[kaushiksudra]

Hey Guys,

This is my first post to the forum, so first of all, it feels very warm to be in such a great community of autombile lovers. I found this thread and thought would be a better idea to post my query here. I wanted to fit my Toyota Fortuner (2011) model with DRL. Came across this awesome product by Philips, called the DayLightGuide. Seems to be vert promising. Can someone help where I can get this from. Also, planning to do a DIY, (but if need be may need some local help, if some one suggest a nearby mechanic who could fix it, somewhere near Rajajinagar, Bangalore).

awaiting loads of positive replies.

[Kumar R]

After reading some literature online and having experience first-hand that DRLs very much make me notice presence of vehicles slightly faster, I've decided to install DRLs. Before I do that I was somewhat undecided on their usage (which in turn will decide the wiring).

(1) Remain on at all times when the ignition is on

(2) Remain on at all times when the engine is running

(3) Remain on either as per (1) or (2) above but switch off automatically if the parking lights / headlamps are switched on anytime

(4) Have a manual switch (this may be hard to do for me and to be considered only if (3) is essential but not possible to wire.

Suggestions please. Is there a set of best practices for using DRLs in India? Thanks.

p. Headlamp usage during the day was an option but in India it may convey the wrong meaning -- emergency, inadvertent usage, etc. plus rear parking lamps come on which is undesirable in daytime

[msdivy]

Found this offer: 2 pcs 8-LED for just Rs 99

http://www.shopclues.com/car-daytime...-en-2-3-4.html

[S_U_N]

Has anyone here used the X.DRL.

I am interested in getting this for my Cedia, which does not have fog lamps.
I am keen to use the DRL's as fog lamps, since it comes with adjustment to angle the light and the lights are quite bright.

http://www.theretrofitsource.com/led...l#.VGG--fmUeSo

[Dr.AD]

I was looking to install DRLs for my SX4 for a long time, but was worried about any modifications to the stock headlamp assembly, and to the reflectors/lenses in particular. Therefore, my preference was to the add-on DRLs that can be installed easily without any major modifications to the existing headlamp assembly.

So on a casual evening (when I had some free time), I visited a neighborhood accessory shop, and found some nice add-on DRLs available there. There were a few unknown, cheap products - I was not very keen on these. But thankfully, found a nice Hella product, and immediately took the plunge and bough it, and got it installed immediately.

So what I got was this Hella LEDayLine 4 DRLs:



It has two DRLs, each with 4 LEDs (later I realized that Hella also has something called LEDayLine 5 and LEDayLine 6, with 5 and 6 LEDs respectively. I would have loved to have 5 LEDs each side, but I realized this only after I installed DayLine 4. Oh, well...).

The kit includes this:



The main advantages/features (which I was keen on) are:

1. It is a very simple add-on. The required fuses and relays are all included in the kit. So no need to tamper with the fuse-box of the car.
2. The automatic on/off operation: There is a sensor (a vibration sensor actually) which detects engine switching on and off. Thus, the DRLs switch on automatically (with a couple of seconds delay) when the engine is switched on, and go off when the engine is switched off (with a bit more delay, say of about 10 seconds). There is absolutely no additional switch or any control installed anywhere.
3. There is also a dim mode (with a dimmer module). This is connected to the parking lights. Whenever the parking lights (and therefore, whenever the main headlamps) are switched on, the DRLs go in dim mode. Thus, there is no jazzing light display at night.
4. They fit flush onto the airdam, and don't stick out and don't look like a mismatch (though unfortunately, they do look like an aftermarket part added to the car, which they are!)
5. And finally, I checked with some friends by making them observe my lights in broad daylight from a distance - yes, the are bright enough to be easily visible in broad daylight also! So they serve the main purpose of DRLs!

Here is one picture during the installation, and another one immediately after the installation: (The car was not very clean as I casually drove in the shop in the evening after a long dusty day. I will post cleaner pictures later when I get a chance).








And finally, here is how they look in daylight, and from a distance (the photo was actually taken from a distance of about 200 feet or so, but later cropped to post here).





Actually the photo does not do justice to the brightness of these LEDs. They appear much more brighter in reality that in this picture. I will try to take better (more accurate) pictures later and post those when I get a chance.

Overall, I am very happy with this simple "upgrade"!

Thanks,
-AD

[sumeshmani]

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

So what I got was this Hella LEDayLine 4 DRLs:

Congratulations on the DRL as well as the new headlights AD.
Please post some photos of the wiring at the battery end. I am keen
to see how the wiring for the DRL and the 90/100 headlights have been
connected to the battery.

Thanks for both the posts.

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by sumeshmani

Congratulations on the DRL as well as the new headlights AD.
Please post some photos of the wiring at the battery end. I am keen
to see how the wiring for the DRL and the 90/100 headlights have been
connected to the battery.

Thanks for both the posts.

I will post the pictures of the wiring when I get a chance. However, for now, here is the wiring diagram from the cover of the Hella relay kit for headlamps:



And here is the wiring instruction page from the installation manual for the DRLs:



Hopefully this will give you some idea about hos the wiring is done. The person doing the installation followed these instructions accurately (I was keen on him doing that), so I assume I have got everything installed fine. But I am still waiting and watching out for any issues I see. It has been only a week since I installed these, and thankfully, so far, there are no issues whatsoever.

[H_Dogg72]

I also want to install some DRL's on my polo TSI.
My options being the Hella's and the Philips.
Which one is the cheapest?
Since they're both branded, I'm happy taking the cheapest one.
I'm in Delhi and Philips dealers over here have no clue about anything.

[ghpk]

Dr.AD nice and clean install, and thanks for thorough details, can you post the price paid for the these DRL's .

sumeshmani : Don't know about these DRL's but the 90/100 watt headlights would be connected using Hella headlight relay harness for sure. if you buy it you get wiring diagram printed or included in package itself. Google it you would find it easily.

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by ghpk

Dr.AD nice and clean install, and thanks for thorough details, can you post the price paid for the these DRL's .

I paid Rs. 6300 for the DRLs, including installation. The MRP printed on the box is Rs. 6600. I am not sure if I should have got more discount that I did, but given that I was not charged for the installation, I thought 6300 was a good deal.

Originally Posted by ghpk

sumeshmani : Don't know about these DRL's but the 90/100 watt headlights would be connected using Hella headlight relay harness for sure. if you buy it you get wiring diagram printed or included in package itself. Google it you would find it easily.

Exactly! In my previous post, I have put pictures of the wiring diagram printed on the package. So all one needs is the relay harness and 100/90W H4 bulbs. The install is pretty straightforward after that. This installation took less than 10 minutes.

The DRLs on the other hand took somewhere close to 40 minutes or so, since it includes mounting the brackets (with clips and screws) on the airdam, mounting the actual DRLs inside those brackets, and then doing the wiring. But still, overall it is also a straightforward install with no complications whatsoever.

Originally Posted by H_Dogg72

I also want to install some DRL's on my polo TSI.
My options being the Hella's and the Philips.
Which one is the cheapest?
Since they're both branded, I'm happy taking the cheapest one.
I'm in Delhi and Philips dealers over here have no clue about anything.

Even I was in the same boat - looking for either Philips or Hella. But honestly, I did not search around enough to know the detailed prices and availabilities, so can't confidently comment on which ones are cheaper. When I found an original Hella set in a friendly neighborhood shop, I just went for it in an impromptu decision.

However, in general, I would think they both are priced similarly. As I mentioned above, I paid Rs. 6.3K for mine, and the shopkeeper was telling me that Philips DRLs cost about Rs. 8K (but he did not have those in stock). But just like Hella, Philips has a few different models, and it was not clear which ones he was referring to. Even in Hella, I later realized that they have models with 5 and 6 LEDs, and those would of course cost more, maybe close to 8K again. Thus, I feel (just a guess actually) that the prices across Philips and Hells would not differ very much.

So your best bet would be to go for whichever you find easily in a shop, unless of course, you want to order those online.

[sumeshmani]

Originally Posted by ghpk

sumeshmani : Don't know about these DRL's but the 90/100 watt headlights would be connected using Hella headlight relay harness for sure. if you buy it you get wiring diagram printed or included in package itself. Google it you would find it easily.

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

Exactly! In my previous post, I have put pictures of the wiring diagram printed on the package.

I had seen the post by AD for the headlight installation. I just wanted more photographs to see how both these harness have been organized and secured as well as the connections made to battery.
Nothing technical, more of the aesthetics actually.

AD, one more query with regard the DRL. How was the marker light connection made? Did that require splicing of wires?

My Duster has three more years of warranty to go. I want to avoid splicing of wires. Please let me know if you found a better way to tap into the parking lamps.

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by sumeshmani

I had seen the post by AD for the headlight installation. I just wanted more photographs to see how both these harness have been organized and secured as well as the connections made to battery. Nothing technical, more of the aesthetics actually.

Sure, I will add those pictures when I get a chance to take these photos.

Originally Posted by sumeshmani

AD, one more query with regard the DRL. How was the marker light connection made? Did that require splicing of wires?

OK, to be honest, I am not totally sure. Since my car is 4.5 years old and out of any warranty, I was not worried about any warranty issues, and did not pay close attention to how this connection was made. I was busy discussing various other possible lighting mods with a couple of staff from the shop while the installation was going on, and missed exactly this detail of the connection to the parking light. Now that you brought up this connection, I realized I should have paid a bit more attention here.

So it is possible that they did slice some wires to make this connection. I will have to check.

Originally Posted by sumeshmani

My Duster has three more years of warranty to go. I want to avoid splicing of wires. Please let me know if you found a better way to tap into the parking lamps.

I understand your concern. However, there is another option for you: you don't have to connect to the parking light at all. The connection to parking light is only required for the "dimming module", which takes care of the automatic dimming of DRLs when parking lights are on. But this is a nice-to-have feature and not a must-have. So if you don't connect to the parking lamp at all, then the DRLs will work fine. Just that they will remain fully on in day and light - without any dimming. But is that really so bad?

In fact, I was thinking about not connecting to parking lamp and not using this auto-dimming function. The reasons are two:
1. The DRLs are not that bright that they will blind the on-coming traffic in the night, especially when the headlamps are fully on. Just that the overall lighting will look a bit overdone, which is an aesthetics issue rather than a functional one.
2. Sometimes, I would love to have both the headlamps and DRLs on, in the daytime. For example, if I am driving in rain or fog, or in general some gloomy/dark light, I would love to have both my foglamps and DRLs on. With my set-up, I need to switch on the parking lamps/main lamps for me to switch on the fogs, and that means the DRLs would dim. There is no way I can use both fog lamps and DRLs together. I wish there was a way. So if you don't connect DRLs to parking lamps, you can use both the main lamps/fogs as well as DRLs together when you think that is necessary.

[sumeshmani]

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

The connection to parking light is only required for the "dimming module", which takes care of the automatic dimming of DRLs when parking lights are on.

I did think about completely avoiding the connection to parking lamps.
The only benefit that I was considering is reducing the load on the battery when headlights are on. I am not even sure if there is a significant load saving if the DRLs are in dim mode.

So it looks like, I may not have a choice. I'll have to omit the marker light connection.

One thing is for sure, upgrade of headlights and DRL installation now seems a possibility for my car too. Earlier I was scared about the electrical complexity involved.

[Grand Drive]

This is from Zest's official review thread posted by a member :

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...eview-114.html

Wanted to know how to manually switch off the DRL's coz if I am running a low battery or even as a safety measure in a jungle safari situation. Let me explain.

Whenever I travel to places like Coorg or Dandeli, I have been advised by locals to be prepared to switch off the headlights and parking lights if we come across an elephant or other wild animals at night and too keep the engine running. Will be traveling to Coorg next weekend. Was wondering what will I do in a such a scenario.

Do we have any options in Hella DRL to address this scenario ? Can it be installed in Grand i10 ? As you are from Bangalore, where you installed it and what's the cost ?

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by sumeshmani

I did think about completely avoiding the connection to parking lamps.
The only benefit that I was considering is reducing the load on the battery when headlights are on. I am not even sure if there is a significant load saving if the DRLs are in dim mode.

I think the load on the battery should not be a big issue with the DRLs. In my case, each LED is 2W, and a total of 8 LEDs (4 on each side) adds up to 16W. This is a negligible load increase on the battery even if I keep the DRLs running all the time (in contrast, even the tiny fog lamps are 35W on each side, totaling 70W).

Originally Posted by sumeshmani

One thing is for sure, upgrade of headlights and DRL installation now seems a possibility for my car too. Earlier I was scared about the electrical complexity involved.

Absolutely! DRLs should not be any issue whatsoever. However, please keep in mind that most dealers/authorized service centers claim that installation of 100/90W bulbs and the wiring harness would void the warranty regardless of how simple or how clean the install is. So you have to take a careful call here.

Since my car was anyway out of warranty, it was a no-brainier for me to go for it.