Second Generation ? for NA customers who've replaced their stock headlights with the KDM OEM lights..

[Schindawg]

So I'm at the dealer now and the headlights are a direct drop-in, but on the adapter cable there is a loose red wire that is used to power the high-beams. Since separate high-beams don't exist in the US version, the red wire has to be powered for the high-beams to work. Schindawg, do you know where your shop connected the power wire for the high-beam?

Yes. Lights have to be able to come on even if the car is off. Therefore, you connect it to a hot positive lead. I connected mine under the fuse box. See the link below for a picture:

https://kdmtrading.mangoapps.com/sf/MzY4NzBfMTA5MDU3Ng

Hope that helps! BTW, I did this project myself; no shop involved.

 

[Aquineas]

So your high beams are still switched right?

 

[Schindawg]

So your high beams are still switched right?

Yes, of course! They will work exactly as normal. They just need a power source.

 

[Aquineas]

Thanks a bunch! This helped a lot!

 

[Aquineas]

So both wires are connected to the lead right

 

[Schindawg]

So both wires are connected to the lead right

Yes. I fed both wires to a single connector in the fuse box.

 

[Aquineas]

Well my installer used one wire for both lights (connected two wires into one and then connected that single wire to the fusebox), and there are a couple of anomalies. When I put my lights on "auto" at dusk the DRL lights are amber (as opposed to the desired white DRL). When on Auto when it was nighttime, the lights were as desired, as seen in the below photo:

For some reason the lights when they're amber also flicker? I'm taking it back in for them to do it exactly as you did it.

 

[Schindawg]

Well my installer used one wire for both lights (connected two wires into one and then connected that single wire to the fusebox), and there are a couple of anomalies. When I put my lights on "auto" at dusk the DRL lights are amber (as opposed to the desired white DRL). When on Auto when it was nighttime, the lights were as desired, as seen in the below photo:

For some reason the lights when they're amber also flicker? I'm taking it back in for them to do it exactly as you did it.

I think the way your dealer installed them is fine, though it is possible that running both wires all the way to the fuse box allows more load to run to each light (more copper/less resistance). That might explain the flicker, which I do not have. Otherwise, my lights are working exactly the same as yours with the amber DRLs on Auto mode. I'm pretty sure I can fix that through the custom wiring harness received with the lights, but just haven't had a chance to tackle that project yet. I'll let everyone know if/how/when I do get it to work with the white DRLs.

As a work-around, if you turn your light switch one notch past Auto, the DRLs turn white while the headlights remain off if you want that look during the daytime, then fully turning the switch to On for night time driving. To be honest, I rarely leave the switch on Auto as I'm too used to turning my lights on/off from prior vehicles!

BTW, congrats on your new dual HID projectors. They look great! Just might need to do that LED fog upgrade - love that as well!

 

[Aquineas]

I can't thank you enough for your help; it's greatly appreciated!

 

[Schindawg]

No problem! This is exactly what this forum is for!

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[quanva]

So the LED strip is amber for a DRL, and it goes amber for a turn signal?

would someone mind posting a shot of the DRL look

 

[Aquineas]

I will post some more picts later this afternoon; have to attend a slammin' birthday party for a 2 year old with my kids ;-).

 

[Schindawg]

So the LED strip is amber for a DRL, and it goes amber for a turn signal?

would someone mind posting a shot of the DRL look

The DRLs are amber in the 'Auto' position, but if you move one more detente to the 'Parking lamp' position, the DRLs turn white, while the headlamps are off, which is what everyone is wanting. It works, just not in the 'Auto' position. I may try to 'fix' this at some point but the functionality is there, so maybe not. Pictures of the dual HID projectors and white DRLs are in this thread: http://genesisowners.com/hyundai-genesis-forum/showpost.php?p=163014&postcount=118

Here is an animated GIF showing the switch from white to amber and back when the signals are on with the light switch in the 'Parking lamp' position: http://genesisowners.com/hyundai-genesis-forum/showpost.php?p=163015&postcount=119

They work the same when the lights are in the 'Headlamp' position (last detente).

Hope that clears things up!

 

[Nikgen]

The DRLs are amber in the 'Auto' position, but if you move one more detente to the 'Parking lamp' position, the DRLs turn white, while the headlamps are off, which is what everyone is wanting. It works, just not in the 'Auto' position. I may try to 'fix' this at some point but the functionality is there, so maybe not. Pictures of the dual HID projectors and white DRLs are in this thread: http://genesisowners.com/hyundai-genesis-forum/showpost.php?p=163014&postcount=118

Here is an animated GIF showing the switch from white to amber and back when the signals are on with the light switch in the 'Parking lamp' position: http://genesisowners.com/hyundai-genesis-forum/showpost.php?p=163015&postcount=119

They work the same when the lights are in the 'Headlamp' position (last detente).

Hope that clears things up!

So it's not really plug & play as was orginally suggested? Putting in the parking light position turns on the tail lights as well (and could be done with the non-dual projector setup already) and I don't believe it turns on the front brows with the same intensity (brightness) as when they are on as true DRL's.

 

[Schindawg]

So it's not really plug & play as was orginally suggested? Putting in the parking light position turns on the tail lights as well (and could be done with the non-dual projector setup already) and I don't believe it turns on the front brows with the same intensity (brightness) as when they are on as true DRL's.

Correct. I didn't notice this until well after the install. The wiring is very straight forward so I don't think it will take much to redirect the power lead that turns on the DRLs to the white LEDs vs. the amber LEDs. And I also didn't think about the tail lights being on - that gives me more motivation to find a fix. As far as intensity, I do think they are brighter in the parking light position, then dim somewhat when the headlights come on, but they may indeed come on even brighter when in DRL mode. Finally warming up here in MN so I'll see if I can figure it out...

 

[StarPower]

Whe US version uses the turn signals as the DRLs, which is why the amber turn signal LEDs are on for the DRLs. This is likely a software setting that can only be accessed by the dealer or factory, although I wouldn't rule out a wiring or module change upstream of the harness.

Just redirecting the wire would cause the turn signals to be white; you'd have to run a separate wire to trigger the DRLs. I don't know what the voltage for this signal would be, or how the brightness of the LEDs is controlled. It may be the same pin as the parking lights with voltage varied by the computer, or it may be a separate pin on the harness.

Since they have LED DRLs in Canada, maybe a member in Canada (or someone in any other country with LED DRLs) would be willing to take some voltage readings from their harness to determine which wire is used to activate the DRLs. This may also be able to activate the LED DRLs on the OEM US headlights, if the headlight assemblies are the same in the USA and Canada (same part # would be the best way to check).

 

[quanva]

Does the LED also function as the turn signal (which would further explain why they are switchbacks)

 

[Aquineas]

StarPower, that sounds logical and is good feedback, thanks.

guanva, Yes, the LED functions as the turn signal.

Orthogonal to this, this is extremely subjective and may even be placebo effect so take this with a fairly low level of scientific reliability. One might expect that the high-beams are more effective (more actual lights), but subjectively speaking, it almost seems like the dual projector lights are brighter even in low-beam. Again, it could just be my imagination, or it could even be that they're aimed differently.

 

[Aquineas]

I took my car in to a local stereo installer (who astonishingly, happened to be open today) and they re-did the wiring. The DRLs are still amber when on, but they did get rid of the flicker and by my request they also ran the power wires through a fuse (as opposed to hot-wire). Better a fuse to get blown than my 2K headlights! It would be nice to get them to display as white rather than amber, but maybe someone else will come up with a solution, but for now this one is going to have to do.

 

[StarPower]

Orthogonal to this, this is extremely subjective and may even be placebo effect so take this with a fairly low level of scientific reliability. One might expect that the high-beams are more effective (more actual lights), but subjectively speaking, it almost seems like the dual projector lights are brighter even in low-beam. Again, it could just be my imagination, or it could even be that they're aimed differently.

I've heard that new HID lights need to burn in to reach their full brightness. When I first got my Genesis, the lights seemed dimmer and yellower (lower CCT) than HIDs should be. They seem fine now (also a fairly low level of scientific reliability), but I'm not sure if it's because they've become brighter or if I've just gotten used to them.