DRL dimmed with headlights on (How to Guide)

[stooge]

heres how I did my install on a 2014 sv6
picture album: http://min.us/mbms4FWFSYURXd

on the drivers side I took the 4 screws out to get in behind the front bumper.

there is a plug in there that has the wiring for the drl's.

this is the plug with the red clip on the back, you pull that clip down then press in on the little release lever on the plug and pull down on the plug to unplug it.

there is a hole on the bottom of the bumper, feed the plug and the drl dimmer wire (DRL R in the op) through that hole so you can work on the wiring at the front of the vehicle.

on the plug you will see the following wires...

the purple with the green stripe is the +(positive) power wire for both left and right drl's
the 2 black ones are the -(negative) wires one for each side

this is where I hook up the drl dimmer to the drl's in the vehicle.

make sure you cut the black wires do not just splice into them, the drl dimmer puts resistance on the negative side not the positive so leaving them connected will cause issues.
you also need to cut the purple wire to install the dimmer.

once that's done tape it all up and push the plug back up into the bumper and plug it back in.


for the parker light wire/power...

find this plug on the back of the drivers side headlight.

splice into the grey with brown stripe wire.

you wire up the relay as the op shows


for the 12v+ power to the dimmer and relay you can choose 2 different ways.
ignition switched power.
or
always on(battery) power.

I use ignition switched as I don't want the dimmer drawing power when its not needed.
if you use always on power the dimmer has voltage sensing and will shut off about 15 seconds after you stop the engine.



for ignition switched I tap into the fuse box on an empty fuse

for always on battery power you connect to the jump start point under the red plastic cap

make sure you put a fuse on the this wire

this is the 3rd vf I have done this to and each time it has worked perfectly.

bit hard to see but they are dimmed

 

[wamboin23]

Just FYI, that earth is also shared by fog lights (if fitted)

 

[stooge]

Just FYI, that earth is also shared by fog lights (if fitted)

maybe that's where people are having the flicker issue with the drl dimmer, it might pay to run another ground for the fog lights.
or tap into each plug on the drl its self cutting just the drl ground.

which would be this plug.
cutting that ground would leave the fog light ground intact only cutting the ground to the drl replacing it with the dimmers ground


like I mentioned before the drl dimmer resists on the ground wire not on the positive wire.
if the fog lights share the same ground as the drl it would lower the amount of current to the drl from the dimmer which does make the drl flicker I found this out attempting to make my own dimmer using resistors.
when I resisted the current too low they flickered, ended up deciding $20 on ebay was easier lol

 

[ihavesoldout]

Stooge - Thanks so much for the detailed write up, that is awesome!

 

[wamboin23]

Interesting to see if the eBay ones are just resistors, or proper PWM control. If you try and take a picture of the DRL's in the dimmed state, if its proper PWM, you should be able to see flicker on the camera screen.

 

[wamboin23]

whoops, double post

 

[alexandervf]

I think my DC 12V Car Automatic On/Off Switch LED Daytime Running DRL Dimmer Relay Harness just died in ass, guttered as! I was running it at full power, cops had no idea. Just wondering if you think that running it on full has screwed up the Relay? I went and got a new fuse but that didn't help. Are you in melbourne? cheers.

 

[montalbert_scott]

heres how I did my install on a 2014 sv6
picture album: VF Drl - Minus

on the drivers side I took the 4 screws out to get in behind the front bumper.

there is a plug in there that has the wiring for the drl's.

this is the plug with the red clip on the back, you pull that clip down then press in on the little release lever on the plug and pull down on the plug to unplug it.

there is a hole on the bottom of the bumper, feed the plug and the drl dimmer wire (DRL R in the op) through that hole so you can work on the wiring at the front of the vehicle.

on the plug you will see the following wires...

the purple with the green stripe is the +(positive) power wire for both left and right drl's
the 2 black ones are the -(negative) wires one for each side

this is where I hook up the drl dimmer to the drl's in the vehicle.

make sure you cut the black wires do not just splice into them, the drl dimmer puts resistance on the negative side not the positive so leaving them connected will cause issues.
you also need to cut the purple wire to install the dimmer.

once that's done tape it all up and push the plug back up into the bumper and plug it back in.


for the parker light wire/power...

find this plug on the back of the drivers side headlight.

splice into the grey with brown stripe wire.

you wire up the relay as the op shows


for the 12v+ power to the dimmer and relay you can choose 2 different ways.
ignition switched power.
or
always on(battery) power.

I use ignition switched as I don't want the dimmer drawing power when its not needed.
if you use always on power the dimmer has voltage sensing and will shut off about 15 seconds after you stop the engine.



for ignition switched I tap into the fuse box on an empty fuse

for always on battery power you connect to the jump start point under the red plastic cap

make sure you put a fuse on the this wire

this is the 3rd vf I have done this to and each time it has worked perfectly.

bit hard to see but they are dimmed

Any chance of uploading these photos again? I'm looking at doing this myself very soon.?

 

[dannyyac]

If anyone has made a video on how to install, id be very grateful.

 

[Ripper_017]

iv ordered the relay kit from japan , so i will be doing this myself . will post photos and a detailed description to help all others