[lowrydr310]

I am nearly complete with my xenon retrofit. I have LCI xenons that I'm installing on my 2006 325i that came with halogen headlights. I have the CAS and FRM coded properly, having added $522 to the VO and coding out the all the bulb checks for the parking lights and turn signals. Everything looks and works great except the high beam shutter.

ALL of the retrofit guides I read say to connect the high beam (what was normally the high beam prior to the retrofit) to the shutter wire - bridge the wires for pin 5 and pin 6 on the connector. I know this would work, likely OK with pre-LCI xenon headlights, but I don't want to do this for one simple reason. The inner lamp on the LCI headlights is just supposed to be a cornering lamp and isn't meant to be used as a high beam that stays on for any length of time, like driving long stretches at night. Looking at the housing itself, there's not a whole lot of space around this bulb and I'd be worried about heat buildup. newtis.info even explains the behavior of the cornering lights and the appropriate FRM used with these headlights monitors the length of time these lights are on while cornering and turns them off after a specified time to prevent excessive heat buildup.

I want it to function like the standard pre-LCI xenon lights - where if I push the stalk on the steering column I get high beams that stay on (xenon shutter lowered) or if I pull the stalk (flash to pass) the inner halogen bulbs will light up and then turn off as soon as I let go. This 'flash to pass' of the inner beam is currently working fine with my setup. But the high beam xenon shutter does not lower when I want high beams. I added a wire from pin 41 of my FRM to both of the xenon shutter pins at the headlights, since this is how the xenon-equipped cars are wired from the factory. Unfortunately I suspect my FRM version doesn't support this feature as the shutter isn't lowering when I enable the high beams. I grabbed a FRM from a donor car (06 330i with adaptive xenons, labeled "E9X-E8xCA-AHL PL2 FRMFA) so my next step is to install and program this.


Also, I don't get any auto-leveling error on CCC/iDrive (coded AUTO_LWR_ENABLE = nicht_aktiv) but I get an error stored in the FRM for 9CB6: "LWR coil break" I know my headlight system isn't working - it's not connected to anything! Any way to code this out?

[Serf27]

You said you coded $522 but do you have the actual Xenon FRM in yet?
There is an option in the FRM module that allows you to select “bi xenons installed”
Try selecting that option to active.
That may be the issue.

As for the 9cb6 code, you can code out the AHL error. There are 2 that need to be coded out in the FRM module.

[nsjames]

if you want the cornering lights to work you need a newer FRM.

my late 07 FRM will not do cornering lights.
It will do halogen inner flash to pass.

[lowrydr310]

Originally Posted by Serf27

You said you coded $522 but do you have the actual Xenon FRM in yet?
There is an option in the FRM module that allows you to select “bi xenons installed”
Try selecting that option to active.
That may be the issue.

As for the 9cb6 code, you can code out the AHL error. There are 2 that need to be coded out in the FRM module.

I didn't install the other FRM yet. I wanted to see if my current module would still be able to trigger the shutter but I guess not. That's why I got the spare FRM from a xenon equipped donor car, just to have if I needed it.

I'm going to install and reprogram the xenon FRM them work on the coding. AHL is adaptive headlights, I'm not getting any errors there just the auto leveling motor coil short error. I searched and couldn't find what else to code.

Originally Posted by nsjames

if you want the cornering lights to work you need a newer FRM.

my late 07 FRM will not do cornering lights.
It will do halogen inner flash to pass.

I never said I wanted the cornering lights to work as cornering lights. I just want inner halogen as flash to pass, which is currently working fine on my halogen FRM currently programmed for Xenons. I was just commenting that the inner halogens on LCI xenon headlights are meant to be used as cornering lights and not left on for any length of time.

[lowrydr310]

SUCCESS! I confirmed that the standard FRM for halogen headlights doesn't support the xenon shutter output on pin 41.

Here's my original FRM next to the replacement:

Note the "E9X-E8x" vs "E9X-E8xCA-AHL"

I installed the replacement FRM that supports Xenon lights, programmed my VIN to it using tool32, then programmed my VO and reset it to the default configuration using Ncsexpert in expert mode (not manipulation). Then I used Ncsexpert in manipulation mode to code out the bulb checks for parking lights and corner lights/turn signals, code out the auto-leveling, and coded out the sidemarkers. Everything is working now - my LCI xenon headlights behave exactly like pre-LCI xenon headlights now. Pulling the high beam switch allows the inner halogen bulbs to light as long as I hold it, and pushing the switch raises the xenon shutter allowing xenon high beams. My LCI LED front turn signals also flash at normal speed.

There were two options for LWR: AUTO_LWR_ENABLE and DYNAM_LWR_ENABLE and I coded both to nicht_aktiv, now I have no more errors in the FRM. I don't know if my prior 9CB6 error was because I had a halolgen FRM coded for xenon, or it was the DYNAM_LWR_ENABLE coding, but it's gone now.

Also with the LCI headlights and an older pre-LCI FRM like I'm running, it's best to code SIDEMARKER_US to nicht_aktiv so the amber turn signal lights don't stay on when headlights are on and only light up as the turn signals. This would be fine with LCI xenon headlights as they have incandescent bulbs designed to stay on as amber corner lights, but the LCI headlights use three small LEDs in each corner as the corner lights and the corner LED array is only used as turn signals.


It would have been easier to simply have the high beam wire on my headlight connector go to pins 5 and 6, so that when the high beam was on either pulled for flash to pass or pushed for high beam both the inner halogen bulb would light and the xenon shutter would raise. My only issue with this is that my DRL function would not work properly (pre-LCI uses inner halogen bulb as DRL given a lower voltage - this would cause the xenon shutter to buzz). Also, as I mentioned, the inner bulb on the LCI headlights is only meant to be used as a cornering light. According to newtis.info:

Notice! Temperature monitoring by temperature model!
A temperature model in the footwell module (FRM) calculates the temperature of the reflector. The temperature at the reflector must not exceed a certain value. If a critical temperature is reached, the cornering light is switched off. After a cooling-down period, the cornering light can be switched on again.

My pre-LCI FRM likely doesn't have this temperature model since it doesn't support the cornering lights. I wasn't comfortable using these as high beams for any extended length of time, so I added the shutter wire from pin 41 on the FRM to each headlight harness.