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Thread: DRL delete - unbelievably simple DIY!

  1. #1
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    DRL delete - unbelievably simple DIY!

    I recently upgraded to 55w HID lows, and they are great in most weather, but definitely glare in heavy rain and fog. Here in canada, we get daytime running lights, which from BWM, basically mean the low beams and parking lights are wired such that they are on when ever the car is running. The headlight switch is purely decorative.

    I've been wanting to diable my DRLs so that I can turn off my lows and run just my fogs in inclement weather.
    Here is the cct diagram for canadian cars:

    Note the Yellow wire running from the grn/blu junction from F2 to the headlight control on the LKM. US and other versions have this yellow wire connecting to the junction between the healight switch and the highbeam switch, and rather than the ylw/gry, all wires are yellow, so, find the wire, and reconnect. Now the fun part...

    I'm not even going to get into the amount of wiring I pulled out, unwrapped and followed, but here's the short of it.

    Behind the knee bolster under the steering wheel are a few big bundles of wire that lead up over the air duct behind the cluster and under the dash.
    Unwrap the big thick one and find the only yellow wire. This is the yellow in the schematic, trust me.



    Aside: you'll also notice the junction of the grn/blu wires in this photo. One of those head up under the dash and connects with that pesky yellow one.

    Cut the yellow wire and terminate the side coming from above the dash (this will still be hot when the car is running - don't let it short anything out!)

    Now, there are a series of wrapped bundles coming from the steering column, one is for the high beam switch and goes to this connector above the three black ones on the plastic bracket:


    ...and from farther back for reference:


    Note the yellow wire third from the top on the left. The yellow connects to the yellow/grey from the headlight switch at the white plug in the picture. Connect the cut yellow from above to this yellow from the high beam: cut, strip and connect all three using an automotive crimp style bell connector, or however you like to connect your wiring...

    You're done. Really. It's that simple.

    Now you can run:

    Parklights only (see below for more info on parking lights)
    parking and fog lights
    parking and low beams
    parking, lows and fogs
    parking lows and highs
    parking and highs (flash only).

    Parking lights:
    I have discovered that the switch internals for Canada seem to be different than other places. According to the schematic, you should be able to cut the grn/blue wire at the diode, or just pull the diode and have the parking lights work like normal folks. The switch should power the parking light cct both in park position and in low beam position. It seems that it only does when in park position. With the diode pulled, the parking lights would come on int he park position, but when I turn the headlights on, the parking lights turn off.

    I reconnected the diode and let it be. I can't think of a case I really need to have my parking lights off when I'm driving. If you do, you'll likely need a new switch from the US. The cct diagrams are quite different. The US has a triple pole double throw switch while the cdn is only a single pole double throw, and manages the low beam power through relays in the kick panel.
    Last edited by Sherman; 11-20-2009 at 02:11 AM.

  2. #2
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    Umm...you could have just bought a non-drl relay and replaced the drl relay for the headlights. Would have costed about $10 and no wire hacking and installs in about 15 seconds.


  3. #3
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    Two questions:
    - what year is your car?
    - where did you get your wiring diagrams?

    My 1991 ETM shows a very different wiring setup than your diagram, and my car (I think) acts differently than yours with the DRLs. My lows are on when the headlight switch is in the 'off' or 'on' position, but they shut off when it's in the 'park light' position. The parking lights stay on all the time. I _think_ all I have to do to disable the low beam DRLs is replace the switch with the US market switch (will test this as soon as I pick up the switch from home). The parking lights should still stay on at all times (fine with me - I'm going to wire the parking light wires into the city lights in my euro smilies).
    Last edited by YarrThePirate; 11-20-2009 at 02:23 PM.

  4. #4
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    Again...you don't need to change the switch...you need to change the headlight relay. The only difference between an E34 with DRLs and a E34 without DRLs is the relay...swap your headlight relay with a non-DRL headlight relay and you will bypass DRLs with no monkey business.


  5. #5
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    I'm not sure what year you are refering to or if the info is acurate, but from tracing the wiring in my car, the diagrams I have are exactly accurate. The headlight cct is driven differently right from the fuse box. The control is wired pre-switch rather than post switch (bypassing the switch).

    On my car, the headlight switch could be in any position and if the car is running, the headlights and parking lights would be on. The only behavioural differences controlled by the headlight switch are whether the highbeams and foglights work. No fogs if the headlight switch is off, ond only highbeams flash and pervasive HB is disabled.

    I will double check the diagram later, but I believe on my car, there is no headlight relay outside the LKM, so there is no swapping of relays.

    I know some states have DRLs now too. I wonder if the US DRLs are wired differently from the CDN? I have not seen diagrams to support that yet.

    Mine's a 95. (Aug 94 build date)

  6. #6
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    There most certainly is a headlight relay outside the LKM...I don't recall where on a M60 powered car, but it's there. The DRL wiring would be manufacture/body specific, and NO E34 in the US came with DRLs...so not all DRL's would be wired the same...but I promise...E34 DRLs are controlled by the relay...(to add DRLs to a US car, you just need the $65 headlight relay from the canadian BMW parts catalog. So just buy the normal US headlight relay and forget about the rest of this mess.


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    but it's such a pretty writeup...

  8. #8
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    I'm interested to have this relay business confirmed. I have gone through all of my wiring sources and they all show exactly the same thing, which I have also confirmed by physically tracing the wires of the full cct front to back. There is no headlight relay outboard of the LKM.
    Here is the schematic:
    6312-0-00.jpg
    6312-0-01.JPG
    6312-0-02.jpg
    If you start at 6312.0-00, you'll see the US cct and the cdn fog/highbeam ccts running off the switch. If you follow through to 6312.0-02 you'll see starting at the top right of the page F2/7.5 amp for CDN and an input from B for all others. These then go to headlight control of the LKM and the internal relay in the LKM. The cct then outputs back to the distribution block through left and right fused (F10 and F11) and then out to the lamps.
    Again, I have physically traced this cct and that's all there is to it.
    Last edited by Sherman; 11-20-2009 at 10:41 PM.

  9. #9
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    Here is another set of schematics detailing the differences between CDN and US wiring:
    2069.pdf
    2070.pdf
    2071.pdf
    2072.pdf

    The only reference I have been able to find is on RealOEM: 01 Relay - Daytime Driving, but I can't find such a relay in any of my schematics, or a CDN vs US equivalent.

    I've been looking at this on and off for a few months and so far no one has been able to give me definitive info. If there is a relay that makes this simple, I would have preferred to take that route. Does anyone have any further insight into this?

    Cheers.

  10. #10
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    i wish i had DRL's

    Quote Originally Posted by MeanM50 View Post
    There most certainly is a headlight relay outside the LKM...I don't recall where on a M60 powered car, but it's there. The DRL wiring would be manufacture/body specific, and NO E34 in the US came with DRLs...so not all DRL's would be wired the same...but I promise...E34 DRLs are controlled by the relay...(to add DRLs to a US car, you just need the $65 headlight relay from the canadian BMW parts catalog. So just buy the normal US headlight relay and forget about the rest of this mess.
    Dumb question, would using the Canadian relay give US cars DRL's?
    Last edited by p1zz4guy; 11-21-2009 at 12:16 AM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost
    Quote Originally Posted by pimped525 View Post
    Heater stays on and think water pump is. Leaking also smell of fuel after caneing it about any ideas guys

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by p1zz4guy View Post
    i wish i had DRL's

    Dumb question, would using the Canadian relay give US cars DRL's?
    Apparently, but only if you can find a place to put it.

    Can't you just leave your headlight switch in the ON position and they'll turn off when you turn the car off?
    Last edited by Sherman; 11-21-2009 at 01:35 AM.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sherman View Post
    Apparently, but only if you can find a place to put it.

    Can't you just leave your headlight switch in the ON position and they'll turn off when you turn the car off?
    The coners and tail lights stay on. Ive probably killed my battery a dozen times because of it.....come to think of it i really should get a new battery before winter rolls out in full force.

    Another dumb question. why isnt there a spot to put in on US cars? (you might have explained it, but once i see schimatics my eyes glaze over and my mind goes blank)
    Last edited by p1zz4guy; 11-21-2009 at 01:55 AM.
    Quote Originally Posted by pimped525 View Post
    Heater stays on and think water pump is. Leaking also smell of fuel after caneing it about any ideas guys

  13. #13
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    http://www.koalamotorsport.com/prodd...od=61311378052

    On US cars, this is the relay you need to ADD DRL's. (That is correct...DRL's have NOTHING to do with the LKM)

    If you want to make DRL's go away, just replace the relay above with a US spec relay.

    Location of the relay: you will have to do a little work now...its under the dash IIRC....so write down the part number from the link above, remove lower dash and look for that number on a funny colored relay...or do a search...I am not doing the work for you...there was a thread here a few months ago with the info in it....


  14. #14
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    thank you sir
    Quote Originally Posted by pimped525 View Post
    Heater stays on and think water pump is. Leaking also smell of fuel after caneing it about any ideas guys

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by MeanM50 View Post
    http://www.koalamotorsport.com/prodd...od=61311378052

    On US cars, this is the relay you need to ADD DRL's. (That is correct...DRL's have NOTHING to do with the LKM)

    If you want to make DRL's go away, just replace the relay above with a US spec relay.

    Location of the relay: you will have to do a little work now...its under the dash IIRC....so write down the part number from the link above, remove lower dash and look for that number on a funny colored relay...or do a search...I am not doing the work for you...there was a thread here a few months ago with the info in it....
    I've searched here and asked about this many times to no avail, so have done a ton of other research to determine the solution above. According to all of my research, the steps above is not a hack, but rather connecting the wiring as all cars without DRLs are connected from the factory.

    I'm in no way asking you to do any work for me so no need to get all bent out of shape. Thanks for the info, and I only ask further questions because I can't find any info to support your solution. I'm not saying it's wrong. I have no interest in being more right than anyone else here, just to learn and share what I have learned with others.
    Last edited by Sherman; 11-21-2009 at 07:25 PM.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sherman View Post
    I've searched here and asked about this many times to no avail, so have done a ton of other research to determine the solution above. According to all of my research, the steps above is not a hack, but rather connecting the wiring as all cars without DRLs are connected from the factory.

    I'm in no way asking you to do any work for me so no need to get all bent out of shape. Thanks for the info, and I only ask further questions because I can't find any info to support your solution. I'm not saying it's wrong. I have no interest in being more right than anyone else here, just to learn and share what I have learned with others.

    I am not bent out of shape. I couldn't tell if you were being dumb, (not the case) or if I wasn't explaining it clearly. I also wasn't saying that you are lazy or something by my comment. I simply meant that normally I would provide links to other threads and such just to support my info and help out. I just didn't have time today...so I wasn't throwing anything in your face...

    I think the reason you are having difficulty finding info online is because it's so obvious/easy. Seriously...just look under the dash...it's there...I promise...


  17. #17
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    I'm not convinced that it's as simple as the relay - clearly BMW used at least two different DRL setups on Canadian E34s.

    Sherman's car was wired so that the low beams completely bypass the headlight switch, while my car is wired such that only the 'off' position of the switch works differently than the US cars (i.e. the lows come on with the switch off, turn off with the switch in 'park', and come back on with the switch 'on').

    I can't see how the light setup on my car could work without some interaction on the switch. Plus, there are two different part numbers listed for the headlight switches, one for CDN cars and one for US.

    I'll report back when I compare the switches side by side.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by MeanM50 View Post
    I think the reason you are having difficulty finding info online is because it's so obvious/easy. Seriously...just look under the dash...it's there...I promise...
    Cheers.
    LOL. Trust me I've looked:



    Quote Originally Posted by YarrThePirate View Post
    I'm not convinced that it's as simple as the relay - clearly BMW used at least two different DRL setups on Canadian E34s.
    I'm almost certain this is the case now. I'm thinking that mine being a 95 may have some wiring characteristics of the E39, or at least share some with the E38 rather than the E32.

    Quote Originally Posted by YarrThePirate View Post
    Sherman's car was wired so that the low beams completely bypass the headlight switch, while my car is wired such that only the 'off' position of the switch works differently than the US cars (i.e. the lows come on with the switch off, turn off with the switch in 'park', and come back on with the switch 'on').

    I can't see how the light setup on my car could work without some interaction on the switch. Plus, there are two different part numbers listed for the headlight switches, one for CDN cars and one for US.

    I'll report back when I compare the switches side by side.
    This must also be the case. My parking lights turn OFF with the headlights ON when the switch is isolated from the diode.

    The short of it:
    There may be two ways to achieve a DRL delete. The method may depend on build date. With luck, we'll get both confirmed here.
    Last edited by Sherman; 11-22-2009 at 01:24 AM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost

  19. #19
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    Update on my car:

    With the US version switch installed, the lows now stay off when the switch is off, but come on when the switch is in 'park' or 'on'. The park lights also stay on with the key off in both the 'park' and 'on' positions. This makes sense based on the wiring diagrams I have for my car (also seems to confirm your issue w/ park lights, Sherman... the CDN version switch only connects pins 2-7 when the switch is in the 'park' position where the US version connects 2-7 in both 'park' and 'on').

    Also, based on my reading of the diagrams, all I should have to do to disable the lows in the 'park' position is isolate pin 1 of the headlight switch connector. I can't confirm this 100% until I try it, but it makes sense based on the wiring diagrams. I'll report back again after I try it.


    Edit for new update:

    Turns out disabling the low beam DRLs on my car was even simpler than I thought. The US version switch IS NOT required.

    All I had to do was pull out the switches and cut the wire on pin 1 of the headlight switch connector. Lows no longer light up with the switch 'off', everything else works as normal.

    I'm not sure about how this translates to other Canadian market cars, but I suspect if they work the same as mine (lows turn on with switch 'off' or 'on' but not with switch in 'park') then they probably just need the same wire cut as mine did. The added bonus for cars set up this way (and using the CDN switch) is if you still want your lows to act as DRLs, you can just leave the headlight switch 'on' at all times and all the lights will still turn off with the key.


    Edit 2: I've attached a picture showing the back of the switch and the wire that I had to cut to disable the low beam DRL setup on my car.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by YarrThePirate; 11-25-2009 at 06:01 PM. Reason: New info

  20. #20
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    Interesting, my CND 89/535 has no DRL and I would love to have them just cause it's safer.( I'm way over 30 now so no longer immortal) So I just use the switch.

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by 87M6 Chris View Post
    Interesting, my CND 89/535 has no DRL and I would love to have them just cause it's safer.( I'm way over 30 now so no longer immortal) So I just use the switch.
    canada DRL's became law Jan 1 1990

  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sherman View Post
    I'm not sure what year you are refering to or if the info is acurate, but from tracing the wiring in my car, the diagrams I have are exactly accurate. The headlight cct is driven differently right from the fuse box. The control is wired pre-switch rather than post switch (bypassing the switch).

    On my car, the headlight switch could be in any position and if the car is running, the headlights and parking lights would be on. The only behavioural differences controlled by the headlight switch are whether the highbeams and foglights work. No fogs if the headlight switch is off, ond only highbeams flash and pervasive HB is disabled.

    I will double check the diagram later, but I believe on my car, there is no headlight relay outside the LKM, so there is no swapping of relays.

    I know some states have DRLs now too. I wonder if the US DRLs are wired differently from the CDN? I have not seen diagrams to support that yet.

    Mine's a 95. (Aug 94 build date)
    your car has no relay...what you did was fine. 95 plus are relays and to get a us spec relay is not 10 bucks.....approx 40.

  23. #23
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    moroza is offline MORΩN ΛABIA BMW CCA Member
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    DRL's make sense from a government standpoint. They decrease crash statistics, therefore they work. They make no sense whatsoever from a driver's standpoint; are you really too lazy to just turn the lights on?

  24. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by MeanM50 View Post
    Again...you don't need to change the switch...you need to change the headlight relay. The only difference between an E34 with DRLs and a E34 without DRLs is the relay...swap your headlight relay with a non-DRL headlight relay and you will bypass DRLs with no monkey business.
    There is no relay...thats why there is a diode.

    Quote Originally Posted by p1zz4guy View Post
    i wish i had DRL's



    Dumb question, would using the Canadian relay give US cars DRL's?
    If your car is 95+ there is a highbeam relay. You will need to switch that relay with the canadian spec. Also in the process a couple of pins from the existing harness will need to be rearranged.
    Last edited by mazzoccone; 12-31-2009 at 01:30 AM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost

  25. #25
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    http://www.koalamotorsport.com/prodd...od=61311378052

    So if i wanted to do DRL on my car all i would need is to replace this relay to the one i have? If so it seems like a good idea because i can get a discount on insurance for having DRL's
    E34 540i decatted, Bosch design III, custom exhaust, 16" style 5's, 18mm rear sway bar

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