OK, so I've done one final mod for now... I thought I'd add DRLs to make it look a bit "fresher".

Before I start, I've seen many "odd" implementations of DRLs around the web, so I thought I'd start off by clarifying that UK and EU law state there are only 2 allowable methods of implementing DRLs.

1) They turn ON with ignition and turn OFF when the sidelights/headlights turn on
2) They turn ON with ignition and DIM to more than 50% when sidelights/headlights turn on

They should NOT be separately controllable (i.e. no wierd and wonderful switches in the cabin which other countries may allow).
They should either be OFF or 50% dim with the main lights (so we're not allowed to keep them at the same intensity when the sidelights or main beam turn on)
They should be electrically separate to the fog lights (because the fog lights are "cabin controllable" whereas DRLs are not allowed to be) - so no splicing into the existing foglight wiring either.

A variation on 2) is what Audi do where, along with dimming, they alternate amber blinking with the indicator lights as well - in effect doubling as "extra indicators".

Anyway, I decided to do the "standard" type 1) DRL's which turn off when the sidelights or mainlights come on, and I simply used the shroud for the foglights to physically house them in so that they look more OEM and less like I've gone to Halfraud's with some birthday vouchers .

So here are the DRLs I bought from eBay for about £14 total, along with the relay needed to make them work for £8:


...and here they are close up:


They're 1.5W long throw LEDs sealed into a screw and bolt, for easy mounting.

I got them as I thought they'd look good and more OEM in the plastic shroud around the foglight:


The plastic shroud has a screw in the bottom hole holding it on and two on the side so it's easy to remove without disturbing the foglight itself or it's wiring:


Notice the two upper holes are simply blind ending (presumably there to make it look nicer)….so I thought I could house the LED's into them. I drilled through them (easy as it's plastic) and then bolted in the leds which secured nicely from behind and came sealed/waterproof so no worries about getting surface water in there:


I then routed the wiring up to the bonnet area and soldered the 4 LEDs in parallel. These were then connected to the appropriate leads on the relay. Here is the wiring diagram for how to wire them up:


Remember to tie wrap to existing wiring cables (so the DRL ones are routed away from hot parts of the engine).

The LEDs have a narrow beam which is important because they need to be bright head on so that people crossing down the road can easily see you in daylight, but rapidly dim off axis so that you don't blind other road users.
You see this trait with OEM ones (e.g. Audi), where they're bright when far down the road and you're looking at them more "on-axis" but rapidly dim as they pass you. This is why specific spot LEDs are better than standard strip lights off of ebay imho as those spread the light more and therefore look good as "styling lights" but no good as "daytime running lights".

So apart from the +ve and -ve of the LEDs, the relay was ground to the chassis, and the signal wire (that turns the LEDs off) was tapped off of the sidelight +ve feed. The trickiest part was finding an IGN+ feed to power the LEDs. The fusebox is in the cabin (there is none under the bonnet) so I had to route it into the passenger side of the cabin running along with the sub positive wire through an existing grommet.
I then routed back across to the drivers side to the fusebox and ended up splicing it with my alarm LED which is protected by a fuse and is IGN+. I used a 5A amp fuse for protection (they're only LEDs) and I strongly suggest if you route the power lead to elsewhere other than the fusebox, to protect it with an inline fuse instead.

Anyway, so here it is all done, looking fairly OEM from a few paces away:




...and here it is with them on...nice and bright for daytime use:


They turn on with ignition and off with sidelights/headlights for a total cost of £22 and look a bit more OEM than most off-the-shelf stuff imo.

 

Would you mind taking a picture of the fuse box so I can see where/how you wired it?
Thanks!

 

Sure, here you go.



Ignore some of the wires as the brownish coloured ones are from my fake "car alarm" LED and the others are from me being in the middle of wiring up my auto-fold side mirrors.

The wire you want is the white one going into the yellow fuse in fuse position 15. This is my ACC +ve power supply which I've routed through to the engine bay to power the lights.
From stock, that was actually an empty fuse socket because my car didn't come with DRL's, so I just put a 5A fuse in there, which should be plenty enough for low power LEDs.

 

Thanks for the pic! I'm now running into another problem. How exactly did you snake the wires from the hood to the inside of your car? I was staring at my hood for a good 15min and couldn't find an easy way to get the wire to the fuse box.

 

Look in the engine bay on the right hand side behind the battery. At the back firewall, there's a grommet:


You can see the grommet if you look up into the footwell as well:


That yellow wire is the power to my sub. I simply followed it and routed the ACC +ve wire through the same grommet into the cabin.

 

That's a tight squeeze. Did you have to remove anything to get easier access to it? Btw, thank you so much for your help!

 

Did you have to poke a hole through the grommet? It doesn't seem like there's a way for me to pull the wire through without poking a hole though it.

Sorry for all these questions. I'm a bit of a novice, and I really appreciate your help!

 

Never mind. I figured it out and got it working. Thanks for the pics!

For other people who are wondering how I did it, instead of poking the wire through the grommet, I pulled the grommet aside, pulled the wire through, and then pushed the grommet back in to "re-seal" the hole. Probably not the best way, I know, but I got it to work =)

 

I didn't remove anything to get to it.

I simply attached one end to a coat hangar wire with tape and pushed it through the grommet and into the cabin.
This way, the rubber of the grommet surrounds the wire and protects it.

By doing as you did with removing the grommet, you'll end up forcing the wire against the metalwork to one side and grommet on the other - risking damage to the wire and a short circuit (which is what the grommet with wires going through is trying to prevent).

I would seriously not recommend doing that and instead, would re-do it putting the wire through the grommet not around it.

 

So that's how you did it. I'll go rewire it using your method.
Thanks!

 

I keep forgetting to add pictures. Thanks for your help!

 

No probs . Looks great .

 

Nice work Gaffer and Kered too!
I am searching on DLR myself. There are some many models to choose from and the price range is quite crazy too from $35 in dealextreme to $170 to Philips DLR 8.

Any suggestions on a good but not extremely expensive DLR model?

Cheers,

 

The LED strips that I used can be found on eBay - shouldn't be over $20. Just make sure to search for "side-shine" and make sure they're waterproof. But honestly, these LEDs aren't that bright during the day, so if you're trying to install LEDs that actually function as DRLs, I wouldn't recommend using these LED strips. They're more of a decoration.

 

Thanks for the extra info and the fast reply Kered

Do you have any advice on which DRLs to get? Those Philips looks nice but maybe a bit expensive for a double strip of LED.


Do you know of other options or online store to get them?

Cheers mate,

 

eBay has similar models for a lot cheaper. They're obviously not going to be Philips, and the quality might not be the best, but I think it's a good starting place. Just search "DRL". You'll also get to see other types of LED DRLs. Even if you don't buy on eBay, at least you can see what other options there are

 

Any links to the relay used to make these work?

 

Daytime running lights are becoming hugely popular these days...the Audi's, BMW's all are using it and it is a pretty nice way of grabbing attention.

 

I agree, but some are overkill and a little over the top. I like how subtle these are, not crazy at all.

 

thanks Kered
indeed there are many interesting options in eBay and Amazon too. I can see some DRLs come with relay and others not.

Still in the search of something of good quality at a reasonable price. You have the very unexpensive DRLs for $15 plus $25 for the battery relay. Total $40.-


and the "brand" models like Philips

for $75.- (almost double)

Most of the Amazon for the unexpensive models are quite low in their customers reviews like they stopped working just after a couple of days. So in long run i guess one should go for the more trustable brands like Philips.

I would be terrific to find some good DRLs in the between both.

Cheers mate,