Unfortunately US cars do not have this feature. You could potentially retrofit it if you brought over ECE headlamps, but I'm not aware of it being compatible (yet) with the US DOT headlamp beam pattern.

Essentially the car "tracks" an oncoming light source and uses a built-in shutter in the headlamp housing to adjust the light output and "dip" the lights. Your highbeams remain ON, but the pattern changes to not dazzle oncoming traffic.

Here's a video from Bimmerpost:

 

Essentially the car "tracks" an oncoming light source and uses a built-in shutter in the headlamp housing to adjust the light output and "dip" the lights. Your highbeams remain ON, but the pattern changes to not dazzle oncoming traffic.

Here's a video from Bimmerpost:

I habe the LED headlights with auto high beam but when compared to the video and your description, i'm not sure if it works as decribed or shown. I have the impression my high beams just go on and off depending on oncoming traffic. I don't have the feeling the pattern changes with the high beam activ? Do i have to code something? Is it not so that the high beam (blue icon should remain activ) while the beam should change depending on traffic. It feels now like just a simple on and off system.

 

Are you sure? The BMW system is very simple compared to Mercedes / VAG, just changing the height of the cutoff, afaik. In other words, all it needs is the high/low beam shutter mechanism to be variable instead of on/off.

I'd be surprised if they have two separate housing designs when it is so simple.

You are right on the DOT issue though. From what I heard, BMW didn't go through DOT compliance, and simply disabled the feature altogether for the US market.

 

I have run ECE headlights on all my cars. While you'd think the housing would be the same more often than not it isn't. It's been this way with Audi, VW, BMW, etc.

There's always some difference.

 

So just FYI... European F30:

For vehicles with
Xenon Light S522A=Yes
Adaptive Headlights S524A=Yes

Bi-xenon headlight AKL, left 63117338701
Bi-xenon headlight AKL, right 63117338702

For vehicles with
Xenon Light S522A=Yes
Adaptive Headlights S524A=No

Bi-xenon headlight, left 63117314531
Bi-xenon headlight, right 63117314532

Different part numbers.

 

Point taken. Thanks.

The reason I still feel there is a chance it's a coding only issue is the "5AP Decoding for no-dazzle high-beam assistance" option in the car build.

If it was a hardware issue, why add that to the list of options on the car? We don't get, for example, "bumper reflectors", "rear red turn signal", and "rear fog light delete" in the option list :dunno:

 

I did find part numbers (apparently for the US market) for both bi-xenon and bi-xenon adaptive lights. So perhaps it's coming? I don't know.

BMW option codes are interesting. There are "top level" option codes that automatically assign components during build. Some option codes are not used, deprecated, or reserved. (5AP in the US market might be one of those - the M6 Coupe/Convertible have this code, as does the F01 LCI.) So while the option exists, there's another companion option code required. (On my car, 522 is Xenon headlamps. You'd need 523 or something, but 523 isn't valid for your model code - see below.)

But as for the market-specific items, this is all contained within the model code. For example, my car is FV93. But in EU it's FV91. FV93 automatically adds the appropriate components for NA cars during build, like reflectors, etc.

 

Oh - btw - if you can, post the part numbers for your headlights (if it's accessible). I can tell you immediately whether it's coding or not.

 

Sorry this took so long...

Left: 63.11-7 259 553
Right: 63.11-7 259 554

Thanks

 

I'm trying to find the bundle those part numbers are part of. I'll get back to you.

 

Today I played around (again) with the HBA settings under 3073 LaMaster1 and the HBA speed settings under 3074 LaMaster2 of FEM_BODY.

I can confirm, without any doubt, that with the current settings I have, under auto high beam mode, the car sometimes uses something in between the high and low beam settings. The high beam indicator remains on when in the medium-beam setting(s?). Yes, this is what the No-Dazzle High Beam Assist is supposed to be. And no, I don't know how many steps / zones does the system have between full high and full low beam.

Unfortunately however, I am pretty sure that the car is sometimes using a too aggressive beam, making the whole system unsafe to use. I'm not sure whether this is due to the speed settings I changed, other settings that need to be changed, or hardware limitations of the US model (e.g. camera, camera calibration, headlight hardware).

P.S. My original goal for changing the speed settings was to reduce the minimum speed for the auto high beam to function.

Anyone with a European model care to share their HBA settings, please?

 

Today I played around (again) with the HBA settings under 3073 LaMaster1 and the HBA speed settings under 3074 LaMaster2 of FEM_BODY.

I can confirm, without any doubt, that with the current settings I have, under auto high beam mode, the car sometimes uses something in between the high and low beam settings. The high beam indicator remains on when in the medium-beam setting(s?). Yes, this is what the No-Dazzle High Beam Assist is supposed to be. And no, I don't know how many steps / zones does the system have between full high and full low beam.

Unfortunately however, I am pretty sure that the car is sometimes using a too aggressive beam, making the whole system unsafe to use. I'm not sure whether this is due to the speed settings I changed, other settings that need to be changed, or hardware limitations of the US model (e.g. camera, camera calibration, headlight hardware).

P.S. My original goal for changing the speed settings was to reduce the minimum speed for the auto high beam to function.

Anyone with a European model care to share their HBA settings, please?

I took 5AP off my VO and recoded FEM_body and it gave me horizontal glare free high beam (GFHB). I enabled the vertical setting and the shutter setting too and it has everything working

It is pretty cool on a dark two lane road. It is too touchy in my opinion on the highway. It has to swap back and forth too often.

 

Can someone tell me what VO is needed for high beam assist in the F10, is this just coding, or you need hardware ?. Thanks.

 

It is hardware too. You need the KAFAS camera which can support HBA, LDW, and SLI, and I think now their exists a new HBA only camera on some models.

 

Will these options and settings also apply to a European F20 with HBA?
And is there a chance to adjust the basic sensitivity for automatic switching off of the high beams?

Thanks!

 

I haven't messed with any of the fine tune settings yet. There are a number of variables that can be adjusted. Obviously it is optimized for euro roads and traffic control patterns. I suspect some fine tuning may give us the best results in the US.

 

Has anyone tried this with LED adaptive headlights?

 

Not that I have heard, but for AHB to work, it should not matter if the car as Xenon AHL's or LED AHL's.

 

I was doing some research on this topic and came across the attached data from BMW. It's actually very informative and answers most of our questions.

 

That's a very interesting finding - thanks!
Where did you get thus documentation from?
Will your source also be able to provide such documentation for the F20 assistance systems?

 

What's the verdict here -- I have a '14 with adaptive led lights - can coding be used to turn on the no-dazzle high beam assist?

 

I'm curious about this too... I am guessing no at this point as I would imagine that there is a need for some custom code to get this working right.

 

I got the PDF file from BMW's web site. I followed a link to the document from Google by searching for "BMW driver assistance".


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I just removed 5AP and 8S4 from my '14 (08/13) build F30 with High Beam assistant and checked the coding in the FLA module and everything was changed to ECE from US. I also encoded FEM Body with the updated VO. I do not have KAFAS but did order the HBA stand-alone option so I have a camera below my rear view mirror.

Took the car on a test-drive with the automatic high beams on and WOW.. the function is really freaking cool. It would appear that my xenon headlamps with adaptive have all of the necessary equipment to allow the euro high beam assistant function to work as intended. The lights spread on horizontal and vertical axes. If you are not paying attention, the road stays very illuminated. If you are concentrating on the beams, you see them moving around objects and actively illuminating the road. I wouldn't call the euro coding aggressive as another poster mentioned, but rather precise. It keeps the road very illuminated but cuts the high beams at the exact moment the other vehicle passes avoiding glaring the oncoming driver. You can notice the headlamps dynamically moving around other vehicles that are in front of you or passing too giving more visibility to other parts of the road. The whole drive I wasn't flashed by an oncoming driver which is a good sign.

I am definitely leaving this coding intact.

In the video, it's difficult to see it in action. Pay attention to the right side of the road when a vehicle approaches. At 2:26 you can see the left beam dip at the precise moment an oncoming vehicle passed mine, avoiding glaring the driver. In US mode, the automatic high beams would have been off immediately upon the camera seeing an oncoming vehicle approaching.

 

I'm surprised there are not 100s of comments after your post! IMO this is a major achievement. Congrats!! :beer:

I have 8S4 on my 2013 E70... could this potentially work for me? I'm willing to test this if you would share all the details (I just started coding, so I'm still a rookie but I'm not afraid to try).

I have a 640 GC on order for ED and will definitely try this when I receive the car!

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Thanks for the update - I am anxious to try this out on an F10.

I only have AHB and no KAFAS/KAFAS2 camera or ECU module.

 

Yeah yeah... gotta build a cable. Have to find a radio shack to get the resistor I guess... then I'd need some help with the software getting the right versions and what not. Not opposed to trying as I'm quite savvy with both the soldering gun as well as the keyboard. :thumbup:

 

Thanks for all of the clarification. I did right click on SVT and then click code now that I look back at it.

I did not know if the code when right clicking on a module was FDL or VO. I assumed it wasn't FDL as there is a button for that.

This is really pretty simple it seems (I like to make things out to be more complex than they really are at times).

 

Wow, this is great news! I have a 435i with LEDs and must try this. Just need to figure out the whole programming thing...

 

I can give this a try on my F10 2014 LCI With LEDs - can someone summarize exactly the steps I need to take? (I am well-versed in coding but I've never done VO coding before.) I realize they are contained in several posts in this thread but it's my own car and I'd rather have this be brain dead obvious when I try it myself because I don't want to miss an important step and I'm sure I'll have other folks wanting me to code this in their F10s as well

 

Step 1. Change FA to remove 5AP and 8S4:

View attachment E-Sys - How to change FA in F-series car.pdf
​

Step 2. VO Code FLA Module:

Connect => Read FA (VO) => Activate FA (VO) => Read SVT (VCM) => Right-Click on ECU (the ECU itself not the underlying CAFD) => Select CODE.​

 

Step 1. Change FA to remove 5AP and 8S4:

View attachment 415111
​

Step 2. VO Code FLA Module:

Connect => Read FA (VO) => Activate FA (VO) => Read SVT (VCM) => Right-Click on ECU (the ECU itself not the underlying CAFD) => Select CODE.​

As always, thanks Shawn. I'll give this a go later today.

As a side note to those curious as to why this feature is disabled in US vehicles, it's due to an outdated 50 year old US law that requires cars have high beam and low beam headlights and that they have a "switch" for the driver to activate. Since these dynamic headlights when turned on dynamically adjust with no input (or "switch") needed from the driver (i.e the high beam and low beam are both "on" at the same time), they're technically illegal. Audi (and I assume BMW) is lobbying to have the law changed, but it's still on the books, so no go for the US.

This tech is similar to Audi's matrix LED tech which is also turned off for US vehicles.

"In 1968 -- two years before the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was founded -- the U.S. instituted a regulation that required all vehicle headlights to be capable of switching from high-beam to low-beam. That rule is still on the books. The systems from Audi, Volvo don't involve a switch, per se. They're smarter than that, adapting to conditions without requiring input from drivers. That's something that regulators clearly didn't envision in the late 1960s."

http://www.thecarconnection.com/new.../news/1083015_audis-smart-led-headlights-banned-in-the-u-s-okay-everywhere-else

 

One other question - is this going to "undo" all the other coding I've done, or just the FLA (high beam) module? I'm trying to budget how much time I'm going to have to spend coding (or re-coding ) my car.

 

Thanks again Shawn for the explanation and the steps.

As for whether it's going to undo all other coding you've done. I would say no. I did the FLA module thing last night - at least i believe i did it correctly - but i have not had time to test the effect of the change yet. But so far, all other codings i've done remain. I went on a test drive last night with a GoPro Hero2 cam mounted on the windshield to capture how the HBA works before the change. I will repeat that tonight to capture how the HBA works after the change.

 

OK... back from the garage coding the dazzle back in to my 2014 LCI F10 M5 LED headlights.

Here's what I wound up changing (some slight mods to earlier instructions as I have KAFAS2 and not FLA or FEM_BODY):

(CONFIRMED WORKING)

Step 1. Change FA (VO) to remove 5AP and 8S4:

View attachment 415111
​

Step 2. VO Code FRM ECU Module:

Connect => Read FA (VO) => Activate FA (VO) => Read SVT (VCM) => Right-Click on ECU (the ECU itself not the underlying CAFD) => Select CODE.​

Step 3. VO Code KAFAS2 ECU Module:

Connect => Read FA (VO) => Activate FA (VO) => Read SVT (VCM) => Right-Click on ECU (the ECU itself not the underlying CAFD) => Select CODE.​

Step 4: confirm HU_NBT => 3000 => HIGH_BEAM_ASSISTANT => aktiv

(FYI - previous info earlier in the thread noted to VO code the FLA module - the actual ECU module on my 2014 F10 M5 LCI is called FRM (FLA is contained within the FRM 3050 FDL)

I also chose to Code the KAFAS2 module as well since it also contains FLA settings (e.g. KAFAS2 --> 3050 --> FLA_ON_OFF --> aktiv)

Note 1: Fog lights need to be switched off for this functionality to work.

Note 2: If you follow all of these instructions you're going to have to re-code any features that you had previously modified in the FRM or KAFAS2 modules, such as:

- Automatic High Beam Assist Headlights (FRM and KAFAS2)
- Enable Adaptive Brake Lights (FRM)
- Fog Lights with High Beams (FRM)
- Key fob and driver door handle to fold mirrors, close windows and moonroof (FRM)
- Halo Brightness (FRM)
- Opening Doors Not Interrupting Window Roll-up (FRM)

CAVEAT/DISCLAIMER - this is confirmed working in a F10 2014 LCI M5 with LED adaptive headlights and not much else yet - it's still very early. More guinea pigs are needed, particularly with our chassis types. There is not yet a confirmed complete list of modules that need modification - this may not be a complete list (you may have to code more later). Your modules may vary and you may need to adjust your steps accordingly (some folks have a FRM ECU module, some (like myself) do not. Some have KAFAS2. Some do not. Some have FEM_BODY, some do not. It's still very early and you may need to do some research/experimentation on your own for modules specific to your car. Your mileage may vary. Try this at your own risk.

Happy coding!

 

Note that if you follow all of these instructions you're going to have to re-code any features that you had previously modified in the FRM or KAFAS2 modules, such as:

Interesting that you have to recode FRM as FLA was encapsulated into that?

I only have HBA and as such do not have KAFAS2. I had an FLA2 module which I hadn't touched before.

This is on a '14 535i with LEDs.

 

Getting the light tunnel added back to a US model with the Xenons is really cool. Will the dealership know/care about this when you bring it in for your regular service?

 

They likely will never know, and if they did, the likely wouldn't care. After all, its an OEM function designed for the car and used in other countries.