Adding DLRs

[itsjustmatt23]

I was checking out the engine and under the fuse box near the driver side headlight there is a fuse diagram under the cover and it says DRL. I'm wondering if we just need to add a relay to have the benefits of DRLs. I see the prongs for a relay to be plugged in...if this is the case its a cheap mod. What do you guys think?

 

[scottdk]

You might be right about this for sure. I'm still not sure what the actual "benefit" of DRL's would be. Safety? Really??

 

[LLT]

You might be right about this for sure. I'm still not sure what the actual "benefit" of DRL's would be. Safety? Really??

I would guess for the same reason people do other mods... to be unique and special. On other car forums I belong to, people go out of their way to DISABLE their DRLs. A rebel thing, I guess.

I don't see the point of DRLs to be honest - if it's dark enough to warrant headlight use, the headlights will come on. They're so dim, I don't see any daytime benefit. I disabled them on my 08 silverado when I converted to an HID kit.

 

[scottdk]

I would guess for the same reason people do other mods... to be unique and special. On other car forums I belong to, people go out of their way to DISABLE their DRLs. A rebel thing, I guess.

I don't see the point of DRLs to be honest - if it's dark enough to warrant headlight use, the headlights will come on. They're so dim, I don't see any daytime benefit. I disabled them on my 08 silverado when I converted to an HID kit.

Good point LLT. Many people disable them due to the yellow look. I could see a desire to change them out to LED's or a whiter bulb, but to actually want DRL's............To each to own, right? Plus they just remind me of those stupid Saturn commercials years ago where a person's driving and everyone around is like, "hey, your lights are on." Dumb commercial.

 

[ctrcbob]

I was checking out the engine and under the fuse box near the driver side headlight there is a fuse diagram under the cover and it says DRL. I'm wondering if we just need to add a relay to have the benefits of DRLs. I see the prongs for a relay to be plugged in...if this is the case its a cheap mod. What do you guys think?

Why don't you (or anyone else) plug in a fuse and/or a relay to see what happens? The electronics for DRL may already be in there, and all it needs is a fuse and/or a relay.

Five years ago, I got crazy and purchased a Sebring Convertable. I wanted DRL on it, and all I had to do was to order the plug in module from a dealer, and plugged it in at the fuse panel. Worked great. In this case, the electronics were in a seperate module, but with the Genesis, I have no idea.

Just for the heck of it, next time I visit my dealer, I'm going to talk with their Genesis Technician, and ask him what is the difference between the USA and Canadian fuse panel, or how to convert to DRL.

 

[Onedurwho]

I hear they are the law in Canada...sooooo, a Snowbird needs to research THEIR Jenny and get back to us?!?! I like to have them!

 

[VivienM]

I hear they are the law in Canada...sooooo, a Snowbird needs to research THEIR Jenny and get back to us?!?! I like to have them!

I think there's a separate DRL module of some kind, because both my dad's car and RogerB's car on here had an issue with a connector being loose that caused the DRLs not to work.

But really, unless somebody has the Canadian service manual (or is really skilled at underhood guessing), it's impossible to know...

 

[GenDriver]

I've had my Genny for 3 weeks now, and noticed the DRL's were not coming on (Canadian Car). Checked the engine compartment subpanel fuse box and found a 12V 20A relay sitting loose. Also checked the DRL fuse (15A) and it was installed. If the 15A fuse is installed it should protect the system.

So I simply plugged the relay into the location shown on the inside of the fuse box cover, and then there was light! The DRL's come on once the car is started, even when in Park. Don't know if US Cars just need the relay and fuse or not.

 

[Mark_888]

I've had my Genny for 3 weeks now, and noticed the DRL's were not coming on (Canadian Car). Checked the engine compartment subpanel fuse box and found a 12V 20A relay sitting loose. Also checked the DRL fuse (15A) and it was installed. If the 15A fuse is installed it should protect the system.

So I simply plugged the relay into the location shown on the inside of the fuse box cover, and then there was light! The DRL's come on once the car is started, even when in Park. Don't know if US Cars just need the relay and fuse or not.

Can you post a picture of the relay?

 

[JamesD]

Onedurwho is correct...DRLs are required in Canada, so the car is already set up for them, except it may not have the relay.

The idea of daytime running lamps is based on a fairly large-scale study done in the seventies...the concept is simply that a vehicle with its headlights on is more noticeable than one without. If memory serves (and it often doesn't, these days), the study was well-done, and the conclusion was generally accepted as accurate. They did address the notion that it might simply be the novelty of a car driving in the daytime with its lights on. Anyway, a number of states considered legislation requiring the use of DRLs, but, as far as I know, none adopted it. GM, trying to steal a march on Chrysler's marketing of safety, went for them in a big way. I remember thinking at the time that their righteous attitude was typical ham-handed GM...they 'way overplayed the usefulness of the concept in trying to position themselves as very progressive with respect to safety features.

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[mcginnpm]

I was checking out the engine and under the fuse box near the driver side headlight there is a fuse diagram under the cover and it says DRL. I see the prongs for a relay to be plugged in...if this is the case its a cheap mod.

Look closely and be sure there are actually prongs (not just plastic tabs that the metal prongs would be mounted on). My US Genny has the same slot for a "DRL relay" but shining a flashlight down in there reveals nothing but plastic. If the prongs are there on your car, then I'd say you are wired for DRL and all you'd need to do is drop in a relay.

The wiring diagram at www.hmaservice.com shows a connection for a 15A fuze and a DRL relay in the secondary fuze box (on the driver's side of the engine compartment) and a DRL resistor between the fuze box and the headlights (supposedly mounted in the wheel wells according the the photos on the website). If the wiring is not there, then you are probably out of luck putting DRLs on a US Genny.

 

[VivienM]

GM, trying to steal a march on Chrysler's marketing of safety, went for them in a big way. I remember thinking at the time that their righteous attitude was typical ham-handed GM...they 'way overplayed the usefulness of the concept in trying to position themselves as very progressive with respect to safety features.

IIRC, there was a debate about mandating one of two different types of DRLs in the US. GM was trying to preempt that by making the cheaper-to-implement (and legal in Canada) proposal standard on all their cars...

(so in fact, it was Yet Another Example of fake GM safety posturing)

 

[GenDriver]

Photo of DRL relay attached.

 

[Waki]

It amazes me that some individuals would disarm their DRL's. They are a fabulous SAFETY feature required here in Canada. You wouldn't believe the difference on the highway when you see the occasional oncoming AMERICAN automobile with NO lights on whatsoever....at twilight ! Long live DRL !

 

[ctrcbob]

It amazes me that some individuals would disarm their DRL's. They are a fabulous SAFETY feature required here in Canada. You wouldn't believe the difference on the highway when you see the occasional oncoming AMERICAN automobile with NO lights on whatsoever....at twilight ! Long live DRL !

Waki,

Americans HATE to told what to do. Not unlike Canadians, when you were FORCED to go to Metric.

I remember all the howls and yelling from Canadians at their government when the Canadian government forced you to go metric. After a year of duel English/Metric, and a year of all Metric, Canadians learned to love metric.
Was not long after that, we were almost forced to go metric. New York State even went so far as to make road signs and markers on the New York Thruway in Kilometers, however the yelling and howling from Americans about this forced the US government to back down. Not unlike the present "Tea Party" Political thing going on right now in the US to stop the government to stop spending our money.

Don't get me wrong. I believe we should convert to the Metric system as it is so much easier than the "English" system, but most people here don't want to be FORCED to change. Only the US and Liberia use the English system. The whole world uses Metric. Can it be that we are right and the rest of the world is wrong? As for DRL, I have used them in the past and they are ok, even converted a car in the past to them, however I now only use my lights when I feel a need for them, to be seen (not to see). I also remember when the British went decimal with their money. Much easier than using Shillings, Guinea's, (sp) Crowns, Half Crowns, Pents, etc. (20 shillings to a Pound, 21 shillings to a Guinea, 5 shillings to a Crown, 12 pents to a shilling).

 

[Mark_888]

According to what I read (although I don't quite understand why from a technical view) DRLs use additional fuel in cars (however small the amount), and that is one reason why they never got adopted in US or Europe.

 

[STREETS]

No sure why DRL's would use more fuel. The alternator spins at engine speed and creates electrical power no matter if any electrical device is on or not.
I would simply add some of the LED light strips in Xenon white and bypass the yellowish 30% of hi-beam output.

 

[Mark_888]

No sure why DRL's would use more fuel. The alternator spins at engine speed and creates electrical power no matter if any electrical device is on or not.

I don't understand it myself, but that is what the Wikipedia article claimed.

 

[ttsig]

I believe that many of those original studies where DRL showed significant improvement were in countries that experience significantly more "twilight" time than most of the mainland US. Countries like Canada and Sweden, experience a much higher percentage of time in "twilight".

As to why it would cost more to run DRL's, while it's true that you're alternator spins, what's also true is that, as electrical load on the alternator increases, the amount of energy required to spin the alternator also increases. With many cars, when sitting at idle, you can hear/feel this load increase when you turn on the headlights. Obviously the additional load of DRL would likely only be minimal, but a 1% decrease is still a major impact considering the number of cars on the road.

I believe the study below was written in 1997, however, is a good summary of approximately 2 dozen DRL studies over the span of 30 years. It actually makes a good read if you like boring, statistical analysis like I do.

http://www.swov.nl/rapport/R-97-36.PDF

 

[mcginnpm]

No sure why DRL's would use more fuel. The alternator spins at engine speed and creates electrical power no matter if any electrical device is on or not.

I don't know if they teach this kind of stuff in school anymore. I can still remember "back in the day" when my high school physics teacher brought out a bicycle with a generator connected to the rear axel and a string of 20W light bulbs hooked up to the generator. A student would get on and start pedaling. Initially it was very easy to pedal when no light bulbs were turned on. Then the instructor starting turning on bulbs one at a time. It didn't take long before you couldn't pedal any more. That same type of "load" on the alternator from burning DRLs would obviously "drain" power from the motor.