High Beam Day Time Running Lights Question

[Runner999]

I just installed Hella ballast with OSRAM D2S's. Pretty easy install and would highly recommend this mod to anyone. I took the bumper cover and headlight assemblies out for a clean OEM look in the mounting of the ballast and light capsules. Took me 3 hours from start to finish. See Pic.

 

To the point, I disconnected the plug to the DRL due to the HID install. Do any of you know how to connect the DRL's to work with the High Beam lamps?

[axis008]

Moved to exterior section.

 

Don't know the answer, but I'm sure someone here does. Good luck!

[Brady]

Nevermind whether anyone knows how, this is both illegal and highly annoying to those who you're shining with your high beams as DRLs. I would instead recommend hooking up your fogs as DRLs.

[TRS]

The DRL module drops the power of the low beams (don't remember the exact %), so highs beams could be used as DRLs as long as they had a sufficiently large reduction in output to avoid them from being too bright.

 

Right now I use my fogs as DRLs when needed (yellow output bulbs and modified to work independantly of the headlights). I plan on wiring the front turn signals to operate as full time amber DRLs.

[Deer Killer]

Nevermind whether anyone knows how, this is both illegal and highly annoying to those who you're shining with your high beams as DRLs. I would instead recommend hooking up your fogs as DRLs.

Someone needs to tell GM this.

[Runner999]

Nevermind whether anyone knows how, this is both illegal and highly annoying to those who you're shining with your high beams as DRLs. I would instead recommend hooking up your fogs as DRLs.

 

This is not exactly so. If you noticed cars with HIDs and DRLs (German cars in particular) use the high beam headlight for the DRL. Like the Subaru's low beam in DRL mode, run at a reduced wattage through a wattage regulator. Unfortunately the HIDS don't work under a reduced wattage. So the blinding factor you suggest is not an issue. If it was, I would be 100% in agreement with your concern.

[Brady]

That's interesting, I would think that the higher angle of the high beams would be problematic, and as you mentioned with GMs, I do find that GM vehicles (especially their trucks) have very annoying/distracting DRLs. This probably explains it.

[jdkobe]

Has anyone figured out how to modify the DRL module so it does NOT drop the power... aka puts out the full 12 volt - so we can leave the DLR module plugged in with our HIDs? I noticed the volkswagon Toregs seems to work like this - ie HID DRLs with no tail lights or other lights on with the DRL.

[mikewrx-nj]

IF the legacy has the same DRL wiring as an impreza ther is a module to do this.

 

In the impreza there is the DRL relay under the dash and a resistor pack in the engine bay. If you grab the engine bay module and simply cut the wires and bypass the resistor pack, I would say it would supply full voltage to the DRL ciruit. Is the DRL circuit setup to handle this? who knows.

 

break out the service manuals!

[John M]

Well, if you want your lights on all the time, just leave the switch ON all the time. They turn off with the car anyway.

 

Count me DRL-less. It's an absurd "safety" idea forced on the public out of ignorance. Once every car has lights on during the day, they'll lose their uniqueness and thus lose any ability to get you noticed during the day. Then they'll say everybody needs strobes on their car to be noticed during the day. Finally your car will have to be on fire to get any attention while driving.

[Runner999]

Well, if you want your lights on all the time, just leave the switch ON all the time. They turn off with the car anyway.

 

Count me DRL-less. It's an absurd "safety" idea forced on the public out of ignorance. Once every car has lights on during the day, they'll lose their uniqueness and thus lose any ability to get you noticed during the day. Then they'll say everybody needs strobes on their car to be noticed during the day. Finally your car will have to be on fire to get any attention while driving.

 

After driving without DRL's for a week now. I agree and see no point in pursuing this. If I need my lights on due to conditions. I just turn them on.

One more thing I like about not having the DRL's. When I jump into the car at night for a quick errand. I don't mistake my DRL's as my normal lights which IS a safety issue!

[AreEyeSeeKay]

That's interesting, I would think that the higher angle of the high beams would be problematic, and as you mentioned with GMs, I do find that GM vehicles (especially their trucks) have very annoying/distracting DRLs. This probably explains it.

 

+1

 

At dusk I find the Saturns with their DRLs on very annoying.

[VXCL]

How do you wire your ballasts? directly to the oem + and -? im hoping that when i do a d2s retor the drl wattage will still be enough to trigger a relay to draw power directly from the battery to the ballasts. i would not hook up straight to oem wiring. a relay and fuse setup is very cheap insurance. if not i;m in the same boat.

[Runner999]

How do you wire your ballasts? directly to the oem + and -? im hoping that when i do a d2s retor the drl wattage will still be enough to trigger a relay to draw power directly from the battery to the ballasts. i would not hook up straight to oem wiring. a relay and fuse setup is very cheap insurance. if not i;m in the same boat.

 

I wired the ballast power leads directly to the OEM wiring. I put a couple of spade connecters on the ballast power leads and plugged them into the H7 low beam connecter. The HIDs require a 35 watt power source. The OEM lighting wiring is rated for 55 watts. Doing it this way makes it easily reversable if the ballast or D2S bulbs fail. I don't think you need to get fancy with relays and fuses as the OEM harness is already protected. It works fine the way I did it, but I opted not to run the DRL's but I suppose I could plug the DRL connecter back in and "see what happens".

 

Hind sight being 20/20, I should have taken a few pictures but was pressed for time and just wanted to get it done. Here's what I did.

 

I choose to remove my headlights housings from the car for the install. This required taking the bumper cover off and the brackets under the headlights off. This procedure is well documented in the postings for the headlight clearing mod. It was pretty easy and I did it without help. Once I had the headlights free from the car.

 

I mounted the ballast on a flat spot under where the high beam is located with 3M double sided auto molding tape.

 

I removed the gray low beam access cover and removed the OEM H7 bulb. Then with a pair of wire side cutters, I snipped a small 1/4 x 1" slot on the bottom the headlight housing where the the gray low access cover mates to the headlight housing. I used side cutters instead of using my Dremel because I didn't want to deal with cleaning out plastic shavings in the headlight housing.

 

I slid the big HID lamp wire and the small ballast power wire leads in the slot I cut. Then I fit the D2S bulb in which required just little bending of the wire clip to secure the HID bulb (Note, I went with the non rebased HID D2S bulbs).

 

I put the D2S bulb connector on. I connected power wires from the ballast to the H7 connecter. On my Hella ballast I bought, the yellow wire was + and the brown wire was ground. With an auto test light, I checked the OEM H7 bulb connector earlier and the pink wire to the connecter was + and the black wire was ground. Plugged the spade connecters in the H7 connecter, taped it up and stuffed it in the headlight housing out of the way. Then I replaced the gray access cover and brought the headlights to the car, did an operational check and put everything back together.