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Adrian

How-To: Turn off Daytime Running Lights

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At the moment I drive with the city lights on in the daytime and have had no trouble with the law as of yet...

However get this...

In the following topic Mike showed an example of how a bulb can have its life reduced if under-driven as well if were to be over-driven...

Headlight Bulb Life

Now the other day I had one of the techs at DMFC yank out the city lights of one of their demo cars because I wanted to know what type of bulb it was other then "5 Watt"... It is a 168...

On this 168 bulb, it said 14 volts... And we run a 12 volt system... Now I understand that when we drive we could be pushing more then 12 volts... I think I remember reading something like 13.2 volts is what we end up getting to the electrical system...

Now I'm curious... Is it a case of the stock headlights being rated for 14 volts and we are underdriving them... Or are we overdriving them cause they're only good for 12... In either case is there something that can be attached to the wiring harness (like some type of regulator) that can prevent this?

Eddie

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12 V. is more a generic term, rather than an actual measurement.

Bulbs are rated @ 14 V. to be within the safe range of the fully charged 12 V. battery which is in effect 13.2 V. (6 cells at 2.2 volts each) That is why an alternator puts out about 14 volts, so the current will flow into the battery. If the alternator only put out 12 or 12.5 volts it would not charge the battery because the current would not flow.

Running less than the rated voltageof the bulbs will not harm them. Over voltage will. They would burn brighter until they burned out shortly. Too high an excess and they could go poof instantly.

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You may be interested to learn that there is no rule in BC about using, or not using DRL:

A this point in time there [are] no regulations in regards to the use of daytime running lamps. The only B.C. regulation [refers to] height specifications for the daytime running lamps.

I know in the past with my own private vehicles, I did not have daytime running lamps but used my regualr headlights during the daytime.

Lets face it. Some drivers out there have a hard time seeing other vehicles in the daylight hours so using your daytime running lamps or your regular headlights is one more way to make yourself seen on the roadways.

Division 4 Motor Vehicle Act Regulations— Lamps Daytime running lamps Section 4.08 of the B.C. Motor Vehicle Act Regulations indicates that a motor vehicle may be equipped with daytime running lamps, mounted on the front of the vehicle at a height of not less than 30 cm and not more than 2.11 m, that comply with the requirements of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act (Canada).

Constable R.A. ASELTON

Central Okanagan Traffic Services

Traffic Media Relations Officer

Kelowna R.C.M.P. Detachment

"We are dedicated to improving public safety on our roadways."

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Those Rally lights that Simon bought at princess auto are also available at my local Walmart for $29. I ended up with a set of Pilots off ebay

S

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I wanted to thank the person who pointed me here. I wanted to turn off the DRL's so that we don't annoy people when we point up their driveway in the wee hours to deliver their paper. We've had a couple of complaints, even with *just* the DRL's on ( headlights turned off)

HOWEVER.

After three tries, I could not get the darn things to turn off. Nor would the car "Beep" as I was holding the headlight stem towards me( bright switch). Maybe I misunderstood?

Then I tried a fourth time. This time, with the car turned of, in neutral and the key in my hand, I FIRST pushed the light stem away from me: it clicks. Then I pulled it toward me, held it and pressed the unlock button on the key.

SUCCESS.

The car happily beeped and turned off the lights.

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On my pure I tried the one second thing from highboost and that didn't work - what did work thought was as i held the highbeam lever in towards meand i pressed the unlock button at the same time, then it beeped and worked.

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A nice compromise that I did (as did others), and is very cheap BTW, is to do the euro turnsignal conversion, disable the DRL, bring power from the side markers to the old turnsigs and put a white 2357 bulb in this old location. You now have a very visible car in the day (front and rear), and save on the lowbeam run time.

Works great for me, you just make a habbit of turning the light on to the first click when getting in.

Luc

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Regarding the disabling of DRLs (Daytime Running Lights)...

1st; Congratulations (and thanks) to those who posted concerns that DRLs are a safety item that should not be meddled with.

You are right, and DRLs are mandatory under Canadian law. They are to be run at a minimum of 80% of the low-beam headlight's intensity. Canadian headlight standards dictate 55W/80W bulbs, so a DRL must output 80% of 55W = 44W. DRLs are not only to help you the driver, they are to help all of the rest of us who share the roads with you, to see you!

2nd; Check your Provincial Highway Traffic Act before meddling around with any lights! Here are two of the many Ontario regulations...

Section 62(6):Strength of Lamps. Lamps on the front of a motor vehicle shall be so constructed, located, arranged and adjusted that when lighted as required by subsections (1), (2), and (3) they produce under normal atmospheric conditions and on a level road a driving light sufficient to render clearly discernable to the operator of the motor vehicle any person or motor vehicle on the highway within a distance of 110 metres ahead of the motor vehicle.

Section 62(7): No person shall drive upon a highway a motor vehicle if either or both of the the lamps that are required on the front of the vehicle...

a) are coated or covered with a coloured material

B) have been modified [so that modification] reduces the effective area of the lenses or the intensity of the beam of the lamps.

Most Canadian jurisdictions have similar requirements, and please remember that "a lack of knowledge of the law" is not an allowable defense. In other words, telling the judge you didn't know about these requirements is not an acceptable defense for having made unsuitable modifications; you will be convicted, PERIOD !!

So if you meddle with your lights, you'd better do so within the required rules and regulations. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

Worse, if you crash or collide, and it can be shown that you modified your car's lights, your insurance company will sue you to recover as much of the damages they paid out as possible. YES, this means that you will lose your house, boat, RRSPs, RESPs, savings, etc. Insurance companies can be very mean, hard-hearted bastards when they are protecting their own interests.

Everyone knows the (true) story about the woman who spilt a MacDonald's coffee on her lap, and how she sued MacDonalds, and WON $7 millionUS! The media was all over this story like white on rice. Very few people know that MacDonald's appealed the lower court decision, and teo years later they won their appeal. The woman and her family were bancrupted because the appeal court awarded 'costs' to MacDonalds, and she and her family lost everything they owned - and they still didn't meet MacDonalds' lawyers bills (no surprise there!), so the family was forced to declare bancruptcy and were reduced to complete poverty.

So, heads-up out there, and please make wise and informed decisions when it comes to modifications to the lighting systems on your smart...

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The main benefit in being able to turn the DRL off (to me) is being able to properly use the OEM (in Europe) fog lights in foggy weather (i.e. alone, with parking lights), which is the way they should be used.

The side benefit is being able to use the fog lights as DRL, which I do every day, on every drive, no matter how short. Many carmakers, Audi among them, use factory fog lights as DRL. In a smart fortwo, it is so much easier to change a front fog light bulb than a headlight bulb, it's not even funny.

To reiterate, the best advice is to ensure that whenever the OEM DRLs are disabled, that some equally bright other lights are on when driving. In my case it's the 55W fog lights. This eliminates both the safety concern and the liability concern.

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I do agree that you should operate some kind of foglights if you turn the DRL's off but, considering how often headlights blow on a smart and how hard they are to change, it simply is not practical to run the headlights all day. Also, let's not forget that turning off the DRL's is not a modification. It is a normal function built into the car so that you simply pull a lever on the steering column and push a button on your key. I figure that if you practice, you should be able to turn them on and off more than 3500 times an hour.

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Has anybody ever had their DRL spontaneously de-activate itself?When i got home last night, i was sitting in the car with it running for my usual 30-60 seconds to let the turbo cool down, and i flicked the headlights off... and all the exterior lights went out. With DRL activated, they always stayed on until the engine was shut off. But not last night. I'm 100% positive i didn't "accidentally" execute the DRL disable sequence.When i drive off this evening, i'll see if they come on by themselves. Very odd indeed.

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I wonder that if you are parked for a certain period of time if they shut themselves off..similar to how they are off when you start and they don't turn on until you start to move...Maybe you had the right sequence, parking brake, tranny in neutral foot off the brake.....the car decided you were parked and shut the lights off when you turned them off...It is SMART after all! :cheeky:S

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Nope... i've done the same thing pretty much every time i've stopped the car. Last night was different for some reason.

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I have been trying to put it back on by using the lock at step 3, but it doesn't work. any one can help me?

smartpat :speechless:

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I have been trying to put it back on by using the lock at step 3, but it doesn't work. any one can help me?

smartpat :speechless:

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if it doesnt work the first time wait 30 seconds before trying it again....otherwise you will be locking and unlocking and not activiating the DRL.

I did it when I traded in my old smart...it took a few tries to get it right. Remember they wont turn on right away when you are sitting in the driveway! You actually have to drive a few feet before they turn on.

S

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if it doesnt work the first time wait 30 seconds before trying it again....otherwise you will be locking and unlocking and not activiating the DRL.

I did it when I traded in my old smart...it took a few tries to get it right. Remember they wont turn on right away when you are sitting in the driveway! You actually have to drive a few feet before they turn on.

S

You have to go over 5k I think it is before the doors lock and the lights come on.

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You have to go over 5k I think it is before the doors lock and the lights come on.

I believe that just applies for the drive-lock. The DRLs on my Pulse (no drive-lock) come on after rolling just a couple of metres, forward or reverse, no matter what speed.

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So reading through tons of posts here about DRLs I haven't quite found info on the mod I'd like to do.Since I have friends that borrow my car now and then, I don't want to rely on them having to turn on any DRLs. What I would like to do is turn off the existing DRLs (which is easy) and install aftermarket fogs on the lowest part of the nose and hook them up so that they come on as my DRLs. I can hook up the fogs and power them up no problem...and if I were to power them from a switched spot in the fuse block, they would only come on when the key is on. BUT...ideally I'd like them to be delayed like the existing DRLs are...so that they don't drain the battery while the glow plugs are also working. 90% of the time it wouldn't be a problem...but on a really cold day I could see it maybe being an issue. Maybe I just have to put in a switch and on cold days turn them off before I start the car. Or is there a control module of some sort that I could use?Any thoughts?? :)

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... Any thoughts?? :)

Sorry I don't know how to do this but I'm sure someone in here will. My only comment is that Fog Lights are not Driving Lights. In fact, in most Municipalities it is illegal to use foglights inside City Limits and/or illegal to use Fog Lights in conditions other than... well.. fog. It's a road hazard thing, right?So you're better off with a set of good incandescent or LED bulbs instead.:2cents: Bil :sun:

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In one of the other posts we got into the moving of turn signals, fog lights, etc. Unfortunately anything other than the smart DLR's is going to require you to manually turn on your lights, unless you construct a circuit with a relay to do it for you. The simplest mod, and one I have yet to see,is ...besides moving the turn signals back to where they belong, in the headlight cluster. You and then wire the old Canadian turn signal lamps to the small white "parking" lights. Then, when you turn on the parking lights you will get nice bright amber running lights coming on. I would suggest a lower wattage bulb be used in the Canadian turn signals, as supplied they are 21 watts, maybe just a bit too much. With the original bulb the life span may not be too long.

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I have a 2006 Pulse Coupe, i've tried several times to deactivate the DRL's to no avail.When i try all i get is a click , no beep. is it possible they have made it more difficult to access these features on newer models?I REALY want to kill the DRL's does anybody have any suggestions?Has anyone else had this problem?

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I had difficulty doing it the first time. You have to hit the remote button within one second of pulling the high beam lever, if memory serves.

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