Kiwi's LED Daytime Running Light (DRLs) Install

kiwifoz

Forum Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2014
Messages
287
Location
Dunedin, NZ
Car Year
1989
Car Model
L series
Transmission
5 speed dual-range PT4WD
Because my Forester is such a dark green colour and I don't fancy being hit, I decided to fit a set of LED running lights to it. The lights I chose were bought off TradeMe for an eye-catchingly low sum, and were surprisingly well-made, an 8-led strip design with a solid plastic housing. They came with 3 wires and connectors, red, black and yellow plus the brackets and screws/bolts for mounting.

Black was easy, that went to the left engine earth. Yellow was also easy, that went to the (switched power) left parking light wire to cancel the current out and switch the DRLs off when the headlights are on (in NZ it is illegal to have more than 4 bulbs on at once - each LED strip counts as one 'bulb'). Red was the switched power source.

Now the red wire, the ignition-switched power, was where I started to get into uncharted territory. Because I'm too lazy to run a wire through the firewall (and also had no time to do so) I wanted to use an ignition-switched source from the engine bay fusebox. This caused problems as initially I couldn't find one.
So instead, my friend and I (he's an electronics genius doing a double major in physics/electronics who does a sideline in serious programming and theatre lighting, without whom I wouldn't have attempted this mod) decided to use the ACC-switched circuit for the dash clock backlight.

We got the wires tapped, plugged in the lights... and they were on. Hmmm. Checked the ignition position - off? Matt double-checks the wiring diagram (I have the full SG service manual). He realises that the circuit we were using was negative-switched, and the lights were wired for positive switching with the earth we were using - which apparently explained the fuses being in what he thought were the 'wrong places' on the diagrams. :yell:

At this point, I was kicking myself as I'd already installed the light brackets on the grill and had 4 lovely holes in it. But, after 15 minutes perusing service manual PDFs on my tablet, he came through - a ignition on, positive-switched 12v from the engine bay fuse box! Which, after much searching online I hadn't thought existed, apart from the main ignition wire (which I didn't want to use - but I think I did use it inadvertently anyway)...:lildevil:

This mystery power source is found behind the Air Conditioning (AC) relay, in the engine-bay fusebox. The wire you want to tap is the green wire with the orange stripe, which is fused at the main ignition fuse. This discovery was an absolute life-saver, and allowed me to complete the install of the lights simply and easily. :discomonkey:

To avoid the nuts on the brackets coming loose, I used spring washers and then secured each nut with a dab of silicone. I also ended up soldering the vamps behind the grille as they were all slightly loose - luckily the fusebox/parking vamps were solid. All electrical connections were then waterproofed with copious duct tape.;) The worst part of the whole job was getting the ****ing bit of trim under the headlight on and off again - the reason I wired both lights off the one parker was because I gave up trying to remove the driver's side trim piece so I could remove the headlight. I sincerely hope I never have to take off the front bumper because they both have to come off for that job!

Vampire connectors I used for power and light switch:
am3wxj.jpg


The lights:
35c2176.jpg


Installed (I forgot to take progress pics):
2i0rmsy.jpg


And the bit you all wanted - the wiring diagram:
2gvpwux.jpg


Sorry about the wall of text, I tend to get carried away when writing. Mods, feel free to edit/delete/move or whatever, I know I'm new here.

I hope this helps someone/is vaguely interesting!
 
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I have the same DRL as you I think , it also has a row of amber LEDs.
I wired them up the lazy way red to park light +, black to earth,each yellow to left and right turn signal wires +.
DRLs come on with the parkers but stay on with headlights. Ambers flash with the turn signals.
I located them on the bumper and used 3M double sided tape so no holes. Been on very rough tracks and the DRLs have not budged.
wiring is not technically correct but so far haven't been pulled over for it...
 
Terrific write up, KF ... :biggrin:.

There should be room for a light bar in that spot ...
I hadn't thought of this before, thanks.
Will go and take some measurements ... :iconwink:.
 
^ No, a light bar won't fit there.

However, if I mount a number plate type light holder (next to useless, AFAICT), there would be room to mount the Korr 60W light bar on the bumper bar in front of the grill without the light extending past the light holder. The light holder would give some measure of protection to the light bar.

The Korr 60W light bar dimensions are: Height with mounting feet = 74.5mm / Width = 516mm / Depth = 56.5mm. One of these draws a miserly 5A at 12V. Hardly even worth fitting a relay!!

The spot on the bumper in front of the grill on the SG Series II measures about 670 mm (W) x 44 mm (D) (this platform is curved towards the sides), and the base of the number plate screws is around 50 mm in front of the rear of the bumper bar indent (i.e. the front edge of the bumper curves forward by around another 6 mm). A number plate type light holder would sit around 30-35 mm further forward than that (I haven't measured one, just looked at them on cars and in the shop).

A light holder like this at SCA or this.

According to the latter URL, the holder is about 73 mm deep, so plenty of room.
 
^ No, a light bar won't fit there.

However, if I mount a number plate type light holder (next to useless, AFAICT), there would be room to mount the Korr 60W light bar on the bumper bar in front of the grill without the light extending past the light holder. The light holder would give some measure of protection to the light bar.

The Korr 60W light bar dimensions are: Height with mounting feet = 74.5mm / Width = 516mm / Depth = 56.5mm. One of these draws a miserly 5A at 12V. Hardly even worth fitting a relay!!

The spot on the bumper in front of the grill on the SG Series II measures about 670 mm (W) x 44 mm (D) (this platform is curved towards the sides), and the base of the number plate screws is around 50 mm in front of the rear of the bumper bar indent (i.e. the front edge of the bumper curves forward by around another 6 mm). A number plate type light holder would sit around 30-35 mm further forward than that (I haven't measured one, just looked at them on cars and in the shop).

A light holder like this at SCA or this.

According to the latter URL, the holder is about 73 mm deep, so plenty of room.

I've already got 2 Hella comets behind the grill but you've got me thinking about mounting one of these lightbars upside down with an LED bar.
reckon that would work?
 
I have the same DRL as you I think , it also has a row of amber LEDs.
I wired them up the lazy way red to park light +, black to earth,each yellow to left and right turn signal wires +.
DRLs come on with the parkers but stay on with headlights. Ambers flash with the turn signals.
I located them on the bumper and used 3M double sided tape so no holes. Been on very rough tracks and the DRLs have not budged.
wiring is not technically correct but so far haven't been pulled over for it...

Yeah, there are a variety of these lights around - they all use the same housing and mounts but have different LEDs/wiring. I also found 'constant on' DRLs that only had black/red wires, but I wanted them to be switched for WOFs. It's great that they changed to yearly WOFs for post-MY2000 vehicles in NZ now, saves me $50 a year!
 
Gidday Lefty

I've already got 2 Hella comets behind the grill but you've got me thinking about mounting one of these lightbars upside down with an LED bar.
reckon that would work?

I can't see why not ... :poke:. Might be in the firing line a bit though. With a polycarbonate lens, this shouldn't really be a problem.

It might also fix the small problem I have with mounting my external UHF antenna as well. IF I can stand having it making me cross-eyed in the middle of my field of view when mounted on a number plate light bar!

The antenna would be a bit low on the car - less than ideal - however, I'm not looking for perfection, just rough serviceability ... :iconwink:.

SCA, here I come. Well, maybe tomorrow. I don't think they are open at 0038H ... :iconwink: :lol:.
 
Update on the DRLS: Four of the LEDs on the right side have stopped working... And there is a bit of moisture in them. Ah well. Get what you pay for! And these were not expensive.
 
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