Daytime running lights

[Taemian]

Hey Guys,

If you ever hear of someone else importing a MM into Canada from the States, here's an idea for the legal requirement of full-time daytime running lights.
Canadian Tire (the contracted federal inspection shop) charges $191 plus tax to install the light kit. I simply used 3 blade connectors and 2 pieces of #14 wire. Cost me about 17 cents!
A simple way to pass the test is to remove the right and left headlight fuses, and make a jumper wire from them to a single blade connector, and put it in the power window relay slot. The windows get power with ignition on, so the lights come on immediatley. Each headlight is a 10 amp fuse, and the power window circut is a 25 amp relay. As soon as you get home, YOU HAVE THE OPTION to remove the wire and replace the relay. Not that I'm advocating that or anything....;)

[larryo340]

I know in my fathers '06 MGM, and my sisters '05 Escape I was able to enable D.R.L. with the factory scan tool. I don't know if '03-'04 MM's can be done this way.

FORD had a jumper plug in a harness in the radiator support area which can be removed and a factory D.R.L. module plugged in and mounted. It is oval in shape. I don't know the year that they stopped using it. They used it in all panthers, but again I'm not sure until when. If you have it most likely it would be on the drivers side in front of radiator support from the radiator to behind drivers headlamp assembly.

[rayjay]

FWIW, I think DRLs are a really good safety idea and should be mandated in the US. Motorcycle accidents dropped significantly when NYS went to the mandatory headlight on 24hrs law.

[magindat]

Put your lights on automatic (far left setting) and put a cover over the sensor (on driver's dash). The sensor will 'think' it's dark out. Instant DRL.

[cyclopsram]

except that they are on full power...drls use lower voltage to make em dimmer and last longer..Ford has a kit.. Secondly you disable the drls by pushing down your ebrake one click...watch em go out at the drive in theatre...

[larryo340]

Put your lights on automatic (far left setting) and put a cover over the sensor (on driver's dash). The sensor will 'think' it's dark out. Instant DRL.
but then the rest of the lights will be as well, DRL on uses the high beams at I think 75% power with no other lights on

except that they are on full power...drls use lower voltage to make em dimmer and last longer..Ford has a kit.. Secondly you disable the drls by pushing down your ebrake one click...watch em go out at the drive in theatre...
I used that Ford kit in my car then found out I could have just plugged in a module. My car has the jumper plug.

[Taemian]

Put your lights on automatic (far left setting) and put a cover over the sensor (on driver's dash). The sensor will 'think' it's dark out. Instant DRL.

I thought about that, it didn't fly with the inspectors because you can still manually turn them off with the switch. DTRLs must be permanently activated with the ignition on, regardless of switch postition. Good idea you had, but no dice this time. Those inspectors can be tough. Thank everyone for the other info, but to be honest, people up here notice cars WITHOUT DTRLs more, since everyone else has them. The minority always stick out, and the only other vehicles without DTRL are active-service police units. Really makes people sit up and notice your car, adjust their seatbelts, use their turn signals etc....

[O's Fan Rich]

First thing I did was have the Ford dealer install my DRL's.

[Taemian]

First thing I did was have the Ford dealer install my DRL's.

Heya Rich. I see you're in the USA. Like I said, people notice the minority, the thing that sticks out. The fact that DTRL actually work as a safety feature is NOT due to the light output, it's people noticing something that's different. If you read up on any of the CHMSL light studies (third brake light) you'll find the same thing. The original studies and conclusions were flawed about WHY they were effective. Later, they figured out the actual reasons. We had a big controversy up here with them and DTRL, since they were first used and improperly studied in one of the Scandanavian countries. But our govt went ahead anyways. DTRL really are only effective on motorbikes (due to their small frontal cross section) and CHMSLs have yet to prove themselves conclusively.:shake:

[larryo340]

I don't agree with this statement. DRL's make the car stand out especially during dawn,overcast days,bright sunny days, and dusk situations. It highly enhances the ability to be seen. Here in the states most of use have nosed out of a parking lot or driveway and did not notice a car coming due to the fact that it blended with the enviroment, with the DRL's you can distinguish a moving car. I also personally find them better on suburban side streets people realize that you are a moving vehicle instead of a parked one.
I have them in my car, as well as all my family cars. Friends have asked me to put them in their cars as well.


Heya Rich. I see you're in the USA. Like I said, people notice the minority, the thing that sticks out. The fact that DTRL actually work as a safety feature is NOT due to the light output, it's people noticing something that's different. :shake:

[Taemian]

I don't agree with this statement. DRL's make the car stand out especially during dawn,overcast days,bright sunny days, and dusk situations. It highly enhances the ability to be seen. Here in the states most of use have nosed out of a parking lot or driveway and did not notice a car coming due to the fact that it blended with the enviroment, with the DRL's you can distinguish a moving car. I also personally find them better on suburban side streets people realize that you are a moving vehicle instead of a parked one.
I have them in my car, as well as all my family cars. Friends have asked me to put them in their cars as well.

You don't have to agree Larry, but if you Google any of the actual studies, you'll see that there is no conclusive proof that benefits exist. In fact, your own D.O.T. legally fought to keep these from being mandatory. One area (signal masking) has finally been addressed by Chrysler's new DTRL system that kills power to the headlight of the same side flasher while it is blinking. This is a good start, but again, there are no conclusive reports yet. I know many people who have nearly been nailed while turning left, because their signal lamp was masked by their headlight glare in daylight.

Truthfully, until we rule out human error, there will always be accidents no matter what features are added. "Whenever you make something idiot-proof, they build a better idiot". :)

I prefer to drive defensively and be aware of my surroundings, that is the BEST way of minimizing our risks. Technology becomes a crutch, and people here (where DTRL have been mandatory for years) still say "He came outta nowhere!" Enjoy your DTRLs!