Welcome Lights not working

[JET135]

hello, no doubt this has been asked and answered 100 times, I have searched and read what I have found. No real help.
I have selected in I drive both daytime running lights and welcome lights.
Tail lights do not illuminate with front angel eyes, unless parkers are on.
Welcome lights are limited to flash of all indicator lights.
This is a 1M, I just purchased. I stlill have my 135i and all of its welcome and tail lights work with daylight running settings.
Any thoughts would be much appreciated.
The manual is of no help as it says, and I quote.
"The rear lights might also light up"
Regards Sue

[nesnah]

My welcome lights come on when unlocking the car and fade away when locking.
Tail lights only illuminate when unlocking the car and when headlights are on. While driving with angel eyes (daytime running lights) and headlights not on, the tail lights do not illuminate. This is normal

[JET135]

Thank you Nesnah, so this is normal for the 1 series M Coupe? It is very different to the 135i.
Tail lights and angel eyes on when dial set to position0. Welcome lights the same.
With the 1M, I can only have angel eyes and tail lights on when in dial is set to position 1. I thought they would work the same. As it is welcome lights are not working.😒

[reisf]

From an electrical view point, the 1M and the 135i should be very similar if not exactly the same as the 135i (or any e8x 1 series - for things like lighting/headlights/media/communications etc)

Welcome lights will only activate then the headlight switch is on automatic (position -1) and daylight is low/night or main beam (position 2).

Day time running lights should activate when the headlight switch is on automatic (position -1) and it is daylight, or position 0 (off).

I don't want to scare you, but where did you buy the 1M? Dealership or privately? If the welcome lights/DRLs aren't working as described above it might indicate that some electrical components were replaced and weren't coded correctly.

[nesnah]

I should mention my switch is always on auto

[JET135]

I bought the car privately, it is immaculate. It had only been driven Very lightly over the last 12 months and had a battery warning light when I picked it up, this now gone. I have read that a low charge can cause this sort of issue.

Don't worry coding doesn't scare me. 😉 I will get the guys at BMW to check it out. It's due for a service anyway.

[Alby_416]

Hi there,

The welcome lights turn on if you selected them from the idrive menu or from the onboard computer and only when you unlock the car. The headlight switch must be in "auto" position if you have AHL or in the "low beams" position if you have standard xenon.

The battery lever also has to be above a certain threshold otherwise only the door handles light will come on and no angels eyes or tail lights. If your car does that it means the battery is low, go
for a long drive or charge up the battery. This has happened to me several times and it's just a matter of talking her for a spin

On the other hand, daytime running lights (which also have to be selected on from the car's menu) are on when the light switch is in "auto" and is daylight or in "off" position.
I also noticed on my 1M that the tail lights are on only when the xenon are on, despite DRL being on and the front angel eyes working during daylight.
This is a small difference from the 135i or the other E82 and it's just how the car is coded. On my previous 123d the tail light were working fine with DRL but on the 1m they were not. (I.e. With DRL tail light OFF, angel eyes ON)

I simply used the app "carlyforbmw" along with a obd reader and coded my car to have the tail lights on with DRL and since I was already coding the lights I took the occasion to change the speed they came on, so now the glow smoothly to full intensity.

Hope this helps
Al.

[JET135]

Hi Al, that's great help. I think it could well be the battery. I bought an obd reader a while back and was going to get bmwhat app, never got around to it. Will go it a try.
Thanks again

[e82m_van]

When the battery is low, some of the functions on the car becomes disabled.
I know this because I run both front and rear dash cams and they are always on even when parked (it stays on until car battery voltage drops to 11.6V)

When the battery is low, I realized some of the features don't work like they used to when the battery is fully charged.
These functions include rear window defroster and welcome lights (not sure what else but these are the ones I realized)

Also for tail lights, the led bars do not light up even when the DRL are on (even in auto headlight position).
They only illuminate when the headlights are on.

One of the first mods I did to my car was to get it coded so the tail light led's are always on, even during the day time.
After my car's ecu was updated at the dealer, this feature was also erased.
So I ended up buying the "Carly for BMW" app (previously known as BMWhat) and the obd2 bluetooth adapter and turned the feature back on, along with many other hidden features.
App+obd adapter is the best thing I spent money my car


Hope this helps.

[JET135]

Originally Posted by Alby_416

Hi there,

The welcome lights turn on if you selected them from the idrive menu or from the onboard computer and only when you unlock the car. The headlight switch must be in "auto" position if you have AHL or in the "low beams" position if you have standard xenon.

The battery lever also has to be above a certain threshold otherwise only the door handles light will come on and no angels eyes or tail lights. If your car does that it means the battery is low, go
for a long drive or charge up the battery. This has happened to me several times and it's just a matter of talking her for a spin

On the other hand, daytime running lights (which also have to be selected on from the car's menu) are on when the light switch is in "auto" and is daylight or in "off" position.
I also noticed on my 1M that the tail lights are on only when the xenon are on, despite DRL being on and the front angel eyes working during daylight.
This is a small difference from the 135i or the other E82 and it's just how the car is coded. On my previous 123d the tail light were working fine with DRL but on the 1m they were not. (I.e. With DRL tail light OFF, angel eyes ON)

I simply used the app "carlyforbmw" along with a obd reader and coded my car to have the tail lights on with DRL and since I was already coding the lights I took the occasion to change the speed they came on, so now the glow smoothly to full intensity.

Hope this helps
Al.

Hi Al,
I got Carly lite all was good so I went ahead and bought the full version. The tail lights were coded off so I coded them on along with a few other things. It said they had been changed and when I look now they are, but in effect the tail lights and other items have not changed.
I don't understand. Any thoughts?
Regards Sue

[Alby_416]

After you select the various options which you want to code you need to go ahead and write the new settings onto the ecu, at the very bottom of the list there's the botton to do that.
Have you done that or just selected the options and that's it?

[JET135]

No, I have completed the coding. In fact when I go back in these items are now active, but the are still not actually changed on the car. It is very odd.
It is almost like there is some other master code that I have to activate to have these work.
What adapter did you use?

[M3 Adjuster]

Originally Posted by JET135

I bought the car privately, it is immaculate. It had only been driven Very lightly over the last 12 months and had a battery warning light when I picked it up, this now gone. I have read that a low charge can cause this sort of issue.

Don't worry coding doesn't scare me. �� I will get the guys at BMW to check it out. It's due for a service anyway.

Put the digital screwdriver down and step away from the vehicle!

KISS method first.

The battery warning light that you saw will come on with low charge. However, if the battery is low, from not being driven in several months... It will take SEVERAL days of driving normally (without using the accessories!) for the battery to fully recover. Until that occurs, odd things like ... no welcome lights in interior... trunk lid open button under decklid not working.. no comfort access... radio subwoofer doesn't play etc... all will occur... because the car is shutting down various systems to assist with maintaining the charge on the battery.

Go get a volt meter and check your battery voltage and make sure you have better than 12.5 at rest and 14.1 or more when running.. or.. Better yet.. just hook up a battery tender and wait for it to indicate when you have a full charge.

Once you KNOW the battery is 100 percent..... then you can pick up the screwdriver again.

[Alby_416]

Originally Posted by M3 Adjuster

Put the digital screwdriver down and step away from the vehicle!

KISS method first.

The battery warning light that you saw will come on with low charge. However, if the battery is low, from not being driven in several months... It will take SEVERAL days of driving normally (without using the accessories!) for the battery to fully recover. Until that occurs, odd things like ... no welcome lights in interior... trunk lid open button under decklid not working.. no comfort access... radio subwoofer doesn't play etc... all will occur... because the car is shutting down various systems to assist with maintaining the charge on the battery.

Go get a volt meter and check your battery voltage and make sure you have better than 12.5 at rest and 14.1 or more when running.. or.. Better yet.. just hook up a battery tender and wait for it to indicate when you have a full charge.

Once you KNOW the battery is 100 percent..... then you can pick up the screwdriver again.

+1
check if your battery is 100% charged and then look at the welcome lights etc.. although the tail lights should work when the car is running if you coded them to be on..

I remember in my case there was a discrepancy between the names of the tail light, they were called "inner brake lights" or viceversa. But its just a matter of looking at the light when you're done coding to see what changes which.

You're doing all this with the engine on right? No master code is required, just the app and the wifi or BT adapter depending on your phone

PS: I'm using a universal ELM 327 wifi port.

[JET135]

Right, so, BMW dealer has performed a thorough service on the car.
They have fully charged the battery and believe that it is holding its charge.
They investigated the tail light issue, and this is what the have told me.
This particular car is optioned with a low voltage option for Canada. It prevents the LED part of the tail lights from illuminating when DLR are selected. Instead a smaller low voltage globe illuminates.
So, is this bull? If not does anyone know of it or how to get around it.
I can of course just have my parking lights on with a slight tweak of the halo brightness and this will give the same effect, but I would prefer to not have to turn the lights on and off every time I get in the car.
Regards Sue

[reisf]

Originally Posted by JET135

Right, so, BMW dealer has performed a thorough service on the car.
They have fully charged the battery and believe that it is holding its charge.
They investigated the tail light issue, and this is what the have told me.
This particular car is optioned with a low voltage option for Canada. It prevents the LED part of the tail lights from illuminating when DLR are selected. Instead a smaller low voltage globe illuminates.
So, is this bull? If not does anyone know of it or how to get around it.
I can of course just have my parking lights on with a slight tweak of the halo brightness and this will give the same effect, but I would prefer to not have to turn the lights on and off every time I get in the car.
Regards Sue

Thats a load of crap. The low voltage option for canada refers to vehicles HEADLIGHTS that are halogens. With this the halogen high beam is activated at a low voltage to act as a DRL. Now since you have xenons, i have absolutely no idea how they came to that conclusion.

Fancy a drive down to Sydney? I can code it for you - no charge

[JET135]

Hey Reis,
Thought as much. It makes no sense to me whatsoever! I might take you up on your offer if I can't sort it myself.
Did you have any luck selling your car/ buying another?

[JET135]

Originally Posted by Alby_416

+1
check if your battery is 100% charged and then look at the welcome lights etc.. although the tail lights should work when the car is running if you coded them to be on..

I remember in my case there was a discrepancy between the names of the tail light, they were called "inner brake lights" or viceversa. But its just a matter of looking at the light when you're done coding to see what changes which.

You're doing all this with the engine on right? No master code is required, just the app and the wifi or BT adapter depending on your phone

PS: I'm using a universal ELM 327 wifi port.

Hey Al,
Done. Yes. They are the "inner brake lights" 😉

[Alby_416]

Originally Posted by JET135

Hey Al,
Done. Yes. They are the "inner brake lights" 😉

Glad you made them work at the end

[reisf]

Originally Posted by JET135

Hey Reis,
Thought as much. It makes no sense to me whatsoever! I might take you up on your offer if I can't sort it myself.
Did you have any luck selling your car/ buying another?

Yep sold my old car in 2 days - couldn't believe haha (privately that is, gave up on going through the dealership). Got a really nice 135i now

[JET135]

Originally Posted by reisf

Yep sold my old car in 2 days - couldn't believe haha (privately that is, gave up on going through the dealership). Got a really nice 135i now

Congrats, well done. Private is definitely the way to go.