N1ck
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BMW Z3 1999/2000 (facelift) 2.3 (USA) - Installation of rear fog lights
This article covers the installation of rear fog lights to a BMW Z3 1999/2000 (facelift) 2.3 (USA) Roadster by incorporating the fog lights into the rear light cluster. The article is for guidance and the author excepts no responsibility for any consequences resulting from the use of this guide.
There are other articles covering this subject but I have not found an article covering the installation of a new relay 49 in the driver’s (left hand) footwell.
General
BMW Z3’s for the USA market are not fitted with rear fog lights nor do they have provision for the incorporation of rear fog lights as an option. Rear fog lights are a mandatory requirement in Europe and so rear fog lights need to be incorporated as part of the importation registration process.
Instead of a rear sidelight and a rear fog light on either side as fitted to the European cars, the American rear lights are each fitted with two rear sidelights. Each of the four (two left and two right) rear sidelights on the US vehicles are supplied from the front of the vehicle by four separate electrical cables. It is therefore possible to convert two of these electrical cables to supply fog lights instead.
The USA rear bulbs are mounted in different positions to the European bulbs.
Photo (a)
Note that in practice the US brake light becomes the Euro fog light and one of the US side light becomes the Euro brake light.
There are three components to the rear light cluster:
I had already purchased the Euro cluster but it should be possible to re-use the US cluster by;
The following materials are required:
(note: BMW part numbers with a ? after them need to be verified as I used existing parts that I had available)
The installation/conversion involves work in two separate areas of the car:
1.0 The Boot/Trunk Area
Photo (d)
2,0 The Drivers Side Footwell (left hand side)
Photo (g)
The resultant wiring diagram is as shown below:
This article covers the installation of rear fog lights to a BMW Z3 1999/2000 (facelift) 2.3 (USA) Roadster by incorporating the fog lights into the rear light cluster. The article is for guidance and the author excepts no responsibility for any consequences resulting from the use of this guide.
There are other articles covering this subject but I have not found an article covering the installation of a new relay 49 in the driver’s (left hand) footwell.
General
BMW Z3’s for the USA market are not fitted with rear fog lights nor do they have provision for the incorporation of rear fog lights as an option. Rear fog lights are a mandatory requirement in Europe and so rear fog lights need to be incorporated as part of the importation registration process.
Instead of a rear sidelight and a rear fog light on either side as fitted to the European cars, the American rear lights are each fitted with two rear sidelights. Each of the four (two left and two right) rear sidelights on the US vehicles are supplied from the front of the vehicle by four separate electrical cables. It is therefore possible to convert two of these electrical cables to supply fog lights instead.
The USA rear bulbs are mounted in different positions to the European bulbs.
Photo (a)
Note that in practice the US brake light becomes the Euro fog light and one of the US side light becomes the Euro brake light.
There are three components to the rear light cluster:
- The translucent plastic lenses
- The bulb holder backing plate (on which the bulb holders are mounted)
- The bulb holders - red for side lights (5 watts) and white for all other applications (21 watts). Photo (b)
- They are wired differently to allow for the different bulb locations
- The backing plate on the Euro cluster has a recessed socket for the brake light bulb holder to keep the higher wattage bulb (compared to the parking light on the US cluster) further away from the lens. This is to prevent the additional heat generated by the brake light bulb on the Euro cluster from overheating the translucent lens.
I had already purchased the Euro cluster but it should be possible to re-use the US cluster by;
- fitting LED brake bulbs which would generate less heat and;
- reorganising the pin locations in the connecting plug or socket to compensate for the different wiring/bulb positions. See paragraph 1.5 - 1.7 below
The following materials are required:
(note: BMW part numbers with a ? after them need to be verified as I used existing parts that I had available)
- European rear light clusters (optional – as detailed above)
- Rear fog light switch (61-31-1-387-055) or front and rear fog lamp switch (61-31-1-387-054)
- Relay K49
- Relay holder (61-13-1-389-113)?
- In-line fuse (third party from eBay)
- LED orange indicator lamp (6mm)(third party from eBay)
- Electrical connector pins
- fog light switch connection pins (61 13 1 376 202)?
- relay connection pins (61 13 1 370 692)?
- 1mm2 automotive electrical cable
- BMW extractor tool for electrical connector pins (83300495385)? (optional – see details in paragraph 1.5 below)
- Two additional 21 watts fog lamp bulbs
The installation/conversion involves work in two separate areas of the car:
- The boot/trunk area
- The drivers side (left hand side) footwell
1.0 The Boot/Trunk Area
- Disconnect the battery and leave it disconnected throughout. If reconnecting is required for testing at interim stages then always disconnect again once the tests have been completed.
- Disconnect the electrical plug and socket supplying each of the rear light clusters
- Remove the plastic cover plates protecting the bulb holders.
- Remove the three 8mm nuts securing each of the light cluster to the vehicle and pull the light clust out of the rear of the vehicle.
- When using the Euro light cluster the right hand cluster plugs straight into the US wiring system. The left hand cluster plug needs two pins relocating as shown. Photo (c):
Photo (c)
BMW supply a pin removal tool (expensive) but I made one using a thin walled metal sleeve from a retracting ball point pen. The diameter of the sleeve was slightly too large so I cut a longitudinal slot 25mm along its length from one end and reduced the sleeve diameter until it just fitted inside the hole of the missing pin. Photo (d/2)
- Now remove the connecting plug rear cable guide which is held in place using four tabs. Photo (d/1)
- Push the removal tool over the pin and push the pin out of the rear of the connector. Photo (d/3)
Photo (d)
- Rearrange the bulb holders so that the bulb positions match the Euro light cluster in photo (a) above and add the two new 21 watt bulbs for the new fog lights in place of two of the 5 watt bulbs
- Refit the light clusters to the vehicle and refit the bulb holder plastic cover plate.
- Reconnect the electrical connecting plugs and sockets.
2,0 The Drivers Side Footwell (left hand side)
- Remove the footwell panel over the drivers pedals that is held in place with two ‘quarter turn’ plastic fasteners. Photo (e/1)
- Remove the dashboard cover panel under the steering wheel by prising off the six plastic screw caps; undoing the screws; and sliding out the panel (it is a tight fit but will slide out). Photo (e/2)
- Remove the metal panel beneath the cover panel by unbolting the six M10 bolts. Photo (e/3)
- Remove the ‘kick-plate’ cover beneath the drivers door. It is held in place with three bullet shaped plastic fastenings. Place the fingers of both flat hands under the inside edge of the cover and slide your hands up inside until they almost reach the top inside edge. Then lift vertically up. Photo (e/4)
- Remove the drivers left hand foot rest by removing the bonnet/hood release catch and adjacent fastening. Photo (e/5)
- There is a c.50mm diameter bundle of electrical cables rising vertically on the left hand side of the footwell. Photo (f/1). Carefully remove the cable ties that hold the cable bundle in place and find the two grey/yellow and the two grey/violet cables. These are connected to the four rear side lights. Photo (f/2)
- It is now necessary to determine which cable is connected to the fog lamp position and which to the side light position. I did this using a clamp multi-meter by clamping each cable in turn and removing three bulbs and illuminating the fourth until you know which cable feeds which bulb. (Photo (f/3). Cut the two cables supplying the two fog lamps (there should be one grey/yellow and one grey/violet). If you don’t have a clamp multi-meter then you can just cut one of grey/yellow and one of the grey/violet. If you have guessed incorrectly you can correct the error by swapping the pins over in the rear light cluster connecting plugs. Once the cables have been cut the end of the upper part of the cut cables should be insulated using tape.
- My vehicle is not fitted with the optional front fog lights but the wiring loom incorporates the necessary cabling. As a result there is a white four pin connecting plug behind the dashboard for the front fog light wiring. The front fog lights use pins 3 & 4 and the rear fog lights pins 1 & 2. Pins 1 & 2 are missing and need to be added (61 13 1 376 202)?. Pin number 4 takes its supply from the headlamp switch and is only energised when the headlamps are illuminated. This supply can therefore be used for the rear fog lights by adding a connecting cable between pins 2 & 4. (Note there is very little load on these cables as they are only activating the coils on the fog lamp relays). Pin 1 now needs to be connected to the live coil side of the newly purchased relay 49 holder (using pin 61 13 1 370 692)?. The ground side of the relay coil needs to be connected to a local earth point (of which there are several in the area).
- The power supply to the relay is taken from any one of the permanently live terminals in the area (of which there are many). The supply is fed through an inline 10amp fuse. (This avoids the need to take a fused supply from the fuse box under the bonnet). The power supply from relay 49 holder is connected to the two fog lamp supply cables that were previously cut. (as described in paragraph 2.7 above).
- The newly purchased relay 49 can now be mounted in the relay holder and clipped onto the existing relay mounting bracket above the footwell.
- I am not sure whether the USA cars have a fog lamp symbol on the dashboard instrument panel and, in any event, I did not want to dismantle the instrumentation binnacle so I have installed a 6mm orange LED signal light in the fog lamp switch backing plate. Photo (g). It’s not the most attractive solution but it is quick, simple and fairly discrete. If and when I have time to tackle the symbol in the instrumentation binnacle I can replace the fog lamp backing plate with an unmodified one.
Photo (g)
The resultant wiring diagram is as shown below:
