[flashlights]

Originally Posted by lindros2

So another oddball situation:

My automatic lights appear to be staying on a lot more often than usual. Even at 8:30am or 2pm with bright sunlight, my lights won't go off.

Anyone either (a) have this issue, or (b) know where the automatic sensor is located?

I have this same problem as you with my 520d. and was told by my BMW dealer that BMW UK know about this problem and have called it "Blue-Sky-Syndrome" It's when certain light angle hits the sensor (located on the rear veiw mirror clusters) that set it off, or headlights "On" in this matter. Now, I have had cars (Merc, lexus) with auto headlights function before and they seem to work perfectly! But when I told this to the dealer's so call "Top mechanic" he said "because your car has so many sensors and the complex way it has to deal with it all, sometimes it switch the lights on as a safety precaution" (Bull Crap!) I thought. Also when I asked " will BMW produce an update programme to cure this problem?" the answer was an abrupt "No!" I think you have to e-mail BMW UK, or BMW US in your case to find out more and really have a big moan!

[Matt01]

I found mine got better with time, it was almost (and I'm not saying they did) like they learned... Also noticed this more on the wife's countryman every time you start the car on the drive they come one as its a little darker....

[Expatmarais]

I have this pbm. When I start car in a car park and leave into sunlight lights come on and stay on regardless of sun/not. When I start car in sunlight lights do not come on and appear to 'behave' entering and leaving tunnels. Weird. In France dealer says it a bluesky brightness effect.
Will learn to live with or use my finger on the rotary dial if it annoys overtime. As noted by previous posts never happened on my Audis....

[dbs600]

I have an F02 7 Series and have this problem too. Headlamp switch set to Auto and when it is sunny out - not a cloud in the sky - there are times when the green indicator in the instrument cluster showing that my headlamps are on is lit. Again, nothing to do with the daytime running lamps a/k/a corona rings. Anyone find resolution yet? Thanks.

[TimeFor]

I'm having this issue too but it's just started about a two weeks ago. As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't matter if we park in direct sun light, in shade, or the angle of the sun. Auto headlights are not auto if they're always on. BMW sold us auto headlights and if it's not working they have to fix it. My e46 auto headlights came on when it was dark and went off when it was bright. There is no reason whatsoever my F10 auto headlights should be on when its a perfect clear and bright Southern California day. It's broken.

I made an appoint at my dealer and will take the car to them next weekend. It will stay there until they fix it.

[lindros2]

As the original poster, this is an issue in the winter. No idea why, but the higher sun in the summer prevents the lights from turning on during the day,

[Ellmat]

Originally Posted by lindros2

So another oddball situation:

My automatic lights appear to be staying on a lot more often than usual. Even at 8:30am or 2pm with bright sunlight, my lights won't go off.

Anyone either (a) have this issue, or (b) know where the automatic sensor is located?

I had the same problem, it is all to do with the light sensor in the centre mirror left in bright light. When you reach your destination try turning auto lights off, when you get back in the car turn switch back to auto and see what happens...when i did this the auto lights worked fine...strange i know.

[Krash7172]

I took my car in about a month ago for scheduled service. I told them to make sure the software is up to date. It took them two days to reprogram it. My headlights have not come on one single time during daylight since. Doesn't even matter it it's cloudy. It's working perfectly

Quite a change from having the lights on during the day all last summer!

[martin mustang]

On my side, I believe now we heading into longer days the system is working more accordingly, I notice my daylight angel lights are on without the headlight throughout the day even when cloudy, in other words just the way they should work, so the summer vs. winter sun light effect on BMW sensor is probably the reason behind all this.

[Krash7172]

Not the case for me. I was annoyed all last summer by this. There is a definite change in behavior.

[E90Fleet]

From July 2012 production the 5 Series will get a new design light sensor from the new facelift F01 7 Series.

If you are having problems with the older models, get your dealer to update teh software.

[Needsdecaf]

Good to know. My software is due for an update soon, hopefully it works as reported!

[schultz]

I know for a fact that the sensor for the automatic headlamps is located on the same housing as the rain sensing wiper sensor. If you look closely at the face of the housing (located at the top of your windshield) you will see a small opening (much smaller than the larger pea-sized rain sensor) on the face of the unit.

I know that this is the case because I had a windshield replaced recently and when they replaced the sensor housing after changing the windshield they inadvertently covered up the automatic headlamp sensor which caused my automatic headlamps to stop working and to keep the full headlights on all the time. It was the use of an incorrect aftermarket gel pad that binds the unit to the windshield that caused the obstruction over the sensor.

Once we figured that out and removed the gel pad and the obstruction over the auto headlight sensor, everything started working properly.

If you have to replace a windshield in the future be aware that it is very difficult to find the proper gel pad that sticks the sensor to the windshield. Apparently BMW does not sell the gel pad separately and must be purchased with the whole rain sensor/headlamp sensor unit. A bit of a cash grab I believe. You should be able to acquire the gel pad alone for exactly this repair circumstance, but BMW won't sell it that way.

As for the automatic headlamp sensor, I have no idea what you could do yourself to improve its ability to monitor light conditions and keep the right lamps on when they need to be on, other than to keep the windshield clean at all times. Mine seems to work fine now, exactly as the manual stipulates.

[Johnstonlee]

Turn off the drl on idrive and the auto lights work perfect. But, do this and the welcome home lights don't come on even when ticked on idrive.

[MSport_Jon]

I have the same problem on my F25 when DRL are on and i hit a tunnel the Headlights will come on almost instantaneous. But after leaving the tunnel they will stay on for about 2 minutes if i drive on regular roads and streets and possibly longer on the highway... i have coded different sensitivity options but pretty much the same behavior after leaving tunnels and dark spots... Looks dumb for a BMW to be driving around with LED's on in plain daylight...

[MMY]

Just to add another twist to this debate...I notice dimmed lights activated sometimes in low sun or very bright sunlight.. I happen to think this is a safety feature as strong sun can blind oncoming traffic and activating the lamps makes me more visible. My head up display also varies in brightness and becomes super bright when heading directly into strong sun (this is not the same as the switch between day and night mode, where in the latter it becomes BMW orange, just like the dashboard illumination); without this it would not be legible in strong sun. I conclude that the same sensor controls the functionality of both head up and headlights...

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by MSport_Jon

I have the same problem on my F25 when DRL are on and i hit a tunnel the Headlights will come on almost instantaneous. But after leaving the tunnel they will stay on for about 2 minutes if i drive on regular roads and streets and possibly longer on the highway... i have coded different sensitivity options but pretty much the same behavior after leaving tunnels and dark spots... Looks dumb for a BMW to be driving around with LED's on in plain daylight...

Isn't the sensitivity codeable??? I did it for the headlights on my F10...

[TJBentley]

This may or may not apply to you guys, but my f10's headlights work in a crazy way. I installed an audio system in the trunk some months ago and had to take it out due to getting the battery drain message and other error messages. Ever since then it seems as if my car does not know when to put the headlights on or not. In the daytime they will be go on ALWAYS after driving for about a minute and stay on. At night they won't automatically go on upon starting the car only after driving about 5-10 minutes. I have to "force" the headlights to go on at night by either pressing the fog light button or switching the headlight knob all the way to the right. Very strange. I took it to BMW they said the computer is throwing battery error codes and that I need to replace the battery. However, this was months ago(about 6) and the battery has still been working fine except for this headlight issue. WEIRD!

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by TJBentley

This may or may not apply to you guys, but my f10's headlights work in a crazy way. I installed an audio system in the trunk some months ago and had to take it out due to getting the battery drain message and other error messages. Ever since then it seems as if my car does not know when to put the headlights on or not. In the daytime they will be go on ALWAYS after driving for about a minute and stay on. At night they won't automatically go on upon starting the car only after driving about 5-10 minutes. I have to "force" the headlights to go on at night by either pressing the fog light button or switching the headlight knob all the way to the right. Very strange. I took it to BMW they said the computer is throwing battery error codes and that I need to replace the battery. However, this was months ago(about 6) and the battery has still been working fine except for this headlight issue. WEIRD!

Sounds like a battery issue......

I've noticed highly "electronic" cars do weird things whit a weak or failing battery. My old Lincoln LS showed 135 mph, 5500 rpm and I was barely doing 25 when the battery died due to a failed alternator!!!

[TJBentley]

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

Sounds like a battery issue......

I've noticed highly "electronic" cars do weird things whit a weak or failing battery. My old Lincoln LS showed 135 mph, 5500 rpm and I was barely doing 25 when the battery died due to a failed alternator!!!

Yes you're probably right. These cars go haywire when the battery starts giving up. I'm gonna replace mine soon

[David9962000]

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

Isn't the sensitivity codeable??? I did it for the headlights on my F10...

I did it too, they were too sensitive on mime.

http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1160024

[MSport_Jon]

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

Isn't the sensitivity codeable??? I did it for the headlights on my F10...

It is codable... However i don't think the sensitivity is the problem in my case. I think there is a setting that has a "turn off headlamps" rule that let's the headlamps turn off after a predefined amount of time. I have tried all the 4 sensitivity settings and the peronism seems to be in my case not so much when the car decides when to turn on the headlamps but when to turn them off....