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      04-28-2014, 09:59 AM   #1
Clifton
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Daytime running lamps indicator at night?

Going on my third week of ownership and I recently noticed an indicator that I could have sworn was not *on* before and now I'm curious if it is normal. :dunno:

At night with the headlights set to automatic or manually switched on, the daytime running lamp indicator is illuminated green on the dash next to the tach (see pic). What is odd is that during the day the indicator light is off regardless of the setting specified under lighting menu in iDrive.

I've tried selecting/ de-selecting the "Daytime running lamps" check box, but it does nothing to change the illumination of indicator in day or night mode. Night is always on while day is always off. You would think it would be the other way around.

Anyone else's car do this or do I have a problem in the dash or coding settings?

Thanks in advance for your help!
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      04-28-2014, 10:08 AM   #2
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I thought green meant normal headlights? I think mine goes green in poor light when the headlights are on and turns off when just the two rings (daytime lights) are on? Are you sure that when your green indicator is on it is just your daytime lights that are on?
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      04-28-2014, 10:20 AM   #3
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That is your headlight indicator. There is no indicator for the DRL because the are on all the time night and day(if your DRL is set on)
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      04-28-2014, 10:32 AM   #4
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Was your car dirty when you noticed the light? I had an issue with headlights being on during the day last year on a road trip when the car was filthy. Not enough light was getting through to the sensor, so it would switch on the headlights if they were set to auto. Once I washed the car, everything was back to normal.
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      04-28-2014, 10:47 AM   #5
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I believe that little green light on the dash is to tell you that the headlights and/or parking lights are on. It has nothing to do with DRL.
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      04-28-2014, 10:59 AM   #6
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Thanks for the quick response guys.

The odd thing is my 2003 M3 and my 2011 328 both with Xenon and auto headlamps did not display any symbol on the dash illuminated at night when the lights came on. I'm almost positive a light would come on during the day to let you know DRL were active. Is this indicator something new for night time driving for BMW, as I've never seen before.

Seems odd to me that you need a light at night to tell you that your lights are on. Especially when the gauges are illuminated and you can see the road with the headlights.


Oh and the X5 is very clean. Washed it 3 times this past week chasing pollen.
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      04-28-2014, 11:09 AM   #7
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Mmmmhhh, I've never seen any car without headlight indicator when headlights are actually on, same for turn signal, full headlights, warnings, handbrake, etc. I guess those indicators on dashboard are mandatory for several decades now.
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      04-28-2014, 01:09 PM   #8
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My 2011 X5 never had any indication that headlights were on. The only way I knew they were on was that the instrument cluster would light up in orange.

Quote:
Originally Posted by w4termelon View Post
Mmmmhhh, I've never seen any car without headlight indicator when headlights are actually on, same for turn signal, full headlights, warnings, handbrake, etc. I guess those indicators on dashboard are mandatory for several decades now.

Last edited by BMWMN1971; 04-28-2014 at 01:20 PM..
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      04-28-2014, 01:20 PM   #9
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I have a question related to this. My F15 has the poor version of instrument cluster which does not have the extended display Thus, I have seen 3 different options of illumination in my instrument cluster all with DLR ON:

1) Lights on Auto during the day (sunshine and bright outside): speedometer and tachometer have illumination at all and the LCD display is lit in white
2) Lights on Auto during the day (rainy/dar sky kind of dark outside but not night dark): speedometer and tachometer are lit in orange and LCD display is lit in white
3) Lights on Auto or ON position during the night: speedometer and tachometer are lit in orange and LCD display is also lit in orange.

I would assume that on option 2 above the headlights turned on automatic but the LCD display stays in white for some reason that did not trigger it to turn orange. I was wondering if there is a way to have the car to always have the speedometer and tachometer lit in orange and the LCD display in white during the day (no headlights ON) and turn it all orange during the night. I still curse BMW everyday for selling me a car with an instrument cluster that has no illumination during the day. Any thoughts if it has a setting or coding that would do the trick?
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      04-28-2014, 03:01 PM   #10
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Check page 100 on owners manual. It looks like the two headlamp symbol is daytime running lamp indicator.
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      04-28-2014, 03:22 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kzang View Post
Check page 100 on owners manual. It looks like the two headlamp symbol is daytime running lamp indicator.
That is my thought too, but why active at night? What does your dash do at night?
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      04-28-2014, 03:33 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWMN1971 View Post
My 2011 X5 never had any indication that headlights were on. The only way I knew they were on was that the instrument cluster would light up in orange.
Interesting, every BMW I have owned including the 2011 that I had for only 6 months had the headlight indicator.
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      04-28-2014, 04:04 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MRV99 View Post
Interesting, every BMW I have owned including the 2011 that I had for only 6 months had the headlight indicator.
Did you have daytime headlight option turned *on*?

Did this occur both day and night?
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      04-28-2014, 04:18 PM   #14
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This is new and totally normal in the F15. This symbol tells you that the headlights are on regardless if it's in auto or manual. The E70 didn't have this.
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      04-28-2014, 07:21 PM   #15
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Older BMW's, like my E92 M3, had a small light that illuminated on the switch itself, not in the dashboard. The E70 X5 was like this, too, from what I remember.
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      04-29-2014, 07:22 AM   #16
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Another way to tell if your Headlights are ON is to look at the HUD.
If your Headlights are OFF the HUD color is WHITE, if your Headlights are ON your HUD color is ORANGE.
I have my DRL set to ON and that headlight light is always on on my dash.
The only way I can tell if my headlights are on is the color on my HUD.
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      04-29-2014, 08:55 AM   #17
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I stand corrected.
Just checked this out.
The dashboard icon light is indeed for your Headlights. If you have the DRL box checked in iDrive then they are on all the time.
The HUD color is correct, White = Headlights OFF, Orange = Headlights ON
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      04-29-2014, 10:20 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wdimagineer View Post
Older BMW's, like my E92 M3, had a small light that illuminated on the switch itself, not in the dashboard. The E70 X5 was like this, too, from what I remember.
Yes, there was a small little green light, size of pencil tip, on the switch that would illuminate. Both my E46 and E90 had this. Guess it moved to the dashboard now?
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      04-29-2014, 10:54 AM   #19
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Your headlights are automatic. Thus, depending on where your car was parked or been through, the headlight might turn on to react to the environment. For example, if your car was park in a garage that's dimly lit, then the headlights will turn on. However, even when you leave the garage, the headlights will stay on a bit. It will not turn off right away. You might have see the lit icon on your dash after your car has been in such environment.

Z.
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