DRL controller wiring

[jaffro]

Sorry if this has been covered elswhere, i tried a few searches but couldn't find exactly what I was looking for.

I've purchased some drls and a controller to hook up to my 2011 sv6 and have read some posts on this forum regarding how to install and think I'm good to go apart from one minor detail.

The controller I purchased has no instructions but basically, it takes power from the battery to run the drls and there's an extra wire that I need to attach to the headlights so the drls will be dimmed when the headlights are on. I'm just wondering where would be the best place to tap into the headlights to attach this wire.

I'm planning on using fuse taps to draw power for the controller and will be mounting the controller and its inline fuse inside my fuse housing... can i just connect this headlight wire to the headlight fuse while I'm in there or should i put it somewhere else?

 

[stooge]

the drl controller should be sealed/waterproof so you shouldn't need to put it in the fuse box but that's up to you where you want it to go.

most of the time when adding these drl controllers you take the plug off the back of the headlight and tap into the wire you need on that plug.
you could try tap into the fuse but that may also come off with vibration and wires that are not connected properly in vehicles have a tendency to tarnish and lose connection over time.
its always best to try and solder or crimp wires if you can.

when I connect these types of things I connect the power to the battery or an ignition switched source.
then I tap into the harness/plug that goes to the back of the headlight for the trigger wire, which for a drl controller would be the parker lamp wire.

 

[jaffro]

Thanks for the tips.

In a thread I read earlier, I came across the install pdffor the angeleyes addon and used the fuse tap idea from that. I used a fusetap on f37 for the positive and another on f6 for the negative, this has given power to the DRLs but when i tried to tap into the headlight wiring to test the dimmerf7nction, nothing happened when i turned on the headlights... this could just mean it's a dodgy controller, it was a "cheapo from china" one i bought online, along with the DRLs themselves, just to see if i liked them enough to invest in something of better quality.

I'll have another try with tapping into the headlights, i pulled the plug off the back of the headlights and both wires were brown, can i tap into either of them? I'd prefer not to use the parker circuit as my parkers are blue LEDs and on the rare occaisions I use them I'd like the DRLs to stay on.

Would it be possible that the DRLs aren't capable of dimming, or maybe they're only coming on in "dim" mode? They don't appear to be very bright but like I said, cheap from China, I wasn't expecting too much from them.

 

[stooge]

there should be more wires than 2 brown wires?

when you test the drl controller try with the vehicle running.
some drl controllers have a voltage sensing cutoff where if the voltage is below 13v they don't turn on, they do this so the drls don't come on with the vehicle not running.

I take it the are led lights and all led lights have an amount of dimming but they will cutout or flicker if the resistance(dim level) is too low

 

[redvxr8clubby]

To test the dimming of the DRL if you have instructions that show one wire is earth (-ve) then the power (+ve) lead lights the DRL. The third wire assuming it's intended for a +ve connection to dim the DRL. If you temporarily connect that third wire to the positive lead of the DRL, presumably the DRL should then dim. From there it's a matter of finding the wire for the headlight assuming Holden do switch the battery lead and not the earth and connecting the third wire there. With older cars I always found that what is logical to me that you switch the +ve to operate the light and the -ve is permanent connection. But it seems that is not always the case and in fact manufacturers choose to switch the -ve lead not the +ve lead. You would need a meter to test for +ve and -ve and which wire is switched (unless of course someone with the specific knowledge can come on here and advise to save you the trouble). Alternately a wiring diagram would show the connections. A while ago I hooked up some cheap ebay Chinese DRL's on my little 2012 Fiesta, there was no third lead on my DRLs and they are not very bright, so I never worried about setting up a relay to turn them off.

 

[stooge]

this might help with the ve commodore headlight wiring

by the looks of it you want the yellow wire(LH) or brown/black(RH) for the low beam light and all the negative(-ve) are joined so it is a positive(+ve) switched system

 

[jaffro]

Thanks again guys, I'll have another look at it tonight after work.

 

[jaffro]

Been flat out lately and haven't had time to look at it properly but I managed to hook up the lights on their own without connecting the controller to the headlights. Because they were cheap, they're not exceptionally bright so i don't think i actually need to bother with it.

Thanks again for the help guys, if i find some better lights I might swap them out with the cheap ones further down the track and then I'll look at using the controller to dim them.