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Thread: Leaving the Interior Lights On..

  1. #1
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    Leaving the Interior Lights On..

    I just gt back from dropping the E36 off at a friend's garage. Prior to getting out of the car, I had the interior lights on so that I could gather my stuff. I shut the door, locked it and put the key in the drop off box. Just then I realized that I forgot to turn off the interior lights. Question is, will the interior lights eventually go into sleep mode in order to keep the battery from wearing down?

  2. #2
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    Pelican Parts is offline Senior Member Supporting Vendor
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    Hello - if you left the interior lights in the 'ON' position, then the lights will continue to stay on.
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  3. #3
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    Was the door open? There are three positions. Off , lights on , lights on when door open. The last will turn off on a delay timer ~5 sec... or when the door is locked. The other mode however is when the battery is dead. ..... everyone is calculating 5 W x 3 = 15 W on a ~80 Amp hour battery or <64 hours unless you swapped to leds bulbs.
    Last edited by gc325is; 12-10-2018 at 08:24 PM.

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    Non-LED lights and the switch was definitely left in the ON position. Doors were locked and the lights stayed on. Jumping it, if need be, isn't going to be an issue. I was just curious if there was a sleep mode after 16 minutes like the E39s have.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bostongruen View Post
    ...I was just curious if there was a sleep mode after 16 minutes like the E39s have.
    There is, but only if you left the switch in the center (auto) position. If you rocked it far left, the interior lighting will stay on until the battery is flat.

    The trunk light of a non-cabrio E36 will also stay on until the battery is flat. Been there, done that, added a timer.

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    This is one of those mistakes that'll only happen once. I'll be switching to LED interior lighting ASAP just in case.

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    13.5 hours in temperatures that dipped down to 5 °F and it started right up with no need for a charge.

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    There is a ‘rest’ relay that kicks in after aprox 15 min to save the battery.

    I know this works when a door is open. I never testen it with the car locked and interior lights set to on.
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  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by MParallel View Post
    There is a ‘rest’ relay that kicks in after aprox 15 min to save the battery.

    I know this works when a door is open. I never testen it with the car locked and interior lights set to on.
    Doesn't over ride the switch on the dome light.
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  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by somebody5788 View Post
    Doesn't over ride the switch on the dome light.
    I might try it, just to rule out the EU wiring is different.
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