Car lighting help - Adding aftermarket LED Day time running lights

[gregzz4]

Ya that sounds like a plan using the markers and a new relay to power the new lights.
So try pulling the DRL fuse as you thought and see if the headlights still work properly in night mode.
I know back in the 90s Suzuki/GM had the 2 circuits connected together. If either the DRL or Headlamp fuse went out the Headlights were dim.

[gregzz4]

Even if the above works, you'd still have to add a toggle switch for the new LEDs.
I have an idea with 3 new relays involved, but you'd have to tamper with the existing wiring.

You'd need to put a relay between the DRL fuse and the headlights. This would be called relay #2
So, relay #1 gets it's signal from the Headlight power circuit, but does not interrupt it. Contact #87 goes to relay #2 DRL circuit and is the signal input. When in Headlight mode, both fuses power the Headlights.

Relay #3 gets it's signal from contact #87A on relay #1 and powers your new LEDs. Don't forget to add a fuse to the LED power line.

When in DRL mode there's no signal to relay #1 thus killing all power to the Headlamps - contact #87 on relay #1 is open. And with the third relay your LEDs would be on.
When in Headlight mode, contact #87A on relay #1 is opened killing the signal to your LEDs.

It's late and someone may see a flaw in my thinking, but it should work.
I'd have to draw it all out.

Going to try to go back to sleep now

[NIVLEM09]

I agree with Toytech,Halogen(low beam) is better than HID when it's foggy.light doesn't reflect back.also,if it isn't factory installed(HIDs)it's illegal...depends on the pig(officer) it has happened to me three times before....

[NIVLEM09]

But if you insist on using LEDs I can do it for you free of charge...all you need to do is drive to North Vancouver on my day off!

[gregzz4]

Originally Posted by NIVLEM09

I can do it for you free of charge

How would you wire them in ?

I had a thought about my idea while falling asleep earlier this morning.
If you go with relays and want everything running off the headlamp switch;
-if the LEDs are low draw you can run the power for their relay from an ignition source.
-if the LEDs are high draw, you'll want to use a fourth relay. This one will carry the load from the battery so you don't melt your ignition wiring and get it's signal from either the ignition or a marker lamp. Depends how you want them to act.

If you don't control them with the ignition, you'll need a toggle to turn them off and the 4th relay will solve this.

[Coasting]

Originally Posted by NIVLEM09

But if you insist on using LEDs I can do it for you free of charge...all you need to do is drive to North Vancouver on my day off!

Haha Id totally take you up on that if I weren't on the island right now :P
Hell id be happy to trade frags to make somebody else do it for me. Gotta order the lights first!!!

I don't really want to add an extra switch, Id like them to be on when I turn my car on then go off when I turn the headlights/highbeams on. And I want my headlights off unless I turn them on.
I honestly know nothing about cars or wiring.
I know my relays for the Headlights just help pull power from the battery but they don't connect to anything special just the wires that were there so this new relay idea of connecting a DRL light to marker or headlights is confusing me.

Most of the ones I'm finding look like this. Take a close look at the plastic of the light itself....
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-...875543816.html

Then these these one, they look different, the LEDs under the plastic look different and the diffuser as well.
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/ASX-2...527383671.html

Anyone else see $20 difference between the 2? I cant read half the writing with the images so not sure if im missing something either hahaha

[gregzz4]

Can't help ya with the cost difference as all I see is white light

You say you want to just have the lights run off the headlamp switch. Well you're in luck. My idea will cost you a bunch of wire and 4 relays. Plus a fuse assembly or 3.

LMK if you want to do it and I'll draw out a diagram for ya. It's really quite easy for anyone who's ever done any kind of wiring. Ya just need to know how to crimp connectors. And its a good idea to put all the wire in split loom to protect it from chafing.

To recap - if your car is wired the way I'm thinking;
My plan will give you LEDs when your Headlights are off (DRL mode and with no dim Headlights), Headlights on without LEDs, and lights will be controlled by either the ignition (better idea) or the headlight switch (probably not up to snuff for proper DRLs, and you'd have to put on the marker lights to run the LEDs).

The only concern I have at this point is what will happen when you put on your High beams. It's possible the LEDs would come on too with my plan.

When are you in POCO again ? I could look at you car on the way home from work around 4PM.

[Coasting]

Hahah the idea of 4 relays for 1 set of lights sounds... intimidating.
The sets will come with 1 relay or controller or whatever you call it.

I found this video and it seems to follow the same idea as the description on the 1 set on how to install.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSOdbc4M-gk
So if I pull the fuse for DRL I should still get headlights when I turn those on, but nothing will happen when I have the switch to just DRL mode or "Park Lights" (it has 3 options, DRL - which is just the DRL lights, Park lights - which is the yellow markers tail lights and DRLs, and HEadlights - Park lights and Headlight) so If I ran the controller (relay?) like they show in the video but connect it to my headlights that should allow the new LED's to be on in DRL and Park light mode, then go off when I switch to headlights. They should stay off when I turn Highbeams off because somehow (seems to happen to a lot of people who do this...) when I flip highbeams on, my headlights stay on.

I may just take you up on that offer and maybe we can atleast visually brain storm? It's honestly a giant mess of wires under that hood lol with all 3 sets of HID's I think theres a relay for the highs and Headlights installed (don't think we used one for the fogs....)
I will be in town.... end of the month! 22nd or something like that.
I know how to change bulbs and plug stuff in hahaha but I don't know wiring. I cant splice or cut or seal or... yeah id probably electrocute myself.

[gregzz4]

Originally Posted by NIVLEM09

But if you insist on using LEDs I can do it for you free of charge...all you need to do is drive to North Vancouver on my day off!

Originally Posted by gregzz4

How would you wire them in ?

I asked 'cause I wanna know if I'm missing something.
Do you have an easier/better/simpler setup in mind ?

[kamloops_reefer]

Sorry I haven't read though all the dialog between you guys - I know gregz is another car guy. I'm only going to shed a little in put on my experience installing HID bulbs for my headlights which would inturn be similar to you DTRL.

- bought cheap set, ballasts and bulbs online and installed.
- started driving and people were pulling over out of my way, apparently a ford five hundred would have made a good under cover cop car
- quickly realized THAT is what is going to get me pulled over by a cop and because it simulates an emergency vehicle, it has tickets and vehicle inspections written all over it - trust me I've had my experience with what gets their attention
- looked into it, and when in daytime, your headlights get a low voltage as they get a inconsistent voltage or something (its been years since I've done this so pardon if I'm wrong) and thus causes the ballasts to get a inconsistent signal to be on....or off.
- There are "anti flicker" relays that you install between you stock wiring harness and the HID ballast (provided you haven't done mods) which prevent the flicker
- I've installed these.....they work
- Just a general read of what I hear you want to do.... sounds like some modification of the stock wiring or addition, If you not really good at it... I always recommend leaving it to someone that is. Your lights not working when its pitch black going through the mountain one time because if it.... wont be cool at all.

To give you an example, I've re-wired a street / strip car with all new wiring - I'm very comfortable with the 12v system on anything pre-early 90's. Its just my mechanical and wiring intuition (not my experience) that the newer cars rely on their wiring circuits so much.... that I try to avoid doing to much to them .

1.) However if you REALLY wanted to add LED driving lights (I've wanted to do this for my own fog lights using say..(6) Cree XM-L2 chips per side (just shy of around 1200 lumens each = 7200 lumens which is almost 3 times more lumens than a head light bulb).
2.) Tap a wire into the existing harness (positive) that goes to your current driving light / fog light) in a way that it would be easy to undo (I always solder)
3.) Take a bosch relay you can get from Lordco and run that "trigger wire" to terminal (86) on the relay - this is the trigger wire to turn the relay on / off
4.) then run a wire from terminal (87a or 87) to your lights to complete that circuit
5.) The headlights should then be independently grounded
6.) Supply independent 12v to the relay, in the most extreme case you would run a 10 ga wire (I believe thicker is better when it comes to headlights) and the most extreme case, battery terminal or alternator post, to the relay post (30/51)
7.) I encourage there to be a fuseable link, or fused section between this circut (20amp max)

Note - double check those number because I suspect I'm partially wrong.....its been about ten years since I've worked with that relay and it confuse me until I start playing with one (before installing) so DOUBLE CHECK and confirm those terminals before installing.

if this explanation was already given, I apologize... its morning...I'm not a morning person.... and it just reinforces what you could do then

Also note LED prefer a stable voltage source... not a varying voltage that cars would offer (range from say 12v to 14.4 volts depending on condition of charging system, RPM ) so I recall seeing another little relay type thing that promotes a limiting voltage of 12V or so. From what I would interpret this would just ensure your LEDS wouldn't get brighter as you say accelerated from a stop.... or dimmed as you came to a stop (that's what I would consider a poor installation) - it would also probably enhance the LED life and run them at a voltage they like and temperature.

As you might see... I like 12v systems and at least pretend to know what I'm talking about