E30 Zone

Having just fitted a alarm system with remote central locking i was wondering if there was a way I could get the interior lights to come on when I unlock the car as opposed to them coming on only when I open the door?

I have read something before about a light delay module that sits near the central locking computer do I need one of these of is there a way I can do it without one of these?

Beleive it was an option on the E30 and the relay for it just plugs straight in.

My interior light delay units work the other way round,lock the car and walk away and all your mates start yelling that the interior light is still on....then it fades out....

daimlerman wrote:My interior light delay units work the other way round,lock the car and walk away and all your mates start yelling that the interior light is still on....then it fades out....

Hmmm seems to the OE unit does the reverse of what I’m after, don’t suppose any clever people know of an easy solution to gain the desired effect??

There was some fell adapting the OE unit to give a gradual delay in the states and posting them over here. That was on the old zone though and he hasnt been on in an age before that! It can be modified yourself but thats beyond me.

Maybe a stupid question, but can't you adapt a module from a car which does this as standard, like an E39 ?

pac1982 wrote:

daimlerman wrote:My interior light delay units work the other way round,lock the car and walk away and all your mates start yelling that the interior light is still on....then it fades out....

Hmmm seems to the OE unit does the reverse of what I’m after, don’t suppose any clever people know of an easy solution to gain the desired effect??

Does your alarm trigger the hazard lights?

If so change the wiring so that it give power to the interior lights instead, hey presto when you arm or disarm the alarm the interior lights will light instead of the indicators.

yes you can do this first you need the said module plus a switch/relay that can take the signal from your alarm to make the module work but the light will go out after a set time also it will not be a simple plug in and play setup as far as i can tell

If you have an interior light delay module fitted, it should be possible to achieve what you want by connecting the unlock pulse output of the alarm to the door pin input of the delay module. You would need to fit a blocking diode in the wire, and another one in the existing door pin wire.

Hmmm ok then first step is o fid one of these interior light delay modules, are thy expensive, still availble from the stealer etc??

Delay modules aren't that common in the UK, but they're not exactly rare either.
Try an ad. in parts wanted.
Same module was used in some E28 models as well.