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Thread: Euro City Lights

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
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    Default Euro City Lights

    I recently installed the city lights in my euro headlights and installed them to run only when the engine is running. The key is that they only run when the egnine is running and not when solely in the run key position. I notice everyone wires theirs in with the parking lights which is not how they come from Europe. If there is any interest in the way mine are wired I can post up some detailed pictures as to how mine are wired. By the way I am selling her for anybody interested.


  2. #2
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    Default

    In a euro car the "city" lights are also the parking lights so they do come on without the engine running(or at least they will stay on when the engine is turned off)
    Gone but not forgotten

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by E30Bimmer
    I recently installed the city lights in my euro headlights and installed them to run only when the engine is running. The key is that they only run when the egnine is running and not when solely in the run key position. I notice everyone wires theirs in with the parking lights which is not how they come from Europe. If there is any interest in the way mine are wired I can post up some detailed pictures as to how mine are wired. By the way I am selling her for anybody interested.

    Did the same thing with our's...



    Now, just top it off with some Euro molding to rid those sidemarkers.
    -Trevor Ely

    '88 535is
    '95 M Sport 540i (1 of 200)
    '91 M5

  4. #4
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Paul in NZ
    In a euro car the "city" lights are also the parking lights so they do come on without the engine running(or at least they will stay on when the engine is turned off)
    Yeah, what you've done (same with us) is actually create a DRL (Daytime Running Light).
    -Trevor Ely

    '88 535is
    '95 M Sport 540i (1 of 200)
    '91 M5

  5. #5
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    Melbourne, Australia
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    Default

    Sorry to hijack this thread a bit, but this question has been brewing in my head for some time.

    Many years ago (more than 10) when my family and I were in Europe, we had bought an E21 to get around. There was a feature in the E21 (I assume Euro spec) that had a type of parking light that you can turn on when you're parked on the side of the street, it would light up the lights only on one side. So if you are parked on the right hand side of the street, you can turn on your parkers but for the left side only (right side stays off), presumably to inform other motorists that there is a car parked here etc.

    Is there any such feature in the E34? I can't find this in my service manual, and I'm very very sure that my Australian spec has no such feature -- most Aussies would get confused if they see a car with only one side of the lights turned on.
    Last edited by Yiorgos; 08-12-2006 at 06:26 PM.

  6. #6
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    Default

    yes my car does this and i would assume aussie ones do too
    when you are stopped engine off push the indicator stalk to one side or the other further than usual and only the parking lights on that side will come on ie one "city light" and one tail light.I cant quite remember if you have the light switch in position 1 or not.
    Gone but not forgotten

  7. #7
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Paul in NZ
    yes my car does this and i would assume aussie ones do too
    when you are stopped engine off push the indicator stalk to one side or the other further than usual and only the parking lights on that side will come on ie one "city light" and one tail light.I cant quite remember if you have the light switch in position 1 or not.
    Wow! I've never heard of this.
    -Trevor Ely

    '88 535is
    '95 M Sport 540i (1 of 200)
    '91 M5

  8. #8
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    i saw that when i was in paris. weird, but cool


    Quote Originally Posted by Alexlind123
    You're my hero.

  9. #9
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    Default

    Just went to my car to test out what Paul in NZ had posted earlier. I had my dad as 'observer' to let me know if I had them on or not.

    The Aussie spec E34 does have support for the 'city light' feature. The car must be turned off (ignition in position 0), and you use the indicator stalk to turn on whatever side you want. There is an extra level of resistance with the indicator stalk (the extra push for the stalk to go further than usual), which is a switch.

    Press the lever further than usual, then let the lever go back to its natural position (not back to no indicator). One side of the city lights should turn on. To turn off, turn off the indicator lever.

    No lights have to be on, position 0 on the light switch.

    Paul in NZ, you're a champion with your post. I'm pretty happy about this feature (not that there's any real need for it here in Australia), but this "quirk" is something that my dad and I miss from the E21 we had in Switzerland. I remember my dad asking me when I first got my car if it has this feature and at the time I was certain it didn't, which made him sigh a bit, something we sorely missed.

  10. #10
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    What wires did you tap into?

    www.KaRealtySF.com
    Build Date: 05-1995 /Engine: m50tu /Automatic Transmission /ABS /NO ASC /Open Differential /EAT Chip

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