DIY - Euro Rear Bulb Carrier for Euro Fog Lights

[dr.strangelove]

well i looked at the wiring diagram at the end of that write-up which by the way is a great thing, but then i sat back and thought about it some. granted i am no wiring expert, but it's a theory nonetheless.

here is a really rough idea.



basically, the fuse is in the fuse box, runs to the switch, then the wiring is spliced and one runs right back into the fuse box to the K9 relay and the other runs to the cluster, and everything takes place in the fuse box! wonderful! then the single wire to the tail runs clean from there to the tail light. no relays in odd places.

the only thing i question is whether i can use the same live line that feeds the the other relays as well as sharing the ground. Also, in the wiring diagram that is provided in the PDF, he states that the line from the battery to pin 30 needs to be fused with a 20A fuse. if i share off of the same live wire in the fuse box does this negate the need for that fuse?

as for the placement of the relay, i found this little article,

http://www.digest.net/bmw/archive/v7/msg10391.html

and it cleared it up a little.

the location K9 is that top left relay receptacle in that picture i posted 2 posts back. people with more experience, i would love some feedback on this, since this is what i'm thinking of doing.

[Sam Cogley]

I don't know why they'd be speculating, the shop manual clearly states that the K9 relay location is for the rear fog light.

Anyone got a Euro electrical manual vailable in PDF? The only ones I've seen are for US-spec cars.

Front fog lights, according to the US electrical diagrams:
Fog relay #86 (12v switched power) connects to high beam relay #87a
Fog relay #85 (ground) connects to the fog light switch
Fog relay #30 (12v controlled input) connects to K4 low beam relay #87
Fog relay #87 (12v controlled output) connects to the light through a 7.5A fuse (fuse #15 is the factory location for the rear fog light)

Using the high and low relays to control the rear light makes sense - that way they're only on with the low beams. If you're driving in fog heavy enough to warrant the rear light, you're not going to be using the high beams.

I ordered a bunch of the fuse box terminals (I'm planning to use the little auxiliary fuse box to run ignition-switched 12v to my city lights), I'll see if I can find the number again. Update: I think the part number for the fuse/relay terminals is 61 13 1 370 692.

[dr.strangelove]

unfortunately i don't have one of those, so i wasn't aware. thanks for that though. any info on the part number for the sockets for the relay?

[Sam Cogley]

unfortunately i don't have one of those, so i wasn't aware. thanks for that though. any info on the part number for the sockets for the relay?

Shop manual is available online, as are the electrical manuals. The links have been posted at just about every E30-related forum. Great resources to have handy, I've downloaded every one I've found. :)

As far as I know, the fuses and the relays use the same terminals. I've never actually managed to find an application guide for the terminals, Realoem just has several pages of terminal pictures and measurements.

There is a PDF file on the M42club forums (I think) that's a pretty good write-up of the rear fog install.

I'm still trying to figure out the part numbers for the terminal on the back of the gauge cluster and the fog switch terminals. The US-spec fog switch plug will fit the Euro switch, it just has to have the extra terminals added to make the second button work.

[dr.strangelove]

Hey Sam, any update on this "in the fuse box" wiring setup?

I am assuming that you are using a standard four prong orange relay. are you just splicing into the same feeds that power the front fog lights?

If so, is there sufficient energy running through all this to run the rears and fronts simultaneously?

edit:

also, based on the information of the front fog light relay, pin 85 running ground to switch, am i to assume that lead into the switch is ground, and by completing the circuit, i am providing ground for the light to turn on?

so far i have managed to modify the back plate with the appropriate pin, and the socket that it plugs into. i have cut out the hole in the tail light, and have ran the lead from the trunk up to the cabin. at this point i thought i had it, but this "ground" thing is confusing me. help?!

[Sam Cogley]

I haven't had a chance to mess with it. I'm just going to take the fuse box apart and figure out where it was supposed to be drawing power from, which I think will be the same source as the front lights. One extra bulb pulling less than 7.5A shouldn't hurt anything.

[dr.strangelove]

ok.

so here is what i got from wiring schematics. your relay info helped a lot but there will still many unknowns. I am guessing that the front and rear foglights are run (wiring wise) very similar.

once assuming that, i went ahead and did some more research on the front foglight wiring. Of course, your relay information was correct, but i knew that there had to be more to it than just that.

so with further digging, i checked where all these lines in and out of the relay. pins 30 and 86 made sense to me, but it was pin 87 and 85 that were a little odd.

further looking into it, pin 85 runs out to the switch. seems simple. not really...

once in the switch, the wire coming out of the switch then runs to the light switch connector bar, and grounds out there when the low beams are on. what a kicker!

i have to figure what the connector socket on that is, and then find out where i can plug it into the light switch connector plug to make it all work.

As for pin 87, it runs to the board #15 fuse, then you have to add the socket to that fuse, run two wires out (one to the tail light and one to the instrument panel) and run the appropriate one out to the main lead connector (big white connector closer to the driver's A pillar), then after a male and female connector, out to the taillight. after more reading there is an apparent ground that runs to the body somewhere.

still need to take apart a fuse box to see how to solder all this together and to run that connector on pin 87 to fuse no. 15.

i have ordered a bunch of wiring connectors and such to make this all come together as seamlessly as possible, so once i am all done and i get it to work (hopefully), i will have a bunch more info.

[Atreus]

any updates?

[dr.strangelove]

still need to take the time to get into the fuse box, but i have ordered the last connector to work this all out.

wires after that are all i need.

[Sam Cogley]

still need to take the time to get into the fuse box, but i have ordered the last connector to work this all out.

wires after that are all i need.

Did you figure out which connectors are needed for the fog switch and the back of the gauge cluster (for the indicator light)?

[dr.strangelove]

I have all the connectors minus one.

Here is a running list of part numbers

61131370692 x 5 (these are for the five females to the relay and the one female for the fuse

61131357705 x 2 (these are the females for the back of the switch)


These following two are the male and female that connect the wire coming from the fuse to the wire leading to the tail light at that huge connector{just by the speaker under the driver's side})

61131365099 x 1 (male)

61131365100 x 1 (female)

as for the indicator connector, i have one from a parts car, but i am assuming it's part no. 61131369447

and i am still looking into the appropriate female socket to tie it into the light switch (where the ground happens)

i have ordered both part no. 61131368621 and part no. 61131353260, and should have an answer sooner than later.

hope this helps.

[dr.strangelove]

update:

those two females that i thought would work didn't. I have to order another size one. these were both a tad small, found the next size up being 2.5mm females, and the part no. being 61131376202 for .5-1.0mm wire and 61131376204 for 1.0-2.5mm wire. Since i will be running two wires off that connector, i think the latter may work better, but should have some more info as soon as i receive them.

p.s. all those other parts though seem correct so far as i have checked.

[dr.strangelove]

one small update,

61131376191 x 1 (male)
61131376202 x 1 (female)

in place of

61131365099 x 1 (male)
61131365100 x 1 (female)

[itsbrokeagain]

couldnt you just wire the rear fogs into the fronts? that way you dont need to use another relay or switch, and they would come on whenever you have the foglights on.

The E90s run the rear fogs off the front fog circuit. Its easy to tell because you can hear the relay click on when you hit the front fogs, but when you hit the rears you hear nothing. (You can do this with just parking lights on)

Alternatley, if I turn the headlights on, I can also just turn the rear fogs on, and I hear the same relay click.

Both of my boards are crusted up. I need to get new ones. Since I got a connect at the dealership (37% off woot) I might just grab me a new euro board. I need to get a new lens too because the left side one is new and the right side one is old and faded.

Now I just have to get my hands on a euro fog switch..

[Atreus]

odds of finding a euro switch in a junkyard in denver?

(crosses fingers)