Finally! After what felt like an eternity, I managed to get my Angel Eyes working as Daytime Running Lights (DRLs) on my BMW Z4. It seems like a straightforward modification, and many others might have achieved this without issue, but for me, it turned into a six-month saga!
My first attempt was with a local BMW specialist. After an hour of wrenching and muttered frustrations emanating from the garage, the verdict was a disappointing, “Can’t be done.” This was particularly surprising considering they were using professional programming equipment – the brand of which remains a mystery. Undeterred, and with a desire to explore more coding tweaks without incurring hefty garage fees each time, I invested in the Carly app.
Carly proved to be excellent for several basic coding adjustments. I effortlessly enabled:
- 3 flashes on indicator
- Visual confirmation of locking
- Visual confirmation of unlocking
- Audible confirmation of locking
- Disable auto door lock on drive away
All these modifications were implemented flawlessly. However, when I turned my attention to enabling the Angel Eyes as DRLs, I hit a wall. The Carly app instructions seemed clear enough, prompting me to enable both “Daytime running lights 1/2” and “Daytime running lights 2/2.” Following this instruction immediately switched on the main headlights. This was not the desired outcome. I wanted just the Angel Eyes to illuminate as DRLs, not the full headlights, especially during daylight. Scouring the Carly menu for further options revealed limited settings related to DRLs:
- Dipped main beams [disabled]
- Standing lights (??) [disabled]
- Daytime running light brightness [medium]
The ‘Standing lights’ setting, which I suspected might control the side lights (where my Angel Eyes are wired), offered no change when toggled. Similarly, adjusting the ‘Daytime brightness’ setting – with options ranging from high, medium, low, to OFF – seemed to only affect the headlight brightness and not the Angel Eyes. Driving around with headlights blazing in broad daylight was not my intention, and the increased battery drain was also a concern. Discouraged, I decided to revert all settings back to their original state, effectively abandoning my Angel Eyes DRL project. I disabled the “Daytime running lights 1/2” and “Daytime running lights 2/2” settings once more, but inadvertently left the “standing lights” setting enabled.
Eureka! This accidental oversight turned out to be the key. With “standing lights” enabled and “Daytime running lights 1/2” and “2/2” disabled, the Angel Eyes illuminated perfectly as DRLs in the Auto and Off headlight switch positions, as well as in the side lights position (with the ignition on). It turns out that Carly’s instruction, “Both daytime running lights 1/2 and daytime running lights 2/2 must be enabled,” only holds true if you intend for the main headlights to function as DRLs. For those aiming to use the side lights, and consequently Angel Eyes, as DRLs, these settings must actually be disabled!
By sharing my frustrating yet ultimately successful experience, I hope to save other BMW Z4 owners from enduring a similar hair-pulling, six-month ordeal in their quest to code Angel Eyes as DRLs using Carly.
