please help me understand this headlights/halo stuff

[Professor]

Ok, I have an 05 4.4i with lots of options. I have the auto leveling headlights but that's about all I know about them. I love the look of the new x5's that have these bright halo's during the day. in a nut shell I want that. My daytime running light looks like an old yellow light. In order for me to get any type of "halo" effect, i have to turn on my night time lights.

I guess my question is, if I purchase the Mtec 2.0 or 3.0's (assuming this replaces the daytime running light bulb) will this give me the double halo effect that i'm looking for that so many of you guys have or am i'm miss informed?

Bottom line, I want to have both rings on each headlight on during the day like the newer x5's! help me out

thanks!

[lemans4.8]

Some extensive wiring/programming would have to be done. I'm guessing that you already have angel eyes, since you have a loaded 05. Just by upgrading the angel eye bulb, you'll get a cleaner, more LED look to your angels, but they will still just turn on when the headlights are on.

[Professor]

Oh ok. I just see all these pics of e53 with just halos on and no other lights but maybe that's just with the without the vehicle running.

[tmv]

Is it a mid-term or a final, Professor?
You might be able to have the AEs on as DRL with some coding to the LCM. As for me, I have pre-facelift E53. The AEs were wired to the ECU. They are on whenever the key is in position II.
Make sure you change the AE bulbs too. Those yellow OEMs are weak.

[Professor]

Finals are over for the year thank God!!
Are AE's short for angel eyes? Do they have ther own bulbs? Or are they them same as the yellow DRLs? I'm trying to figure out what exactly the mtec's will replace and do for me since they are $200.

I see lots of pics on the site with just the angel eyes lit up without any others on and I want to know how that is done.

[Professor]

Tmv, is your avatar pic with the key in pos II???

[Zulu95]

The yellow DRL's are actually the headlamp bulbs fed with a lower voltage. (At least in the earlier models.)
This was an option the $tealer could turn off and on for a fee.

[Quicksilver]

Ok let's clear this up. On my 2005 4.4 (and yours) daytime running lights are
the two lamps closest to the grill. The outer Lamps are Zenon lamps with an
additional ring around each lamp. These rings are commonly called angle eyes.
They come on in all three positions with the exception of position two. In that
position they are on by themselves.

To have all four lamps with the rings I believe you would need to do a retrofit
removing the existing housings with new ones configured the way you like.

This is possible if you got the coins to make it happen. Someone else will
have to chime in on how it can be done and the cost.

Regards

[tmv]

Originally Posted by Professor

Tmv, is your avatar pic with the key in pos II???

Yes it is. Here is another.

Originally Posted by Quicksilver

Ok let's clear this up. On my 2005 4.4 (and yours) daytime running lights are the two lamps closest to the grill. The outer Lamps are Zenon lamps with an additional ring around each lamp. These rings are commonly called angle eyes.They come on in all three positions with the exception of position two. In that position they are on by themselves.I think you're talking about the light control switch. I don't think they are ON when the switch is at 0. When the switch is at I, the AEs are ON with the coner/parking lights, not by themselves

To have all four lamps with the rings I believe you would need to do a retrofit
removing the existing housings with new ones configured the way you like.

This is possible if you got the coins to make it happen. Someone else will
have to chime in on how it can be done and the cost.

Regards

[lemans4.8]

But the OP has a facelift X5, not a pre-facelift X5.

The Facelift X5 has a bulb for the DRL's, which is the same bulb for the brights when you push the blinker stalk towards the rear of the car. There is one bulb for the angel eyes, so two bulbs for both sides. The reason why the upgrade LED kits are soo expensive is that they usually feature a high-powered LED and a resistor/circuitry so you will not get a bulb-out warning. As far as I know, there really isn't much in the way of wire modification to do this. I do remember someone soldering their angel eye wires to the LCM (Light control Module) but it toasted the LCM and they had to get a new one.

The best thing to do is to upgrade the AE bulbs and get some programming. It must be done with a GT1 computer, which is hard to come by, since it's a $10k machine. You can also just get your side lights (blinkers) turned off, so the 1st position of the light switch will just be angel eyes (basically Euro mode). This can also be done with GT1.

Here's the GT1 screenshot. What's circled must be unchecked to turn off the signal indicators (but they still work as blinkers)