Fitting DRL's

[culzean]

The DRL's controller will sense system voltage to see if engine is running to turn on (and turn off if voltage is too low, less than 13v to 13.5v I think) this is to make  DRL's 'automatic' as they will only light up with engine running and turn off when engine is stopped.  I have read the Jazz (and maybe other cars) can reduce alternator output almost off (below 13V) when battery is charged and not many accessories on.

Is there a wire on your kit to turn DRL off when headlights come on ?

My car does not have DRL so I fitted LED bulbs in sidelights and just ran on sidelights normally (now I have LED headlight bulbs I just drive with dip on all the time now, as the LED are not going to wear out like filaments), the problem with DRL is that rear lights are not on and some people think just because front is lit up the rear is as well and tootle around in the dark morning and evening 'saving' their headlight bulbs by using DRL but from behind the car is pretty invisible.

[Rhysfjf]

The DRL's controller will sense system voltage to see if engine is running to turn on (and turn off if voltage is too low, less than 13v to 13.5v I think) this is to make  DRL's 'automatic' as they will only light up with engine running and turn off when engine is stopped.  I have read the Jazz (and maybe other cars) can reduce alternator output almost off (below 13V) when battery is charged and not many accessories on.

Is there a wire on your kit to turn DRL off when headlights come on ?

My car does not have DRL so I fitted LED bulbs in sidelights and just ran on sidelights normally (now I have LED headlight bulbs I just drive with dip on all the time now, as the LED are not going to wear out like filaments), the problem with DRL is that rear lights are not on and some people think just because front is lit up the rear is as well and tootle around in the dark morning and evening 'saving' their headlight bulbs by using DRL but from behind the car is pretty invisible.

Hi Culzean,

Yes on the kit there is an orange wire which taps into the positive wire of the side light, so when I turn the sidelights on the DRL's turn off.

Obviously if visibility is poor I don't rely on the DRL, as you say they only light up the front. My main concern is that they're turning on and off and I don't want this to happen say for instance if someone is waiting to come out of a turning and they think I'm flashing to let them out.

There is a blue wire which is a ground and currently it's just connected to a bolt on the body work - the OP mentioned they would try and tap the blue and red wire together onto the fuse box to try resolve the issue but wanted to know whether they ever managed to do it, and if it worked what fuse I should be tapping into etc.

[Rhysfjf]

Just had another read of the Philips instructions:- http://www.produktinfo.conrad.com/datenblaetter/1200000-1299999/001231624-an-01-ml-PHILIPS_LE_de_en_fr_es_cs_pl_ro_ru_fi_sv.pdf

In the 'problems' section it mentions if your car has a varying voltage that I should connect the blue wire to 'KL15 or
ACC pole (+)' on the fuse box -  I have no idea what either of these mean, but I just need to find where either of these are on the fuse box and run the blue wire through the firewall to it.

I will updated once I've done this in a few weeks time 

[guest1372]

I think the solution, especially for stop/start cars is to follow the 'hybrid' instructions which should keep the lights illuminated even when there is little or no alternator output, this is also the method hinted at in the troubleshooting by connecting to a particular fuse or Acc power feed. 

The Phillips DRL controller is intelligent in order to simplify wiring (up to a point) and in theory can detect when the car is running and switch the DRLs on, trouble is it seems to think this is not all the time such as when the voltage at the battery drops close to it's resting state.  I think rather than follow the instructions by directly connecting to the battery, you should connect to an ignition switched supply instead and set them up to ignore the battery voltage and just switch on directly when they receive power (and off when the sidelight sense wire sees voltage). 

The blue wire sounds like an battery sense override wire, so connecting this to an IG1 switched supply should help.

The original answers are directed to a MK1/GD owner but the same theory applies to the Mk2/GE.   This could be done without an intelligent controller and just a relay instead so the sidelight sense wire cuts the feed to the DRLs.

From a VW forum linked above:

I bench tested my kit before install because some posters were concerned about current draw or flattening batteries. The DRLs power on at about 13.5 volts and are off at 12 volts. If the lamps are forced on at 12V a pair take 0.9 A (12W). At 14.5 volts (alternator charging) current draw is 0.7A (10W). When the DRLs are 'off' the control unit draw is 3mA. This small current should not significantly add to battery drain.

--
TG

[jazzyjef9]

Hi Guys, I've been running these DRLS for a while and have been very pleased with them.

To answer a few of the questions above, the Jazz alternator turns off whilst driving in order to save power, this affects the voltage so the controller box thinks that the engine is off and switches the DRLS off.

To stop the lights turning off randomly I had to run a wire around the engine bay, through the drivers wheel arch and into the glove box. Not a great solution but I couldn't manage to get through the engine bay directly into the glovebox.

I used a fuse piggyback connector to connect the blue wire to an ACC source in the fusebox. I can check which fuse if you need.

This ACC source is  on whenever the ignition key is turned to any position other than off and this stops the lights turning off randomly.

In the Philips daylight instructions you should follow the diagram for hybrid cars as this works for the Jazz.

[Rhysfjf]

Hi Guys, I've been running these DRLS for a while and have been very pleased with them.

To answer a few of the questions above, the Jazz alternator turns off whilst driving in order to save power, this affects the voltage so the controller box thinks that the engine is off and switches the DRLS off.

To stop the lights turning off randomly I had to run a wire around the engine bay, through the drivers wheel arch and into the glove box. Not a great solution but I couldn't manage to get through the engine bay directly into the glovebox.

I used a fuse piggyback connector to connect the blue wire to an ACC source in the fusebox. I can check which fuse if you need.

This ACC source is  on whenever the ignition key is turned to any position other than off and this stops the lights turning off randomly.

In the Philips daylight instructions you should follow the diagram for hybrid cars as this works for the Jazz.

Hi Jazzyjef9, I'm so pleased you replied, I was worried you were inactive on the forum - that's superb to know, thanks very much! I'm going to try do the same once I take my car down to the garage.