Retro- Fitting Daytime Running Lights

[easydriver]

Hi, has anyone tried to fit daytime running lights to a generation 2 Prius? I checked the measurements for a Philips kit and there did not seem to be enough room to drill and fit them in front of the grille. I had Saabs and Volvos before this which had day lights.

[Duffryn]

Sorry, don't mean to hijack the thread, but I also wondered this with regard to a Gen 3 - replacing the foglights with DRLs, as per 2012/3 model.

[johalareewi]

Sorry, don't mean to hijack the thread,

So why do it?

[valmiki]

Bit harsh wasn't it? I guess it's kind of related...

[easydriver]

Hi everyone, Further research has led me to Phillips DRL 4 Kit. The lights are small enough to fit. Utube has a how to fit video but not on a Prius. I spoke to Philips technical who said 1) they have been fitted on/in the grille . 2) You do not have to run wiring back to the Battery in the boot. You can attach wire to a positive terminal in the under bonnet fuse box and an earth in the engine bay. 3) There is a risk of the lights going off when the engine turns off at traffic lights. If so I/you would have to return the Phillips control relay/box back to them and they would provide a special replacement at no extra charge. I will keep you posted.

[timberwolf]

I think my main concern with adding one of those units would be what is the standby current consumed when the car is off. The 12V Battery in the Prius has a low capacity, so adding extra electronics that run all the time would give you less time if you wanted to park the car for a period such as a holiday.

I found an installation pdf on one of the sellers site, but not on Philips own web site where they only had a leaflet. I could not see any mention of specification concerning power drain when the car was off.

I am guessing that the electronic box supplied measures the voltage level from the 12V Battery and senses when a charging voltage from an alternator (in an ordinary car) or in the case of a Prius when the car is in Ready mode and the DC-DC converter is charging the 12V Battery. The DC-DC converter charges the 12V battery even when the petrol engine is not running, so I wouldn't have thought that should be a problem, but the charging voltage maybe lower (in my experience between 13.5V to 13.8V other Prius may vary) than an alternator would output?

[easydriver]

The Phillips technical guy says it switches on when it feels vibration from the engine/s. I am aware of the need to test and trickle charge the 12v Battery. I have a cigar lighter socket tester which fits into the aux output in the console between the seats but it only registers when the hybrid circuit is on. What other type of tester could I use to just get a reading from the small Battery? I have a garage with a power socket and a trickle charger.

[timberwolf]

Triggered by engine vibration, how is that going to work on a Hybrid?

Yes, the aux power socket is disconnected when the car is off, presumably to prevent the owner from inadvertently draining the 12V Battery.

A digital voltmeter with probes, it can measure the voltage at the Battery terminals or from the jump start point under the bonnet.

There are obviously lots of cheap and probably they are cheap for a reason i.e. not very accurate, reliable, etc. A good DVM (such as a professional would buy) is going to set you back a minimum of £120 and then you can easily double that if you want it calibrated. My budget didn't run to a good DVM, and I didn't want a £10-15 cheapie because I just did not know what I was getting. So after reading a comparative review test I picked this one - Extech Autoranging Multimeter EX330 for £40.

[Peter Sale]

Triggered by engine vibration ?. Couldn't help but check the calendar !

Sounds as good a plan as someone I know who wired his wall lights into the central heating pump. His wife was quite happy when he went out to the pub and she could see nicely. She was less than amused when the heating went off and plunged her into darkness !!!

[Rav4ster]

Hi, I have connected Phillips DRL 4 Kit (I think) to my Gen II. Lower grill will need a bit of filing and brackets are a bit ackward to fix .

When testing, they only work when both lights are connected. They are always on when car is on, irrespective to the petrol engine.

Had them for year, no problems.
As for connection

Connect + cable from the Control Unit to the + on the small 12 vault Battery, the Battery connector is under fuse cover to the right from the electric motor

Connect – cable from Control Unit to the ground point

Connect both DLR units and check that they are coming on when car is switched on

Picture below shows connection points
1 Ground Point
2 + on the small 12 vault Battery

[easydriver]

Thanks, I have connected it as you suggested. It seems to work fine. I used 3 layers of double sided tape to stick the control unit to the fuse box cover which looks neat. Maybe it gets enough vibrations there.

[easydriver]

The LED lights are working perfectly. My local Toyota dealer said fitting them might cause other bulbs to pop but so far so good. However I got into trouble with M&S car insurance who said it was a modification. Any modification meant a policy cancel and a re-quote for a new policy at.... £180 extra! Victor Meldrew!! Research online showed that it was no extra for Liverpool Victoria and that US car insurers give a standard 3% DISCOUNT for daytime lights, I phoned John Lewis who rang their underwriters while I hung on - no problem and a lower quote than M&S original one. M&S said they would charge me £50 for cancelling the policy. I wrote a long letter pointing out how this might look in the broadsheet consumer pages and Which. We agreed on £50 back on the cancellation and £50 for time and trouble. BEWARE!!