVE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER
2. FIND WIRE THAT ILLUMINATES THE BLUE HIGH BEAM SYMBOL
3. TAP THE WIRE AND FEED TO A BOSCH RELAY
4. FIND AND CUT FTP WIRES
5. WIRE RELAY POWER INTO FTP WIRES ON LAMP SIDE

simple enough? maybe???

the purpose to triggering the relay with the BLUE HB signal is being that the FTP wires will be severed and replaced with wires from the relay... SO anytime the little blue light illuminates the so will the HEADLIGHTS, via pulling the blinker switch back or pushing it foward.

The instrument cluster is a single unit that plugs into the car through I think one plug, you might be able to splice wires off the harness, but if it can't be done that way, you'd be looking a dismantling the instrument cluster.

At $800 a pop, don't think you'd want to be fooling around with yours. Maybe buy one from a wrecker or ebay to see if you can try it out.

i am definatly going to have to do it from the harness if possible...

i saw a picture on the web of the back side... and its one of those paper circuit board types you twist the bulbs into... unless i can figure out a way to tap off of the bulb socket...

i've ordered the Relay and wire harness (off ebay) for this project...

Does anyone have a WIREING SCHAMATIC that i can possibly take a look at?

I've ordered the SERVICE MANUAL DVD's not sure how long they take to come in, also not sure if they have a wire diagram in them.

ULTIMATELY (been pondering this for over 2 day straight now)... I would LIKE to find these wires all under the dash somewhere...

Have you considered using BMWs techweb site?

http://www.bmwtechinfo.com

They charge $30 for a 24 hour access which is gobs of time to download the parts of the repair manuals you will need. This is the same info that the BMW service techs access when they do repair work on your car. I did the 24 hour access just before I got my Coupe and turned all the pages I needed for interior work into PDFs. I didn't think I would be dismantling the dash/console, so didn't grab that info on the day I had access.

I wish there was a specific Bentley manual or it's equivalent out for our cars, but I haven't seen one yet.

Have you considered using BMWs techweb site?

http://www.bmwtechinfo.com

They charge $30 for a 24 hour access which is gobs of time to download the parts of the repair manuals you will need. This is the same info that the BMW service techs access when they do repair work on your car. I did the 24 hour access just before I got my Coupe and turned all the pages I needed for interior work into PDFs. I didn't think I would be dismantling the dash/console, so didn't grab that info on the day I had access.

I wish there was a specific Bentley manual or it's equivalent out for our cars, but I haven't seen one yet.

i may go that route, but before i do... i want to see what information is going to be in the service manual i bought off of ebay (3 dvd set)...

Please report what you get out of that DVD set - I might be interested in that too.

Thnx

i may go that route, but before i do... i want to see what information is going to be in the service manual i bought off of ebay (3 dvd set)...

Hi Justinius,
I have a 3 disc set that I purchased off of Ebay, with one did you buy and from whom. If it's the same as the one I bought I will be able to tell you what it has on it (just received mine less then a month ago).
Also if anyone wants to know if these will cover there car send me a private message with just the last 7 digits of the vin on your BMW (if it is between the years of 1982 and 2004) and I can plug it in and let you know if it covers your car. :D
P.S. There is also another BMW web site you can get detailed factory repair info off of, it is www.bmwtis.com (http://www.bmwtis.com) Like the one someone mentioned above it is $30.00 for a 24 hour period and is used by repair centers (I was given this site from Bentley after trying to obtain a manual from them for my Z4).

O.K., I should have checked first, but I didn't...
The other BMW web site link that was listed above actually takes you to the BMWTIS web site page, so it is the same place, just two different ways to get there.... :D

Headlights and the instrument cluster is controlled by two separate control units. It won't work.

wemo3,

this is the one i purchased...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=004&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&viewitem=&item=140111011653&rd=1,1


is it the same????

Headlights and the instrument cluster is controlled by two separate control units. It won't work.


i am actually trying to TAP the wire BETWEEN the headlight control unit and instrument cluster... but now you have me wondering... (ESSENTIALLY THE WIRE THAT ILLUMINATES THAT LITTLE BLUE HIGH BEAM LIGHT)

is this INSTRUMENT cluster like an 'old school' cluster? (where a wire harness connects to the back to feed the guages ohms and the lights electricity?
-OR-
is it going to be a single cable that feeds information to a processor which controls everything and creates things to light up... LED's??? ALL BUILT INTO THE CLUSTER

LOOK WHAT I FOUND... PICTURES of the back of the CLUSTER, thanks to some guy trying to sell a cluster on EBAY.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-OE-Z4-INSTRUMENT-CLUSTER-SPEEDOMETER-GAUGES-SPEEDO_W0QQitemZ220103731607QQihZ012QQcategoryZ336 75QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

SO ALL I NEED TO DO IS FIGURE OUT WHICH PIN IT IS 1 THRU 26?

wemo3,

this is the one i purchased...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=004&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&viewitem=&item=140111011653&rd=1,1


is it the same????

Same ones and they are awesome, you will like them!!!
I however didn't order the electrical ones as those are seperate, I only have the service repair manuals.
They will help you with the seat :D
The program was easy to load (good instructions sent with them), but no instructions on how to actually use the program, if you have any questions let me know....

is it going to be a single cable that feeds information to a processor which controls everything and creates things to light up... LED's??? ALL BUILT INTO THE CLUSTER

Option B. If you look at the back of the cluster, it's actually just a ring of LEDs that gets lit by a circuit board. A computer ribbon feeds information from control unit to the back of the instrument cluster.

LOOK WHAT I FOUND... PICTURES of the back of the CLUSTER, thanks to some guy trying to sell a cluster on EBAY.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-OE-Z4-INSTRUMENT-CLUSTER-SPEEDOMETER-GAUGES-SPEEDO_W0QQitemZ220103731607QQihZ012QQcategoryZ336 75QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

SO ALL I NEED TO DO IS FIGURE OUT WHICH PIN IT IS 1 THRU 26?

It's not as simple as it looks. I suggest you take a look at this thread.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=176824

It's not as simple as it looks. I suggest you take a look at this thread.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=176824


OKAY... your right... THIS MAY NOT BE AS SIMPLE AS I WAS THINKING... its all LED's...

so now the questions is... WHERE is another place i can TAP off of? anyone have idea's? im going to have to ponder this

DOES ANYONE HAVE AN ELECTRICAL DIAGRAM between the headlight switch and the actual head lights? HID car?

LOOK WHAT I FOUND... PICTURES of the back of the CLUSTER, thanks to some guy trying to sell a cluster on EBAY.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-OE-Z4-INSTRUMENT-CLUSTER-SPEEDOMETER-GAUGES-SPEEDO_W0QQitemZ220103731607QQihZ012QQcategoryZ336 75QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

SO ALL I NEED TO DO IS FIGURE OUT WHICH PIN IT IS 1 THRU 26?

For that price ... i think it`s worth playing with.

IN SEARCH OF AN ELECTRICAL DIAGRAM!!!

does anyone have a copy of one?

so now the questions is... WHERE is another place i can TAP off of? anyone have idea's? im going to have to ponder this
You're looking at the wrong place.

You're looking at the wrong place.

HACK,

where should i look?

are there wires that go from the BLINKER SWITCH/HIGH BEAM/DRL to the computer that would carry enough current to trigger a relay?

HACK,

where should i look?

are there wires that go from the BLINKER SWITCH/HIGH BEAM/DRL to the computer that would carry enough current to trigger a relay?

LCM (light control module).

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/select.do

Find the LCM and you should be able to tap something there. The Instrument cluster won't work.

LCM (light control module).

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/select.do

Find the LCM and you should be able to tap something there. The Instrument cluster won't work.

looking through everything, looks like the LCM is built into the ECU (located on the passenger side of the vehicle)

oh this is going to be a headache, just to locate a few wires.

your right though... IF the LCM is seperate from the ECU, i would be able to pull my power to trigger the relay... as well as have my wires for the DRL bulbs... all in one easy area.