Day Time Running Lights

[kencat]

any 1 fitted or wired up day time running ligths on a rav4.3

(maybe its not worth the effort tho ?)

[anchorman]

It's been broached a few times but can't remember if anyone did it. Clare's dad Tony has had them fitted to his UC.

[crofter]

This post reminds me of something I nearly posted.

It was DRLs on eBay that stuck on and were energised by a little wind powered genny that was built in to the light housing.

Wonder if many were sold and how long they would work for!!

Del

[Manxrav]

The ones I have on my U/C and also on my Dads are Phillips DRLs, they are not the cheapest but they are in my opnion smart looking (if you like that sort of thing) and one of the easiest to fit. I dont like the Led rope type ones they look like an add-on if not fitted right.The Phillips ones are either in banks of 4 or 8 and look like the ones now fitted to the new Yaris and Aygo.The actual fitting is very straight forward and instructions are in the box

Regards Clare

[Hoovie]

I fitted some to my RAV4.3 :)

[Oilkid]

I was under the impression that daytime running lights were meant to be standard fitment from Feb/March 2011 to all new cars.

Every car has them fitted but the old name is sidelights, same thing I say

[Hoovie]

I was under the impression that daytime running lights were meant to be standard fitment from Feb/March 2011 to all new cars.

Every car has them fitted but the old name is sidelights, same thing I say

I would say you're wrong :)

The typical sidelight is hardly visible and I say anyone who uses them as a visibility aid for driving is silly!

The old name for sidelights is I think parking lights and that, and only that, I think is a valid purpose for them.

Apart from just using your normal headlights, the previous and short-lived incarnation of daytime running lights in the UK could maybe be the Dim-Dip headlights, which would use the dipped beam lamp at a lower power when the side lights were turned on and the engine running.

Trouble with that - and also just sticking your dipped lights on if no dim-dip fitted - is it uses more energy (negligable, but still maybe around 130W of power when you add in the rear lights as well) and maybe more importantly, they use up the life of the not usually spectacularly long-lived headlamp bulbs of the car, so you could find you need to replace them much sooner then usual - and with some designs necessitating removal of bumpers and other such daft measures, that is not a good thing!

As far as beng fitted to all new cars, that would be all NEWLY INTRODUCED cars in effect, so for a car like the RAV4, Toyota are not obliged to have them on the current model, but will be of course on the next.

Personally, I think some DRLs look redoncualus and some look very neat.

Most seem overly-bright but I guess they have been designed to work in bright sunshine and that is not something we get up here, so maybe that is why they seem so intense? maybe DRLs in conjunction with a brightness sensor to adjust the voltage going in would have been a good idea?

[crofter]

I have to agree with David on the brightness of the DRLs fitted to some cars and the fitment of an intensity regulator.

I also think that they are now like mini projector lights fixed in a "main beam " position..

Del

[redlew]

Maybe an eco friendly red flag should pop up in front of the grille to warn pedestrians that a large metal object is present. I really can't see the point of the daytime lights.

[laze]

Do they have a function or are they just for decoration?

[crofter]

Laws passed by our great and glorious european masters ? (? mark for great and glorious)

del

[anchorman]

Several countries are moving towards DRLs inc the USA. They do not necessarily mean LEDs as you can see with most of the VW group, they use what look like a low wattage fog light - much better than those damned super bright LEDs.

The ones you buy in a kit are OK but some of the OE fit are ridiculous. I think it is any new model that has to have DRLs factory fitted.

[laze]

So in some countries they're required by law?

[anchorman]

They are here Leon.

Any new car or any existing car re-launched/revised.

[crofter]

So in some countries they're required by law?

What point of my post did you misinterperate, Leon ?

I only ask as I thought I made it plain it was the law.

Del

[Hoovie]

The neatest OEM ones I have noticed recently have been on the Mercedes M-Class, the latest Mondeos and - I think - some Skokas?

Just a small group of LED lights at the outer sides at the front, typically just above where front fog lights would be.

Funtional appearance providing a "I'm here" warning purpose without a "LOOK AT ME!!" statement.

[Oilkid]

Hi Hoovie,

Love being wrong lol. I was more thinking of all the folk who took the micky out of Volvo drivers driving with there sidelights on all the time.To me a good safety feature. You could always tell a Volvo driver from a good mile away(lights never as bright as the new LED) and of all cars to have this feature, come on, a 1 1/2 ton breeze block on wheels. You would have to have cataracts not to see one, in which case u shouldn't be driving.

Again the parking lights,yip a great idea. Park your car at the side of the road,put your sidelights on, indicator stock down(to activate half the sidelights) and walk away knowing that someone will not plough into the back of you pride and joy. In the morning you go out to your pride and joy, late for work, car intact. Jump in, turn the key, hink you know where I'm going with this, three different languages spoken at once.........

I think the running lights are a good idea, but side lights are just as effective if overcast.

In general I think car makers are a law unto there own with car lights and there design.

I'm referring to when I was looking to get a FTO Jap import just before I got the RAV4. The car had to have a £600 test to make sure it was up to UK standard. A couple of the requirements were fitment of foglights and front indicators that had to be visible from an angle(I think it was 30' - 45' from front of car). Never bought one because of all the regs not to mention insurance costs if u didn't put a tracker in.When you look at some of the lighting on cars just now it's rediculous and unsafe what they are getting away with some of the stuff above is to go by.

A few examples, you are coming up to a roundabout, you notice a Ford Focus sitting to go on to roundabout you start to slow down or stop only to discover they had there indicator on to turn left on to the road . Why did you stop? The indicator is not on the outside of the light cluster where the wing is but on the inside where the grill is(not visible from the side). You would fail you're driving test if you did this(undue hesitation)

VW Golfs(maybe Polo's) rear light clusters( has a wee round 1" to 1/1"2indicator ,which the brake light wraps around) Looks pretty yip but if you happen to be following one, they will indicate, which you might not see depending on sunlight conditions so the car has started slowing down (you sense this then ask why are they slowing, your wee brain can't see anyreason) then your confronted with there brake lights and you having to use the WTF slogan and take evasive action.

The suggestion you made about variable light brightness, in daylight, is actually a good idea and would rectify the above problem with the Golf.

It also looks like Audi may have picked up on this problem with DRL's and indicators on front of there A5. There lights are like a fluorescent tube wrapped around the inside,which make the indicator impossible to see. When the indicator comes on the DRL goes to half brightness on the side u happen to be turning making the indicator more visible.

As I say, nowt the matter wae side lights, or a XXXL high viz vest wrapped around the front of the car

Jas

[kencat]

i wonder if just the side lightbulbs on the front could be wired up 2 stay on all the time ??

[anchorman]

Fog lights would be better.

[kencat]

are the fogs a bit 2 bright tho ?

[Hoovie]

We can all have different opinions :) I REALLY get annoyed with idiots who drive around with just their PARKING lights on in the dark, and think it is pretty pointless in the daytime too for that matter.

Re the Audi and their LOOKATME LED strips, they have to dim when the indicators go as it is a legal requirement due to the proximity between the two

There does seem to be a lot of cars out there where the styling of the various lights have become far more important then the actual functionality of them, and your point about the indicators on the focus is well made. there is another popular car out there where the indicator is virtually invisible (can't remember which one).

Lighting regulations ( along with many others) are always evolving and properly implemented Daytime Running Lights are a good safety aid, in the same way as the high-level brake lights and the side indicator repeaters were when those features were made a legal requirement.

Hi Hoovie,

Love being wrong lol. I was more thinking of all the folk who took the micky out of Volvo drivers driving with there sidelights on all the time.To me a good safety feature. You could always tell a Volvo driver from a good mile away(lights never as bright as the new LED) and of all cars to have this feature, come on, a 1 1/2 ton breeze block on wheels. You would have to have cataracts not to see one, in which case u shouldn't be driving.

Again the parking lights,yip a great idea. Park your car at the side of the road,put your sidelights on, indicator stock down(to activate half the sidelights) and walk away knowing that someone will not plough into the back of you pride and joy. In the morning you go out to your pride and joy, late for work, car intact. Jump in, turn the key, hink you know where I'm going with this, three different languages spoken at once.........

I think the running lights are a good idea, but side lights are just as effective if overcast.

In general I think car makers are a law unto there own with car lights and there design.

I'm referring to when I was looking to get a FTO Jap import just before I got the RAV4. The car had to have a £600 test to make sure it was up to UK standard. A couple of the requirements were fitment of foglights and front indicators that had to be visible from an angle(I think it was 30' - 45' from front of car). Never bought one because of all the regs not to mention insurance costs if u didn't put a tracker in.When you look at some of the lighting on cars just now it's rediculous and unsafe what they are getting away with some of the stuff above is to go by.

A few examples, you are coming up to a roundabout, you notice a Ford Focus sitting to go on to roundabout you start to slow down or stop only to discover they had there indicator on to turn left on to the road . Why did you stop? The indicator is not on the outside of the light cluster where the wing is but on the inside where the grill is(not visible from the side). You would fail you're driving test if you did this(undue hesitation)

VW Golfs(maybe Polo's) rear light clusters( has a wee round 1" to 1/1"2indicator ,which the brake light wraps around) Looks pretty yip but if you happen to be following one, they will indicate, which you might not see depending on sunlight conditions so the car has started slowing down (you sense this then ask why are they slowing, your wee brain can't see anyreason) then your confronted with there brake lights and you having to use the WTF slogan and take evasive action.

The suggestion you made about variable light brightness, in daylight, is actually a good idea and would rectify the above problem with the Golf.

It also looks like Audi may have picked up on this problem with DRL's and indicators on front of there A5. There lights are like a fluorescent tube wrapped around the inside,which make the indicator impossible to see. When the indicator comes on the DRL goes to half brightness on the side u happen to be turning making the indicator more visible.

As I say, nowt the matter wae side lights, or a XXXL high viz vest wrapped around the front of the car

Jas

[tatteam]

An idea from where the supply can be taken on the 4.3 only when the engine is running?

[Hoovie]

An idea from where the supply can be taken on the 4.3 only when the engine is running?

The set I fitted came with a clever relay that didn't need that feed. I assume that it learns the normal Battery voltage (I say 'learn' rather then preset as it is compatible with 12v and 24v systems) and then detects when the engine is running as the Battery voltage rises. Seemed a lot simpler using that solution rather then trying to tap into a 'engine running' type signal.

So my DRLs come on only when the engine is running AND the main lights are off. (FWIW I fitted mine to work off the main lights rather then sidelights which is the 'official' way, as I NEVER drive with just sidelights on anyway)

[Tony Barnsley]

Maybe an eco friendly red flag should pop up in front of the grille to warn pedestrians that a large metal object is present. I really can't see the point of the daytime lights.

Well it makes up for the idiotic ****** like drivers that seem to be unable to turn their lights on when its evening or raining . . . but then you know those sort as well they are the ones running their rear fog lights when it's not foggy

[Davrav]

Fog lights would be better.

The 4.3 fog lights would be the perfect spot for a nice little halo of LEDs but all the aftermarket kits are either variations on the 'bar' type or a round 'lamp' style. LED rings are available but without protection of any kind of lens or cover........