Anyone? DRL on a JDM '94 GT-Four?

[Jeebus]

Decided to bite the bullet and purchase this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=170905552526

Main reasons:
- the unit has proper plugs to attach to my accent lights, instead of just black and red wires. (I'm not sure whether/where I can buy the plugs themselves with a quick trip to Canadian Tire or wherever)
- the unit does not turn on based on engine vibrations like some other models on eBay say do
- the unit will turn off as soon as I turn on the low-beams, if I connect it properly
- it's not an overseas seller (Asia, excluding Japan).

My only question is, the unit has 3 extra wires, 2 of them to the positive to each of the low beam lights, and one that attaches to the "width lamp". I'm confused as to which light it the width lamp. Any ideas? (perhaps the two "steering lamp" wires are supposed to get spliced onto the positives of the hi-beams, and the single white "steering lamp" is for one low-beam lamp)

Guess we'll find out when I become an impromptu electrician in 2~2.5wks.

[Hugo4]

Here is my best guess of your wiring harness.

The red/black pair to the ignition (+) and ground (-) function as your relay control pair. They turn the DRL module on with the ignition and most likely also provide your DRL lighting voltage.

The yellow wires go to the positive of your low beams headlights on each side are what they use to sense when to shut the DRLs off. If the DRL "senses" voltage on those leads, it shuts the DRL module and its lights off.

The white lead to the "width lamp" should be the positive lead to your side and/or parking lights. It likely turns off the DRL when you just turn your parking lights on, but not your full headlights. You may want this if you are running your car but do not want to your headlights on, cars with factory DRL also do this with the parking brake applied.

Actually, if you could find the source of the parking brake light in the dash, you could probably use that instead of the park lights.

[Jeebus]

I tried wiring my lights up last night, and it didn't quite work.

First off, over the past week, I took off the plugs from the DRL unit since they don't fit onto my accent lights, and soldered female disconnect plugs on them, so that they can wedge onto the prongs on my accent light plugs.

I did some research on wiring for headlights, and figured most lights on Celicas have a negative wire that is White with black stripe. Here are the wires from my car, positive on top, negative on bottom:

High Beams:
Red
Red w/ white

Low Beams:
Red
White w/ black

Accent Lights:
Green
White w/ black

Front Turn Signals:
Green w/ yellow
white w/ black

Fog Lights:
Red
Black

So my dilemma begins. Here are the pics that I've gathered from the eBay listing, as well as what I'm trying to accomplish:







I wired the DRL unit wires (Red/Black) to the positive and negative terminals of the battery.

Plugged in my accent lights into the DRL unit.

I tapped the left yellow wire into the red wire of my left low beam light.

The white wire, I didn't plug/tap into anything, as I'm still trying to figure out which exactly are my side/parking light. It has a male disconnect plug, which I assume I'll have to remove so that I can use the wire to tap into another wire.

So the accent lights came immediately on as soon as I attached the positive battery wire to the battery. They would not turn off no matter what I did. I tried moving the black grounding wire off of the negative terminal of the battery onto a bolt on the chassis, but the same result. They stay on as long as the battery is connected.

Next up, the left accent light that is tapped into the low beam. It stays on. I turn on the low beams, the accent light stays on. I turn on the high beam, the accent light stays on. When I turn off the low beams, the accent light turns off momentarily, but then turns back on. Perhaps I need to tap the yellow wire into the turn signal light?

I'm a little at a loss here, as I want to get this done myself instead of paying a mechanic $60~$80 on top of the safety inspection.

[jdmvip]

What kind of DRL switch are you using? It would be best to use the Hamsar from Canadian tire if you aren't. What you should be doing is testing with the switch to the light (not direct with the battery), that will get results more quickly based on my experience with the Hamsar at least.

You also need a source to trigger the DRL, it should be a sensor or anything that only runs voltage with the key turned to ON.

[Jeebus]

Update:

After some experimenting (along with fear of melting wires), I got it to work.

I figured out the damn wiring situation, with the except of the accent lights being on so long as they're connected to the battery.

Yellow wires go to the (+) turn signals, so that the accent lights flash along with them. (Two turn signal lights on the front bumper, plus the one on the fender, hah)

White wire goes to the (+) of the low beams. Now the accent lights turn off when the low beams are on.

The damn wording on the ebay description is so ..... asian. Width lamp/side-light should not be synonymous with low-beams. Amirite?

I'm now currently trying to find some sort of ACC power source in the engine bay. Since the DRL unit is attached to the battery, the lights stay on 24/7. No good. I'm not sure what kind of components get power in the engine bay when I turn the key to ACC. I'm sifting through a lot of ECU pinouts for my car, but they're quite like hieroglyphs to me.

[jdmvip]

Great to hear, which kit is it that you're using and how much was it?
To find an ACC power source just use a volt meter and a probe into various sensors power and check for voltage.

[Jeebus]

The kit that I bought, from eBay, is a no-name brand. Clearly a HID harness that's been repurposed for DRL use via a sticker. $17 or so.


Bought myself a relay the other day thanks to the suggestion of Hugo and others. Now looking into properly wiring it up.

[Jeebus]

Just a quick update on my finalized result.

I wired my kit up as stated in my post above, but added an inline fuse between the battery and the #30 terminal. As for the ACC power, I fished a wire from the engine bay into the car, and tapped something.... I forget. Probably the radio, or the cigarette lighter. XD All works fine now, and since I didn't want to cut off the plugs to the bulb and solder them to the kit, I just ended up cutting the original plugs off the DRL kit and soldering female connecters to the end. I then just insert the connectors onto the prongs of my bulbs, and voila, DRLs!



Now, I failed my inspection due to my DRLs not being on my low beams. I switched the female connecters from my accents to my low beam bulbs, and they get enough power so I'll just switch it up for the re-inspection, and connect it back to my accents when I come home afterwards.