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DIY: LED DRL All time ON 2013+ headlights

22K views 45 replies 21 participants last post by  maleko13  
#1 ·
Hello guys,

I am on Spring Break and decided to do make a contribution to the forum.

I went ahead and measure voltages across the LED circuit and found out that both right and left headlights are wired in parallel. Meaning that if one LED DRL received power both will light up :thumbsup: (This was done on a USDM CRZ)

Here is a simple DIY article on how to maintain the LED DRL ON even when the lowbeams are on.

Required tools:
10mm and 12mm sockets
Wire Cutters
12V Automotive Relay
Wires
Quick wire taps
Quick wire connectors (female)
Tools to remove bumper clips
Screwdriver

1) Begin by removing the front bumper. This will make some wiring really easy. You can follow this DIY in order to remove it:
http://www.crzforum.com/forum/do-yourself-articles/8343-diy-front-bumper-removal-replace.html


2) Locate the LED DRL socket on the driver's side headlight. They are located right on top of the headlights. You will see a green and a black wire.




3) Remove the driver side headlight by removing these 3 10mm bolts located on the right side, under the hood, and by the radiator








4) Cut four segments of wire (you will make them shorter afterwards, this is just to make things a lot easier)


5) Grab one of the wire taps and attach it to the GREEN wire in the LED DRL socket with one of the cable cut




6) Grab another wire tap and attach it to the LIGHT BLUE wire in the socket going into the ballast under the headlight




7) Attach another piece of wire to the negative terminal of the battery

8) Attach another piece of wire to the positive terminal of the battery

9) Attach a female wire connector to each end of the 4 wires (positive battery terminal, negative battery terminal, LED DRL and ballast). Remember to adjust legnth depending on where you are going to place the relay. I used the battery holder nut.





10) Attach the wires to the relay terminals according to the following:
30: Positive Battery Terminal
85: Negative Battery Terminal / Ground
86: Positive wire coming from ballast
87: Positive wire going to LED DRL socket




11) Make sure all connections are secure and taped or heat shrinked.


12) Place the relay anywhere inside the engine bay.

13) Enjoy :thumbsup:





Any questions please let me know :)


NOTE!: YOU DO NOT NEED TO DO THE SAME THING ON THE PASSENGER SIDE. THE DRLS ARE WIRED PARALLEL SO WIRING JUST THE DRIVER SIDE WILL LIGHT UP BOTH SIDES
 
#7 ·
You don't have to remove the bumper. You can try to fit your hand under the headlight and unplug the cables and work from the engine bay. Maybe removing the battery will give more clearance.
 
#17 ·
Lol it's all good. I wired my Accord's foglights the same way. Never blew up lol


say what???? BUMP!
Im all over this one.
Go for it man! Our cars should've come this way from factory IMO

yes, this made it much easier because one of the wires you need to tap is above the headlight and the other one is below, and the connections are very tight without removing the headlight.

heh :p

that's not bad for a third language, thanks again for the writeup :D
Image
Looks great man! You're welcome. Glad I helped

+1 on removing the bumper makes it 10000x easier
 
#24 ·
goody, this mod only kicks on LED DRL when the headlights come on. it only affects auto mode and manual "on" positions for the headlights

in the US, our cars never run the DRL with the headlights, it's one or the other. what the relay in this mod does is it tells the DRL to turn on when it sees that the headlights are on.

so when in "off" and in parking lights mode, it will function normally, meaning, your DRL will be on as you drive.. as it does now.
 
#27 ·
i haven't had the chance to test everything, but so far i love the simplicity of the mod.

it would be pretty slick to have the DRL dim with the daylight sensor, as i find the bright DRL to be handy in the day to see our little cars. you have any day time shots by any chance with all the lights on?

at the same time, want to make sure it's not too taxing to have all the lights on at once.
 
#28 ·
This may seem like a silly question as I have not actually dug into the wiring of the car but:

Could you just hook the same hot lead from the head lights to the drl? Or the lead that sends the signal to power the headlights to power the drl? I figured just putting a proper diode to bridge the hot lead (so the drl power doesn't inadvertently power the headlights when not intending to) would do the trick, but I am speaking from a basic circuits knowledge.
 
#32 ·
Guys, I stumbled upon this article: VWVortex.com - DIY: 12V Sockets Always "Hot"

Im no engineer or electrical technician, so Im not sure what this method is called...

So I was thinking, why not we 'jump' the fuse from #18/#19 to the DRL fuse slot to get the same always-on effect? instead of fixing the relay, this sounds much easier and more reversible...

Any thoughts?
 
#33 ·
Glad I've helped guys :) any questions let me know.

I tried using the DRL fuse but had no success. This is the safest way to perform this mod. This mod is reversible as well, just cut the wire and cover it with tape. Done :)
 
#35 ·
I looked further into this mod, and i realize that it wont work on my car...

Here in Malaysia, our DRLs are marketed as 'Positioning Lights', which only comes on when the light switch is turned to at least LOW (comes on together with the license plate lights and tail lights at LOW). It does not stay on in normal conditions.

I traced its fuse (No. 29, parking light?) into the MICU, and found two engine bay harness endpoints, one to the left light and one to the right light.

I'm gonna try disconnect these two endpoints from the MICU and tap them into fuse 18/19 to get the 'always on' DRLs...
 
#36 ·
I looked further into this mod, and i realize that it wont work on my car (2013 CVT)...

Here in Malaysia, our DRLs are marketed as 'Positioning Lights', which only comes on when the light switch is turned to at least LOW (comes on together with the license plate lights and tail lights at LOW). It does not stay on in normal conditions.

I traced its fuse (No. 29, parking light?) into the MICU, and found two engine bay harness endpoints, one to the left light and one to the right light.

I'm gonna try disconnect these two endpoints from the MICU and tap them into fuse 18/19 to get the 'always on' DRLs...
Success! I disconnected the two MICU endpoints for the left and right lights and tapped it to fuse #22 (meter) and now my lights come on when i turn ignition to ON (II)



NOTE: YMMV, i only know it works with my MALAYSIAN 2013 CVT model
 
#40 ·
i didnt use any wire taps, i just slipped the wire under a fuse and the fuse itself is holding it in place.

I used a random 28awg wire from an old PC power supply

I'm curious if you link it to the 1 wire from the turn signal (i think the blue one) which tells it to stay constantly on when headlights are on if that would work. and depending on how that wire signal works it could also make the DRLs blink with the turn signal?

just a random thought I had which would be fun to try.... if I had LED DRLs :\
i believe that might work, but either that or u choose to have always-on DRLs... can only choose one :)
 
#39 ·
I'm curious if you link it to the 1 wire from the turn signal (i think the blue one) which tells it to stay constantly on when headlights are on if that would work. and depending on how that wire signal works it could also make the DRLs blink with the turn signal?

just a random thought I had which would be fun to try.... if I had LED DRLs :\
 
#41 ·
I'm thinking about this mod and I believe I can do it just by looking at your text. Would you be able to reload the images though, they seem to have removed by the host or the host itself is gone?


*EDIT* Does anyone know which kind of relay I would need? I picked up one from Advance and even though it has the 30,85,86, and 87 connectors it wouldn't run the drls.
 
#43 ·
Almost no chance of that. I've never seen any of these members in the ~year I've been on this board.

Seems pretty straightforward though. If I could get a deal on some 13+ lights I could pull my DRL fuse and just wire the LED DRLs to an accessory wire and achieve the same effect.
 
#44 ·
Just because you can doesn't mean you should. Having the DRLs on all the time does not seem useful to me.

Just like people having their fog lights on all the time even when there is no fog. It is also why in other countries the driving lights used to have to be wired so they only work with the high beams.

No matter what you do lighting wise just make sure you use a relay circuit so you do not over load any circuit or wiring in the car.

To each their own though.:smile2:
 
#45 ·
Just because you can doesn't mean you should. Having the DRLs on all the time does not seem useful to me.
It's not, but if you want 2013+ LED DRLs on a car not so equipped this is the only way to do it. ZF1s and base models don't have the circuitry/provisions to have the LED DRLs come on "correctly," so you need to DIY and figure out your own solution. You also need to pull your stock DRL fuse so that your dimmed high beams (the factory DRL) doesn't come on.