led headlight upgrade- requires Ignition live?

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G

gingerninjer

Member
Posts
12
Location
chelmsford
hi
newbie here
2003 td5 xs owner
i am loking to upgrade (?) to new led headlight unit go alongside my led repeaters tail lights etc
the units have built in drL
i need to find an "ignition live" to wire into can anyone help ?
thx
g
 
mystery said:
assume drL= DAYLIGHT RUNNING LAMPS why do you need a ignitionfeed
Click to expand...

Yes daylight running lights
...
Well this is something I would hope u could tell.me
(The instructions show a ignition live. But on a tdi engine wired in to cigarette lighter )
I assume as its daylight running u would want the light all times ?
G
 
Yes DRLs need an ignition fed live. Can be picked up from back of 12 volt socket, white? Wire back of ignition switch, wiper fuse or BBUS. Your headlights should have light function code RL marked on the lens to be road legal DRLs


Brendan
 
To be road legal DRLs must either switch off or dim down to side lights when dip or main beam headlights are on.

Brendan
 
leeds said:
Yes DRLs need an ignition fed live. Can be picked up from back of 12 volt socket, white? Wire back of ignition switch, wiper fuse or BBUS. Your headlights should have light function code RL marked on the lens to be road legal DRLs


Brendan
Click to expand...

Where would a dufus find the bbus??
 
you only want the drl (hate abbreviations say what you mean)the daylight running lamps on when the car engine is running ,sames as heated front and rear screens (FHS &RHS) on only when engine is running, so as not to drain the battery
I personally have never seen the point ( when they where fitted in the front bumper acting a water scoops ) of daylight running lamps unless you plan living in the arctic circle and suffer months of dark days and nights then yes I personally would wire them in to the side light circuit which is controlled by the ignition via the lighting relay just like halo lights which they probably where they derive from
the nearest ignition connection point would be the header C285 and header C286 behind centre dash ,bearing in mind if your are thinking of using any white green cable in the engine compartment to splice to you will suffer the consequences when the daylight running lamp suffer water ingress corrosion etc destroying expensive components such so if you do wire from this point it will require a fuse in the circuit
 
mystery said:
you only want the drl (hate abbreviations say what you mean)the daylight running lamps on when the car engine is running ,sames as heated front and rear screens (FHS &RHS) on only when engine is running, so as not to drain the battery
I personally have never seen the point ( when they where fitted in the front bumper acting a water scoops ) of daylight running lamps unless you plan living in the arctic circle and suffer months of dark days and nights then yes I personally would wire them in to the side light circuit which is controlled by the ignition via the lighting relay just like halo lights which they probably where they derive from
the nearest ignition connection point would be the header C285 and header C286 behind centre dash ,bearing in mind if your are thinking of using any white green cable in the engine compartment to splice to you will suffer the consequences when the daylight running lamp suffer water ingress corrosion etc destroying expensive components such so if you do wire from this point it will require a fuse in the circuit
Click to expand...


these daylight running light (DRL) are halo style .. integrated in to the head light which is sealed .. so should not allow water igress
so ill try to locate the c285 /c285 header
 
THEY ARE NOT WATER TIGHT IF YOU SMASH ONE YOU CAN EITHER CONNECT OF THE HEADLIGHT RELAY OR HEADER C285 OR C286 BUT YOU WILL NEED REPLACEMENT CONNECTIONS THE HEAD LIGHT RELAY BASE CONNECTION ARE THE EASIEST TO OBTAIN THE CHOICE IS YOUR
defender 02my-211.png
 
You also have the option of connecting to fuse 8 c580-2 I'm assuming you are familiar with open barrel crimp connection
defender 02my-298.png
 
mystery said:
sound like the side light options is the way to go
Click to expand...
Wiring them directly into the side lights will make them come on full brightness at night which will be too bright. Unless the 'ignition live' connection and 'side light' wires are both tapped into the sidelight feed- in this case they will just come on dim with the side lights with no DRL function.

An alternative would be to use the constant 12v feed to the dim-dip resistor, which will need disconnecting amyway. The Green/Orange wire to the brake pedal switch can be used to trigger a relay which will turn the dim-dip feed into a switched supply.
 
Must admit I do not understand why so many people are desperate to retrofit DRLs and then often badly and sometimes illegally.

Now there is a very simple solution and it is a very cheap solution and has added positive benefits.

With the left hand turn the ignition key and when engine fires up with left thumb just pressed down on the switch above.

That puts dipped beam on plus rear lights on. A complete winner saves time and money and your rear lights are on at no extra cost or effort!

Brendan
 
OK, but:
  • DRLs are more effective than the dipped beam headlights.
  • The dipped beam bulbs then last longer (admittedly a small gain but they're less likely to fail when you actually need them.)
  • Tail lamps off is better in daylight as the brake lights are then more conspicuous.
Agreed on badly/illegally fitted DRLs though. Fit them properly or not at all!
 
next puddle lighting,heads-up screen display ,electric steering,electric hand brake ,radar lane steering or a new defender which probably contains more Germany parts than a Ford or VW
 
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