Constant 12v power supply under bonnet of E39?

Associate
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Where would be the best place to get a power supply from under the hood other than the jump start terminal?

I am trying to install my DRL harness for my LED angel eyes.. and I know a lot of people use the jump start terminal but for some reason, I can't unscrew mine (it's not one of those that has a nut on it). As such, I can't slot the O-Ring connector onto the bolt.

My terminal looks like this:

HPIM2190.jpg


Where else could I get a supply?
 
Man of Honour
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Why does it even need a harness, the E39 has a DRL function anyway so it can be set to have the angel eyes on all the time.
 
Soldato
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Fox's post above makes sense - though could the early cars be different? You may just need to take power from a pin or make a physical bridge over a terminal that the early lights and harness (assuming they aren't the same) dont use.
 
Soldato
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Might sound stupid, but don't you want ignition-switched 12V for your DRLs? I mean you dont want them on 24/7, right? Or is there a bit more to this harness and it splices in to switched power elsewhere? But like Fox says, doesn't the car do it as standard?
 
Soldato
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Surely you'd use the existing sidelight / dipped headlight feed? You only usually create a new 12V feed if you're going to be drawing current in excess of what the existing wiring and fuses can handle, which won't be a problem with LED DRLs :p
 
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[TW]Fox;21673734 said:
Why does it even need a harness, the E39 has a DRL function anyway so it can be set to have the angel eyes on all the time.

I don’t think my car has the option of DRL as standard as it is an older engine (1997). As you can tell I am not an expert on electrical wiring, but I retrofitted the LED’s into my projector headlamps and they came with a harness. The harness contains a ground wire (obviously) which I bolted to the top of my strut tower, one of the trigger wires I spliced/t-tapped into my accessory circuit and I need to supply a constant 12v to the relay (this wire is already fused, and this is included as part of the harness). Surely this way the lights would only be lit once they are triggered via ignition position 1 or 2 as per the accessory wire feed?

I also plan on running the second trigger wire to my interior lights via running it through the firewall to my drivers side puddle light – this way the angel eyes will dim with the car interior lights once I lock the car.

Any help is appreciated.
 
Soldato
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I don’t think my car has the option of DRL as standard as it is an older engine (1997). As you can tell I am not an expert on electrical wiring, but I retrofitted the LED’s into my projector headlamps and they came with a harness. The harness contains a ground wire (obviously) which I bolted to the top of my strut tower, one of the trigger wires I spliced/t-tapped into my accessory circuit and I need to supply a constant 12v to the relay (this wire is already fused, and this is included as part of the harness). Surely this way the lights would only be lit once they are triggered via ignition position 1 or 2 as per the accessory wire feed?

I also plan on running the second trigger wire to my interior lights via running it through the firewall to my drivers side puddle light – this way the angel eyes will dim with the car interior lights once I lock the car.

Any help is appreciated.

Easy solution is to just wire it to the sidelight feed - means you will have to turn the knob but hey ho. There must be a seperate, fused constant 12v line in there though, get the multimeter out and start checking fuses
 
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Easy solution is to just wire it to the sidelight feed - means you will have to turn the knob but hey ho. There must be a seperate, fused constant 12v line in there though, get the multimeter out and start checking fuses

Yeah - I think this is my only way. Anyone know the fuse number for the cigarette lighter? lol :D :D

This image suggests it's #47 but I think this is a later model BMW, and not sure if it's E39:-

attachment.php
 
Man of Honour
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Just fit Hella lights, then you don't need to worry about all this faffing and your E39 will look lovely not like one that somebody has decided to fit random ebay trinkets to. You've spent a fortune on all that bodywork don't ruin it for the sake of a set of headlights. If you cant run to new ones there are millions of them on Ebay!

It is not a 2009 Audi, it does not need LED running lights.
 
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[TW]Fox;21675555 said:
Just fit Hella lights, then you don't need to worry about all this faffing and your E39 will look lovely not like one that somebody has decided to fit random ebay trinkets to. You've spent a fortune on all that bodywork don't ruin it for the sake of a set of headlights. If you cant run to new ones there are millions of them on Ebay!

It is not a 2009 Audi, it does not need LED running lights.

Unfortunately I have already bought my projectors and LED rings so no going back now!

562627_3255008568870_1076750027_3033045_1982478695_n.jpg
 
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[TW]Fox;21675577 said:
Such a shame :(

What about the back lights? The Hella CELIS ones are not even that expensive for the rear.

Will get those for the rears yeah. How much are they new? (I am at work so can't really look around right now).
 
Caporegime
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[TW]Fox;21675308 said:
Via a laptop and software, its a vehicle coding thing not a user selectable option. Its there for markets where DRL's have always been mandatory.

I assume the age of the car does not matter i.e. all e39's have this?

I like running with sidelights on, I think I'll get this done at the next service. :)

Thanks mate. :)
 
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