[ZPrime]

Originally Posted by andrewc89

They're not road legal. No idea why. Ask the DOT.

Sure they are. Plenty of European cars have rear fogs in the US (from the factory), look at Mercedes and Audi.

Now, many people that use them are absolute idiots and turn them on when they aren't necessary, but there's no law that makes rear fogs illegal here.

[ZPrime]

Originally Posted by andrewc89

Yes, mine are the euro versions with yellow indicators. It's the one and only difference between the euro and US lights as far as I know. If you have an LCI already it should just be a 100% plug and play swap.

Here's the LED's i put in the reverse lights:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They are polarity specific so if they don't work just flip them 180 degrees

Did you get any grief from US Customs when importing your Euro tails? Where did you order from?

Any chance you could take pics of the housings - do they have DOT markings stamped on them at all?

[Free Spirit]

Originally Posted by ZPrime

Sure they are. Plenty of European cars have rear fogs in the US (from the factory), look at Mercedes and Audi.

Now, many people that use them are absolute idiots and turn them on when they aren't necessary, but there's no law that makes rear fogs illegal here.

They are legal in the US but manufactures err on the side of caution and eliminate any features not required that could possible expose them to liability.. Someone could mistake rear-fogs for brake lights, crash, then sue BMW Inc.

America is a very litigious country. This is why they also disable the DVD In Motion only in the US market. And also why they keep the color red for the rear turn signals, instead of amber.

This guy below explained it best:

[ZPrime]

Red for rear turn signals is a cost cutting measure, plain and simple.

[Stef]

I just did this simple mod. It took me less than 5 minutes to modify the button and five more to code the car with bimmercode. Thanks!

[///M TOWN]

Originally Posted by ZPrime

Red for rear turn signals is a cost cutting measure, plain and simple.

Yes but Red looks much cleaner regardless.

[ZPrime]

Originally Posted by eDrive

Yes but Red looks much cleaner regardless.

The outside housing on the European-spec lights is still red. So it doesn't "ruin the looks."

Only time you see orange is when an indicator is lit.

[AndrewC1989]

Originally Posted by eDrive

Yes but Red looks much cleaner regardless.

Originally Posted by ZPrime

The outside housing on the European-spec lights is still red. So it doesn't "ruin the looks."

Only time you see orange is when an indicator is lit.

Correct. With LCI tails they look identical until your indicators are on.

I have them on my own car so I would know

Having all the indicators orange matches much better and it has proven to be safer as well

[Mtnbkrlts]

I coded my left rear fog light today using the following:

ECU Module Option Default New Value
FEM_BODY 3060 NSL_Verbaut nicht_verbaut Verbaut
REM 3063 Mapping_Nebelschlussl_L_output off nsl_l



However, when I push the button to activate, I get the error "Left two-stage brake lamp malfunction." The error clears when I turn the car off and back on. Do I need to code out the Dynamic Brake Force to avoid this error?

[AndrewC1989]

Originally Posted by Mtnbkrlts

I coded my left rear fog light today using the following:

ECU Module Option Default New Value
FEM_BODY 3060 NSL_Verbaut nicht_verbaut Verbaut
REM 3063 Mapping_Nebelschlussl_L_output off nsl_l



However, when I push the button to activate, I get the error "Left two-stage brake lamp malfunction." The error clears when I turn the car off and back on. Do I need to code out the Dynamic Brake Force to avoid this error?

I have both fogs coded in and have the brake force display on and set to flashing, and both functions work perfectly fine with no errors. My guess would be that it's not functioning as intended due to the fact that you only coded in one fog to work. I understand that's how they work in Europe but it might not function as intended with US spec cars. There might be another setting that has to be changed in order for it to do what you want it to do. What that setting is, I have no idea. I would try coding in both fogs and see if that error is still there. I have a feeling it won't be.

[Mtnbkrlts]

Thanks for the tip! I was thinking along the same lines but hadn't tried it yet. I'll report back with how it works out.

[mr_lab_rat]

Originally Posted by Free Spirit

America is a very litigious country. This is why they also disable the DVD In Motion only in the US market. And also why they keep the color red for the rear turn signals, instead of amber.

This guy below explained it best:

Oh, now I'm actually pissed off again. Red turn signals are my pet peeve.
I thought there was actually some good reason for the manufacturers to do it.
How is it cost saving when they have to produce two different part numbers instead of just one?

[ZPrime]

So I discovered that if you install the proper European headlight switch in a US-spec car, the FEM (front electronics module) complains (see attached PDF).

Any thoughts on how to fix?

I don't want to alter the car's FA / VO to the point where a US dealership has a problem working with it... But I just had my car in for the iDrive screen (phantom touches / they replaced it) and they complained on the work order that they couldn't correctly update software on some piece due to the FEM error.

[McGary911]

Originally Posted by ZPrime

So I discovered that if you install the proper European headlight switch in a US-spec car, the FEM (front electronics module) complains (see attached PDF).

Any thoughts on how to fix?

I don't want to alter the car's FA / VO to the point where a US dealership has a problem working with it... But I just had my car in for the iDrive screen (phantom touches / they replaced it) and they complained on the work order that they couldn't correctly update software on some piece due to the FEM error.

Do you still have your original switch? I assume you got the euro switch so you'd have the little fog light label on the button.

If that's the case, reinstall your original switch but swap the euro button from the euro switch. It's just a plastic button so no electronics to mess things up.

[AndrewC1989]

Originally Posted by McGary911

Do you still have your original switch? I assume you got the euro switch so you'd have the little fog light label on the button.

If that's the case, reinstall your original switch but swap the euro button from the euro switch. It's just a plastic button so no electronics to mess things up.

Don't think it will illuminate orange at night if you do that though. I would just swap the panel before any service work and then switch back after. Annoying, sure, but probably only needs to be done once in a blue moon.

[ZPrime]

Originally Posted by andrewc89

Don't think it will illuminate orange at night if you do that though. I would just swap the panel before any service work and then switch back after. Annoying, sure, but probably only needs to be done once in a blue moon.

Yeah, I could probably swap the buttons but then it won't light up at night, unless they have an LED in that spot on the US-spec switch (which would seem kind of silly, but who knows)?

I mean this is all really anal-retentive nit-picking at this point, but I picked up the European switch because I wanted it to function correctly like a European car.

Another option might be to gut the PCB out of the US-spec switch and see if there is something swappable to make the Euro one register as US-spec... but it seems to make more sense to try to code the FEM at that point (And hope that coding doesn't cause problems for the dealership).

Or like you said, just swap the switch next time I'm in for service. It isn't that hard, but I also would prefer not to have to mess with it.

[iRasF87]

Anyone know if US-spec M2C have this switch and if its the same part # as Euro switch?

[AndrewC1989]

Originally Posted by iRasF87

Anyone know if US-spec M2C have this switch and if its the same part # as Euro switch?

It definitely wouldn't be the same part number as the euro cars since US spec cars don't have the rear fog option enabled from the factory.

I would assume the euro part number is the same as it was in the 2018 LCI cars (61316847520) but you would have to double check that.

[McGary911]

I could have swore I responded to this but maybe hit the wrong button. Anyway.....


I KNOW the button won't light because I pulled mine out and tried it. I saw the momentary contact button for the on\off on the right and what looked like a surface mounted LED in a little silicone tube on the left. The LEDish thing in the tube didn't light but it was there on my US switch assembly.

I'm wondering if there's some coding in advanced (bimmercode) that would tell the car to activate that LED? It wouldn't surprise me at all. Someone just has to find it.

Here's a pic I snapped with the button removed.

[AndrewC1989]

Originally Posted by McGary911

I could have swore I responded to this but maybe hit the wrong button. Anyway.....


I KNOW the button won't light because I pulled mine out and tried it. I saw the momentary contact button for the on\off on the right and what looked like a surface mounted LED in a little silicone tube on the left. The LEDish thing in the tube didn't light but it was there on my US switch assembly.

I'm wondering if there's some coding in advanced (bimmercode) that would tell the car to activate that LED? It wouldn't surprise me at all. Someone just has to find it.

Here's a pic I snapped with the button removed.

Even if you could get the LED to light up (assuming it does) it would be useless without the correct button which AFAIK is not sold separately from the switch itself. Unless you were to manage to find the button cover by itself or 3D print one, there's really no upside or benefit to what you're proposing.

[McGary911]

Originally Posted by andrewc89

Even if you could get the LED to light up (assuming it does) it would be useless without the correct button which AFAIK is not sold separately from the switch itself. Unless you were to manage to find the button cover by itself or 3D print one, there's really no upside or benefit to what you're proposing.

Unless you’re someone like zprime who already has both switches and can swap out the button, potentially code the light and not have to worry about software updates.

I don’t know if most would go through all of that, but this guy found himself in a pretty unique circumstance.

[AndrewC1989]

Originally Posted by McGary911

Unless you're someone like zprime who already has both switches and can swap out the button, potentially code the light and not have to worry about software updates.

I don't know if most would go through all of that, but this guy found himself in a pretty unique circumstance.

If you look at the PDF he attached one of the errors says the supply voltage is off. My guess is that a voltage change would be needed to turn that LED on in the US module. Therefore it probably wouldn't be helpful to people in his circumstance either as it would probably trigger the exact same code.

IMO It would be a million times easier to just swap modules before doing any major repair work through a dealership. It's not like you're going to be doing it that often anyways and it literally takes 1 min.