Any recommendation for an aftermarket DRL kit?

[oplitic]

Ah, so there's actually 3 wires going to the wiper motor? 12v whenever the key is on, the wire from the MFS, and a ground? That makes it a LOT easier.

Thank you for looking up the colors, though, oplitic.

No problem. Just giving you other ideas just incase you already had the wires ran or something.

 

[BWilliams]

I had the relay already in place by the battery and fuse box, so I just grabbed power from a random harness that was running around there... looked like it was from the fuse box. Did a little work with a test light, found the right wire (blue/pink), and used it as the sense wire for my relay. Quick test, worked great... lots of electrical tape later, no harm done, DRLs added.

EDIT: didn't use the W/S wiper harness since it was awfully short and I didn't want to be trying to cut wire and solder while leaning over my engine, just in case I dropped something. Having everything in one place was nice.

 

[oplitic]

I had the relay already in place by the battery and fuse box, so I just grabbed power from a random harness that was running around there... looked like it was from the fuse box. Did a little work with a test light, found the right wire (blue/pink), and used it as the sense wire for my relay. Quick test, worked great... lots of electrical tape later, no harm done, DRLs added.

EDIT: didn't use the W/S wiper harness since it was awfully short and I didn't want to be trying to cut wire and solder while leaning over my engine, just in case I dropped something. Having everything in one place was nice.

Cool, glad to see it worked!

 

[TheJackal]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Went ahead and ordered the Ford DRL kit. $100 at the dealer. Ouch. Probably could have got it cheaper online but then reliability would have been questionable.

 

[TheJackal]

I received my DRL kit today, but it doesn't seem to be working.

I spliced the wiring into the wires near the battery. Low beams are white/light green, parking lights are white/black, switched ignition power is gray/yellow, and of course battery power from the battery and ground from one of the factory ground points.

Does anyone know what the problem could be?

 

[oplitic]

I received my DRL kit today, but it doesn't seem to be working.

I spliced the wiring into the wires near the battery. Low beams are white/light green, parking lights are white/black, switched ignition power is gray/yellow, and of course battery power from the battery and ground from one of the factory ground points.

Does anyone know what the problem could be?

Did you actually test the wires with a multimeter?

 

[TheJackal]

yup, they do what I expect they should do.

I tested to make sure the ground was good and it's definitely getting power from the battery and through its fuse so I don't know what to think here. Must be something with the switched ignition power...

 

[oplitic]

yup, they do what I expect they should do.

I tested to make sure the ground was good and it's definitely getting power from the battery and through its fuse so I don't know what to think here. Must be something with the switched ignition power...

Well, if you definitely tested them wiht a multimeter, and they are the correct wires, and you are absolutely sure you wired everything correctly, I say it's the piece itself. Check each wire directly on the module, as in, where the wires enter the module, check them right before they go in, and if they are getting the right signals, power, ground, etc. then it is the module. If the switched power is acting as switched power it won't be the problem. It's only looking for a signal, not acutally using it, that's what the wire to the battery is for. Are you sure you need a positive signal? It's not looking for a neg. signal?

 

[TheJackal]

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. The connections are definitely correct, I checked them a few times. According to the instructions it came with, it's looking for switched 12V power to tell it if the car is on or off. I know it's just using the switched power to see if the car is on or off but it isn't outputting anything, which makes me believe that it isn't seeing the switched power. I'll have to see if I can test the wire a little further down to make sure it is making good contact.

I find it hard to believe it's the module, though, I think it said somewhere they're tested before they're sent out. It'd be a shame, though, I spent quite a bit for it not to work.

 

[oplitic]

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. The connections are definitely correct, I checked them a few times. According to the instructions it came with, it's looking for switched 12V power to tell it if the car is on or off. I know it's just using the switched power to see if the car is on or off but it isn't outputting anything, which makes me believe that it isn't seeing the switched power. I'll have to see if I can test the wire a little further down to make sure it is making good contact.

I find it hard to believe it's the module, though, I think it said somewhere they're tested before they're sent out. It'd be a shame, though, I spent quite a bit for it not to work.

But you said you checked the wires with a multimeter, so if you did, then you would see that the switched is getting power and would know right away if it's sending anything out(cause you are testing it). To see if the module is bad, just put the switched and power on the + battery terminal and ground it on the - battery terminal, than you will see right away if there is a problem, if they don't light up, it's the module, if it does, it's your switched power. But make sure you have the right light wires, cause if you don't then the whole test will be pointless.

 

[TheJackal]

DRLs Now Working

OK, the problem has been fixed. I'll go into a little detail in case anyone else experiences this problem.

I had the DRL module hooked up according to the instructions. I tested the switched 12V input and it was working. Even though, I decided to cut the wire and connect it straight to the battery to see if it would activate at all. The engine was off. Connected the Red/Green wire of the module straight to the battery and.... light on. Hmm... So I put the key in and turned it to "Run." Lights off... Huh?

After a few minutes of thinking I realize that perhaps it was the parking light wire causing the issue. The module uses the parking light wire to determine if the headlights are in use, and shuts down when parking lights, low, and high beam headlights are in use.

I snipped the wire going to the parking lights, and voila, working DRLs.

After looking at the wiring diagram for the vehicles with built-in DRL harnesses, I realized those don't shut down when the parking lights or low beams are on, but only when high beams are on. I attached this accessory DRL module in the same fashion but the same symptoms appeared. In the end, I left the brown wire disconnected and buttoned up the install.

I'm still trying to figure out why that was a problem to begin with. The instruction manual says the wire should only show 12V when the headlights are on. I should have tested it again after I snipped it but I didn't think, I was just excited it was working.

The only downfalls to this setup as far as I can see are this:
1. DRLs will not deactivate when the parking lights are on. Considering that driving with parking lights on is illegal in most states, this might not be a bad thing. Keep in mind DRLs are still deactivated with the parking brake (you did connect the purple/white wire, right?) and will turn off if the engine is shut off.
2. DRLs will not deactivate when the high beams are on, meaning both the high and low beam filaments will be on at the same time. This will cause the bulb to get hot and extensive use of the high beams will probably shorten bulb life drastically.
3. The DRL module will still consume power and output the pulse-width modulated voltage while the low beams are on. You won't know it's doing this, but it is. Because the module is "on" 24/7, whether it is needed or not, its lifespan may be reduced.

 

[Bill Kemp]

Might this help?
http://www.voicenet.com/~storm/drl/

 

[TheJackal]

Might this help?
http://www.voicenet.com/~storm/drl/

No, my truck does not have the harness for the DRL module that most Explorers typically have.

Those parts are for an F-150.