Wife said the lights came on after she left the car

[retiredat44]

Wife said the lights came on after she left the car. She parked, went into her job. And then someone said her lights were on. She went out and said they were on. and turned them back off. I read about relays either going bad, or water on them... anyone else see this problem?

2001 BMW 530i.

I have only seen the factory alarm makes the lights flash, but never had them come on by themselves.

Also, I had the front firth low beam go out, and checked the right side module with the left side bulb, and it lit up, so I just left the supposed right side bad bulb in the left side for sure thinking it was bad. But then, the bad bulb started working again. I have ordered two new hid bulbs and will swap them out this coming week. I will check the wiring and relay stuff this week too.

[rf900rkw]

Which lights were on, and how, exactly, did whe turn the lights back off?

[Stück]

Sounds like a LKM getting ready to die.

[pleiades]

Sounds like a LKM getting ready to die.

Or she accidentally toggled the signal stalk high-beam flasher one time, activating the "follow me home" lighting feature that turns on the headlights for 40 sec or a bit more, programming-dependent.

[auaq]

Or it is possible that one of the turn indicator is engaged, or that she had forgotten to turn off the main lights.

[retiredat44]

all I know is someone said she left her lights on, she went back out an hours after she parked and said the lights were on, she turned them off,, you know women,, details confuse them.. unless it's your underwear in the wrong washer.. so I went to lok for the light control module, the stupid internet led me in a few directions,, but found out that frakkin one is not on the passenger side under the hood by the firewall, those are a couple other modules, so maybe it is inside on passenger side? I would like to look at the solder joints of the relay(s). But, my back is killing me badly from the bogus search through the modules under the hood. Why couldn't someone have been more clear on the modules and locations on the internet? People just don't explain well, even though they maybe trying...

[JimLev]

It's inside the car behind the pass side kick panel (below the glove box).
And it doesn't have any relays in it, all IC's and transistors.

[Qsilver7]

First find out exactly "which" lights were on when she walked back out to the car. As you can see from the replies...it's important because it points in the direction in which to look...or it could be dismissed as operator error...for instance:


headlights will not illuminate once the key is out of the ignition unless the PATHWAY LIGHTING/FOLLOW-ME-HOME LIGHTING has been initiated.

(so could be LCM issue if they were actually on & ignition was off)
parking lights will remain illuminated if you leave the headlight switch on

(perhaps the headlights were left on since she said that she "turned them back off")
left side or right side park light feature can be turned on after ignition is off if the turn indicator stalk is activated to the left or right

(this is a feature of the car for when parked on narrow or dimly lit streets that warns oncoming traffic that your car is parked on side of road...the rear tail light and front parking light will illuminate based on position of turn stalk)

http://www.bimmerboard.com/members/q/original/Parking%20Lamp%20Left%20Right.jpg


The LCM is indeed located on the exterior side of the passenger foot well (right side if your car is LHD)


http://www.bimmerboard.com/members/q/original/LCM%20E38%20E39%201995-1998.jpg
http://www.bimmerboard.com/members/q/original/LCM%20LKM%20Follow%20Me%20Home%20Light%20Info%201. jpg
http://www.bimmerboard.com/members/q/original/LCM%20LKM%20Follow%20Me%20Home%20Light%20Info%202. jpg

[retiredat44]

First find out exactly "which" lights were on when she walked back out to the car. As you can see from the replies...it's important because it points in the direction in which to look...or it could be dismissed as operator error...for instance:


headlights will not illuminate once the key is out of the ignition unless the PATHWAY LIGHTING/FOLLOW-ME-HOME LIGHTING has been initiated.
(so could be LCM issue if they were actually on & ignition was off)

parking lights will remain illuminated if you leave the headlight switch on
(perhaps the headlights were left on since she said that she "turned them back off")

left side or right side park light feature can be turned on after ignition is off if the turn indicator stalk is activated to the left or right
(this is a feature of the car for when parked on narrow or dimly lit streets that warns oncoming traffic that your car is parked on side of road...the rear tail light and front parking light will illuminate based on position of turn stalk)





The LCM is indeed located on the exterior side of the passenger foot well (right side if your car is LHD)







the park feature I am familiar with for when I lived in Germany, for the lights on narrow streets...
I know the headlights will produce a very, very loud buzzing sound if left on when ignition is turned off,, therefore very, very hard to ignore and leave lights on..
I will try to see the module and circuit board soon... just to check the solder areas...
I have to be very careful,,, shaky hands and all..

I wonder if anyone here has checked their LKM and ended up needing to repair theirs?

thank you for the great info! ;)

[retiredat44]

I also think that for some reason moisture got into a connector.. so I am going to spray some connectors to seal them,, and also al the light work again, so it seems none did burn out.. it only gave me an intermittent problem a couple days at most on one bulb. I could use dielectric grease, but many years ago I would use a clear spray to seal electrical wiring/connectors in bad climates.. so that could have been the problem.. after al the car came from a very dry climate.. I also have the new HIS bulbs, but I have not yet installed those.. Intermittent problems are the hardest to fix..

[chiefwej]

Before you spend a lot of time and $$ fixing a problem that may not exist, make sure that it's not operator error. My bet is she pulled down on the turn signal stalk activating the parking feature. Wait and see if the "problem" persists.

[fullthrottle540]

probably the walk home feature. I will hit it by accident 2 or 3 times a year and it always trips me out.

[retiredat44]

after I showed her some more settings, she now thinks she left them on one of the extra feature settings.. anyways, I have a couple new HID bulbs, and found the headlamp Zenon bulb amp connectors have a dirty connections ... which caused intermittents.. the car was very used to dry conditions, and suspect the wet weather, we moved to, are letting flaws and problems from old age show up much easier in the pacific northwest than back in So California deserts..