No luck with searching so here's my question. Is there a way to have it so the parking lights don't stay on when you leave the light switch on and turn off the car? When I do this the headlights turn off but not the parking lights. I would like to get away from having to use the switch every time.

so you want your parking lights off at all times?

No, what I want is when the light switch is on and I turn my car off, all the lights, including the parking lights, go off. Right now when I turn my car off and the light switch in on, all the lights go out except the parking lights. Maybe it's not possible but I know my newer rigs do that when the car is turned off. Make sense??
:95

yea i gotcha anyone out there care to jump in:)

I'm not sure but the will the parking lights turn off after a certain number of minutes?

I'm not sure but the will the parking lights turn off after a certain number of minutes?

no, i've left them on too many times... surprised the batt holds up :)

Looks like I'll just to have to keep turning off the switch. Is that lazy or what???????????????????? :D

Yup, def lazy..... Or just forgetful?... Because if you realize the lights are on and you just don't want to reach up and turn them off, you are not just lazy, there is somethin wrong wit you.

:orangesle

Yup, def lazy..... Or just forgetful?... Because if you realize the lights are on and you just don't want to reach up and turn them off, you are not just lazy, there is somethin wrong wit you.

:lol3

I don't know if there's something wrong with my light switch or LCM, but sometimes my drive side ballast will not fire when turn on my headlights. I aways find it embarrassing to drive around with one HID lamp off. So sometimes I'll have to keep twisting the knob back n forth before both headlamps will fire. I aways figured it would be so much easier if I could just leave the lamp switch to ON. I should mention the OEM ballasts are both in perfect working order, I still can't figure why the driver side wont fire sometimes.

If the lights turn off everytime you switched the car off, how would you turn them on to use them as intended?

Use the auto light setting on the headlight switch.

jda2000 refers to what you want and that is the automatic headlights feature. HOWEVER, that was an option on the early E39's and i do not see many that have that feature until the 01-03 model runs.

Dont know if this is what you are talking about but this may help.

On my car, with the car parked and the lights off, you can use the indicator stalk to turn on the left only or the right only parking lights (front and back).

Push the stalk all the way up (or down for the other side) like you were using the indicator, and then give it an extra push. The stalk will spring back and one side of the car's lights will be on. Leave your car with the indicator stalk in the up or down position. When you come back push the stalk back to the middle position and the lights will go off.

Dont know if this is what you are talking about but this may help.

On my car, with the car parked and the lights off, you can use the indicator stalk to turn on the left only or the right only parking lights (front and back).

Push the stalk all the way up (or down for the other side) like you were using the indicator, and then give it an extra push. The stalk will spring back and one side of the car's lights will be on. Leave your car with the indicator stalk in the up or down position. When you come back push the stalk back to the middle position and the lights will go off.

That's not what the OP is talking about, but that's a pretty cool feature. I'm going to see if my car has it later tonight, but somehow I bet it's a Euro/Australia feature only.

i've always wondered if there was a way around this... if the headlights can turn off why can't the parking lights? headlights fire right back up when you start the car... soo i wish the parking lights would turn off too...

i found that i forget them on when i get out of my car while im on the phone... forgetfull... i know

wht if u have angel eyes and when you turn on your full lights but the parking lights turn on also how do your turn off the parking lights but leave the angel and everything else on?

im not entirely sure about this, so dont try it - im just thinking aloud here:

could one simply re-wire the headlight assembly, perhaps making a harness that splices the parking light ends with the headlight's power/ground? or would that throw a code, as one would be leaving the parking ground/power open? maybe one could put a simple switch to keep the connection without throwing a code. anyone know if this is possible, or even worth the hassle?

in retrospect, if this is what it might take, a lazy person's inspiration might take over and say "to hell with it, ill just turn the switch a quarter inch when i leave my car."

There must be an aftermarket fix for this. I'll search around and see what comes up.

Use the auto light setting on the headlight switch.


would my 01 540i/6 have this feature? I have not seen this.

Dont know if this is what you are talking about but this may help.

On my car, with the car parked and the lights off, you can use the indicator stalk to turn on the left only or the right only parking lights (front and back).

Push the stalk all the way up (or down for the other side) like you were using the indicator, and then give it an extra push. The stalk will spring back and one side of the car's lights will be on. Leave your car with the indicator stalk in the up or down position. When you come back push the stalk back to the middle position and the lights will go off.

That's not what the OP is talking about, but that's a pretty cool feature. I'm going to see if my car has it later tonight, but somehow I bet it's a Euro/Australia feature only.

Well, what do you know, it works! You can park your car with one side of your parking lights on. I can see how this would be useful when parallel parked on a busy street, and in fact it made me remember the last paragraph of this Wikipedia entry on automotive lighting (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automotive_lighting#Front_position_lamps_.28parkin g_lamps.29):

With the vehicle's ignition switched off, the operator may activate a low-intensity light at the front (white or amber) and rear (red) on either the left or the right side of the car. This function is used when parking in narrow unlit streets to provide parked-vehicle conspicuity to approaching drivers.


I don't really see the need to have just one side of the parking lamps lit when the car's off if you can have both, but pretty cool feature nonetheless!

.

I have this feature on my car. It is option code SA896 Daytime Running Light Switch. I think that feature can be activated by dealer. I always keep the light switch on and when the car is turned off, all the lights goes off and when ignition is turned on, lights are on.

A lot of scandanavian cars are like that as they require lights on at all times.

I'm not sure but the will the parking lights turn off after a certain number of minutes?

No. The parking lights are wired to stay on forever if you leave the headlight switch on, and turn off the engine. It's been that way with my 1985 E28 and my 1999 E39 cars -- and obviously a Munich engineer's idea of the way it "should be".

The good side of this is/was that leaving the headlight switch turned on doesn't actually leave the headlights burning -- only the parking lights.

Dont know if this is what you are talking about but this may help.

On my car, with the car parked and the lights off, you can use the indicator stalk to turn on the left only or the right only parking lights (front and back).

Push the stalk all the way up (or down for the other side) like you were using the indicator, and then give it an extra push. The stalk will spring back and one side of the car's lights will be on. Leave your car with the indicator stalk in the up or down position. When you come back push the stalk back to the middle position and the lights will go off.

I tried this in my 1999 540iT, with no luck. You're talking about the turn signal stalk? And the extra push -- do you mean up or down, or do you mean in, toward the steering column?

I came up with nothing, and if Qsilver hasn't posted, you can bet there probably isn't any info on this.
Just turn off your d*mn lights. :cool