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Subject: Xenon, DDE and Euro Foglight Switch Install. Long....... Author: Magnum : member since January, 2004 : 3968 posts Posted on: 2006-06-22 20:36:12

Well I finally finalized my writeup and had time to test everything out. A fun project and the OE Xenon lights make a world of difference. I have been able to do some extensive night driving and it is night and day, reminds me of when we had the X5.......

I've got to thank "Sealbeach740" for his help with the DDE / Euro Foglight Switch hookup. Way cool feature, WAY COOL! I like being able to turn the DDE's on and off at will, I don't find a need for them on real sunny days. I've mostly used the DDE's in early evening and on cloudy / overcast days.

If you ever come upon this post and see red X's for the pics, please click here for the .pdf file.

Here goes and I hope it loads right, X'ed.......

Magnum’s OE Xenon Headlight w/ DDE’s and Euro Fog Light Switch Activation Install.

I bought a pair of Xenon headlights to install in my car. It’s the one thing my car didn’t have that I really wanted and when a pair came around at the right price, I was there to get them .

This is a plug and play option and the bonus of having DDE’s already installed by the p/o. After I finished installing the headlights I went through the process of adjusting them and then I thoroughly tested them to make sure I was not blinding oncoming traffic, and I was not. I’m sure I’ll be doing some suspension down the road shortly, so I bought a retrofit guide CD to assist me with the self leveling install I will do when I do some suspension maintenance.
Here are the factory Full Xenon Retrofit instructions.

Before I installed the headlights I put new covers, and then to protect those covers from future pitting, I put some clear urethane shields. I got them from BavAuto, exact fit and easy install. I also put 2 brand new Xenon bulbs in, they were 4300K OE Osram Xenarc D2S bulbs from ebay and it was a great transaction and price.

This mod turned out great and I am very happy with the results, but it took much more work than I expected.

Here’s one of the headlights before I got to work on them. They’ll look like new shortly:



So with the DDE’s already installed it should be fairly simple. I re-routed some wiring, basically I wired it just the way I would have if I was starting from scratch. The transformer things need to stay dry so those will sit in the headlight housings. I took the positive and ground from the DDE’s and ran them through this little grommet, it worked perfect:



I just took a small piece of wire, slide it through the grommet and then pulled the DDE wires through, easy wheezy:



Then put the transformer thing in the headlight housing:



Now I put the new headlight covers on. No big pics of this, but I can’t really see why. All you do is remove the 8 clips, pull the old covers off, re-install the gasket, put the new cover on and then redo the clips. Here’s how you pop off the cover clips:



Now I took out the old headlights, start with the turn signals. I removed this cap and took a long ass phillips screwdriver, located the mounting point inside the fender and loosened it up. Once loose, 8 turns or so, I took the palm of my hand and some what forcefully remove the turn signal. It’s a tight seal:



Then remove this trim piece; simply grab the end and pull out from the bottom, then the top unhooks:



Then slide this thing over with a small screwdriver or equivalent:



Now, remove these 2 screws [T-20], then remove the 2 phillips head screws that attach the top mounting brackets to the headlight and frame and SLOWLY start to work the headlight out. Once the headlight is out I needed to put in the new mounting plate that is notched for the Xenon igniter box thing.



Now put the headlights in and reverse the steps for installation, but there’s a BUT after this pic. You probably can’t even notice it in the pic:



Easy enough huh, BUT NO, the gaps facing the grill did not line up properly, and I know I wouldn’t be able to live with it…….I needed to adjust the black mounting bracket that bolts up to the car, and after several attempts of pulling the headlight in and out, I said screw it and took off the bumper cover……

So here goes, go back to page 2 and take the turn signals and headlights back out! Now lets remove the trim pieces that house my PDC, just pop the bottom loose and then slide it out [you have to work it, be careful of the chrome piece]:



Now the fog lights, push your long phillips head in this spot and push in:



Put your free hand over it, because it will “pop out”:



Now remove the 2 light duty bolts on the inside of the fender liner:



Unclip the bottom cover thingy:



Then remove the long ass bolts that hold on the bumper cover [T-50], check your TIS for torque tightening specs [30 ft lbs.]:



Here’s one of the bolts:



Now carefully slide the bumper cover off. You may want a helper, I’ve had it off before and I don’t think you really need one:



I have a ZR3 laser jammer and my front sensors are mounted to the bumper, see the brackets, so I just set it here during the surgery! Lay something soft underneath, I used an old sheet:



Here’s one of the mounting brackets we will be adjusting. Loosen these nuts, and get it tweaked just right. I put the hood up and down and pulled the headlight in and out while getting it right. If you run up against this feel free to adjust it any way you’d like:



Top view during adjusting phase:



Passenger side, gotta’ love the extra wire I gave myself on the DDE’s for future service:



I tweaked and tweaked and finally got it right! Put your car back together in reverse, one thing I’ll note….I use some long string to attach to my PDC sensors to help in the reinstall. It kind if sucks when you get the bumper cover on and realize 1 or more of the PDC sensors went back in its hole:



See it works to pull the PDC Sensors through:



I’ll break down my DDE wiring now. I ran the wires under the metal frame thing in front of the fan shroud. Basically I fed the passenger side DDE negative to the drivers side, and the driver side DDE positive to the passenger side. Why? Because I will be getting positive form the fuse box and the ground [negative] from the new Euro Fog Light Switch. This wiring was neatly wrapped in some wiring wrapping stuff I found, very nice material:



Passenger Side, neatly wired:



Driver Side neatly wired:



Here’s how I got my wire to go directly into the fuse box. I didn’t need any tools to fish the wire or anything, the wire simply slid through and directly into the fuse box area. I couldn’t ask for it to be any cleaner:



Then I ran it along the existing wire, you can’t even tell it’s there:



And finally tying the wires together with a nice clump of solder and heat shrink:



Here’s a shot of the positive wire going into the fuse box:



Here’s a shot with the wire in the fuse box soldered, heat shrunk and almost ready to plug in, tape this end with some electrical tape just to make sure it doesn’t touch anything with power. I’m moving on to the new fog light switch:



Here are the parts for the new fog light switch:
- 1. = 61 13 0 006 663, direct plug in connector with short wire lead.
- 2. = 61 31 8 363 688, not found in realoem – this is the switch cover.
- 3. = 61 31 8 363 684, not found in realoem – this is the switch.



So lets start finalizing the DDE hookup. The end result is really cool, you can have just:
- The DDE’s on.
- The DDE’s, Fog Lights, Parking Lights on.
- Or the whole enchilada – The Headlights, DDE’s, Fog Lights and Parking Lights.
- Basically total control with a flick of a switch!

I basically took the negative wire and ran it from the engine compartment to the driver side interior and up to the new switch. Pretty easy task, I’m running my wire up along the fender. You can see my tubing that houses the wires for my ZR3, I’m put the wire in that. I took my passenger side negative wire and my driver side negative wire, twisted them together and the soldered and heat shrunk them to my lead that will run into the cabin:



Now we have to fish the wire through here:



Not that easy of a task, only because of space! First you have to get the black plastic cover off, I used an ensemble of fingers, hands, swear words, a screwdriver and needle nose pliers. Once off, I went into the driver side of the car and removed the black cover in the foot well. The foot well cover is very easy to remove, 3 screws about shin area and 2 pull screw near the back. Now that that is out, you have go fishin’. I took a coat hanger and slid it through, MAKE sure you protect the END of the COAT HANGER [I use tape]. I couldn’t get a pic of where the hood release cable goes through because space is very tight, but you should be able to see it. Take the coat hanger with the protected end and push it through, have a helper note where it is trying to poke through the rubber grommet and make a real small slice in the rubber grommet and then carefully push the coat hanger through to expose it [maybe a foot]. The arrow shows the coat hanger:



Next tape the wire to the end of the coat hanger and slowly / carefully pull it into the cabin. Then put the plastic protector back, yep its’ a PITA:



Now lower the steering wheel all the way and adjust it all the way out. Then take out the instrument cluster, there are 2 torx screws [maybe T-15, I forget they’re small] located at the top of the cluster. Lay it on the steering column / cover with a small towel or equivalent under it, this protects the cluster plastic cover from scratches:



Place the cluster like so:



Now pull / fish your wire up and through to finally pull it out of the cluster area, and solder the wires together and heat shrink them:



Now take out the old fog light switch. Simply pull off the knob, then get out a big ass socket……..its just plastic nut but boy is it big:



Now with that removed, you can slide out the old fog light switch. It’s tight but it will just slide out:



Unplug the old switch and figure out how the hell the plug opens up to insert the wire. It ended up just snapping open as you can see here:



Then the factory connector / wire just snaps into place [audible click], and finally close the cover. I gave the new wire a good pull just to make sure it was connected properly:



Now plug the new switch in, slide it back through the dash, get it fit properly, install the new face plate and nut, put the knob back on, re-install the instrument cluster and then put the foot well cover back on:



Now it’s time to get the positive wire for the DDE’s hooked up. Go back to the fuse box.
I used an inline fuse from the positive wire I ran to the fuse tap thing I found at radio shack, I did solder and heat shrink all connections. The fuse tap simply slides over one of the fuse post and then you insert the fuse as normal:



Here it is snaked through the fuse box and plugged in. It’s the red wire:



Here’s what it looks like with the fuse box cover back on:



I hope it works……….I put the key in and everything was good….what about lighting!



Dark shots showing new switch illumination:



Another:



Just cause:



, don’t mind the steering wheel……..:



OK, last one let’s see what the car looks like!!!!:



Here’s a BUNCH of car pics with the Xenon Headlights and DDE’s:




























































I don't know why, but I just like this pic:



1999 740iL – Valentine One / Stealth One, Escort ZR3 Laser Jammer, Bluetooth w/ Blackberry 7100g,
Victor Steering Wheel, Leather / Wood Inlay BMW Shift Knob, Instrument Cluster Gauge Rings,
16:9 Nav. Display, TVonNav, Soundgate AUX 3, 6 Disc DVD/CD/MP3 Changer “In Stereo”,
iPod [40 gig] Hardwired, XM, Backup Camera, 2 12” Rockford Fosgate Subs, Rockford Fosgate Amp,
1 Farad Monster Cap, Custom Enclosure, Style 95’s w/ 245/40/19 F & 285/35/19 R Falken FK-451’s,
Clear Indicators, Tint, Chrome Grills, AC Schnitzer Pedals, M-Style Electronic Folding Mirrors, Xenons,
DDE's w/ Euro Fog Light Switch Activation

• Xenon, DDE and Euro Foglight Switch Install. Long....... (pic) (url) - Magnum 2006-06-22 20:36:12 (5596 views)
  • Re: Xenon, DDE and Euro Foglight Switch Install. Long....... - brokenman 2006-06-25 13:58:33 (232 views)
  • Great work and great documentation.... (nt) - Gary 2006-06-23 21:07:47 (170 views)
  • Very good work! Covered a lot of topics. Definite e38.org material. (nt) - DavidC 2006-06-23 15:13:47 (195 views)
  • Excellant write up. - kevhouston 2006-06-23 15:09:37 (180 views)
    • I'm not sure, I usually do this kind of stuff in stages. - Magnum 2006-06-23 17:02:08 (186 views)
  • Wow...my head hurts! - lawguy 2006-06-23 14:11:03 (197 views)
  • Great writeup. Very comprehensive! HID fogs next? (nt) - 740Sporter 2006-06-23 13:51:31 (178 views)
    • Yeah! HID fogs. I second that DIY writeup, just in case.....(grin) (nt) - sealbeach740 2006-06-23 16:22:31 (189 views)
      • Maybe......I think I'd really like the look! (nt) - Magnum 2006-06-23 17:00:39 (177 views)
        • Of course you would!! (hint, hint) (grin) (nt) - sealbeach740 2006-06-23 18:06:38 (164 views)
  • impressive! (nt) - bavariancowboy 2006-06-23 13:45:02 (174 views)
  • Good grief, you make me feel like such a loser! He!! of a write-up - Ultymte 2006-06-23 11:42:58 (191 views)
    • Maybe I'm the loser for having the time to do all this shit, - Magnum 2006-06-23 17:05:34 (180 views)
  • U r the man....... - jrz 2006-06-23 04:06:52 (178 views)
  • Wonderful writeup. Many thanks but... - farnarkler 2006-06-23 02:16:24 (171 views)
    • I just had the regular U.S. fog light switch, just like most of us - Magnum 2006-06-23 09:01:37 (208 views)
      • Right. It seems Aussie E38's already have that switch fitted. (nt) - farnarkler 2006-06-23 20:56:06 (204 views)
  • nice documentation. how many more reflectors do you see now than before Xenons? (nt) - collison944 2006-06-23 00:24:20 (184 views)
    • All of them , j/k but it's a big difference! (nt) - Magnum 2006-06-23 08:54:35 (179 views)
  • Damn, you've outdone yourself Magnum! Excellent writeup. - sealbeach740 2006-06-22 22:01:27 (182 views)
  • sweet write up (nt) - rogue7 2006-06-22 21:25:20 (181 views)