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DRL - Daytime Running Lights

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54K views 58 replies 30 participants last post by  p64  
P
#1 · (Edited)
Hello!
Since it is mandatory in my country to drive with lights at daytime, I produced a circuit for this purpose.

It all started with my 7gen Civic and its LED indicators for A/C that were invisible at day. I made a circuit that turned on the lights without the car knowing they were on, hence diodes stayed bright.

But it is so much simpler for the 8gen Civic, since it has somewhat different wiring and the, before the mod, unusable feature named AUTO lights.
All the circuit does is open a MOS-FET transistor after 8 seconds from ignition II being turned on, and the wire responsible for light is being grounded. Excatly what the original switch does. And as a dessert, when it becomes dark, the sensor on the windshield switches on the night setup of the dash lights.
So you just keep the switch in AUTO position and forget about it. In adition, if you turn of the lights, or rotate to the parking lights position, the circuit turns off and the lights are according to the switch position.

Instalation is simple:
-a customized fuse to deliver voltage on ignition II

-4 wires soldered to original pins in the lightswitch connector: 12:black-ground, 11:grey-parking lights, 10:brown-lights, 9: pink-OFF

-PCB with elements



Any suggestions, questions or remarks welcome.
Andrej
 
#2 ·
hey good job man!;)
I also want to do something similar!

my solution will be the following:
I will use the oil pressure switch to turn on the two low beam bulbs at the front (nothing else!) and I will keep my switch in AUTO

so when the engine is running oil press. switch will turn on the front lights and when it get darker the AUTO mode turns on the rest.
 
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P
#3 ·
I did something similar on my 7gen civic, but that means going into the fuse box, more soldering, relays and so on.
And 8 seconds is plenty to turn on the car, and it is adjustable.
I would be happy to send you the circuit picture and parts needed, since my version needs only 1/2 hour or less in the car.

Think about it,
Andrej
 
P
#7 · (Edited)
New circuit and a 200mA fuse:
315022

315024

Soldering to the terminals:
315019

Box mounted on the right side of the steering assembly:
315020

Power supply from power windows, first fuse, 7.5 A:
315021

To the date installed in two civics, one HID, one regular lights, working perfectly.

Regards, Andrej
 

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P
#8 ·
Update: it seems that Honda updated the firmware, and among other things it is now impossible to use this gadget in a day/night illumination setup. You are left with a plain automatic light switcher. For technically minded, when you ground the brown wire, the car knows the lights are on and switches to night mode regardles of the light sensor intervention.

This was tested on a 2008 model, and I can't really tell which is the last working version.

Andrej
 
#12 ·
p64 said:
Update: it seems that Honda updated the firmware, and among other things it is now impossible to use this gadget in a day/night illumination setup. You are left with a plain automatic light switcher. For technically minded, when you ground the brown wire, the car knows the lights are on and switches to night mode regardles of the light sensor intervention.

This was tested on a 2008 model, and I can't really tell which is the last working version.

Andrej
Click to expand...
Andrej, I have a 11/2007 Civic 1.8 Sport and it has exactly the same problem. If I ground the brown wire the night mode turnes on.
I am thinking about how I can get rid of this 'feature'. Do you know what this brown wire is used for? I mean pin #4 in Automatic Lighting/Rain Sensor module.
 
#9 ·
my solution is: I have covered the light sensor. It thinks it is always dark. So I keep my switch in AUTO and with IGN on/off the light go on and off:D

ps.: to cover the sensor is VERY tricky!! I worked a lot on it. If anybody tries to cover it and test it on a very sunny day will know why.:)
 
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#13 ·
Hello!

I am glad that tis topic lives on.

On my car, the grey wire is for parking lights, and brown is for all the lights, when you have the switch turned on, both are grounded. So, without grounding the grey wire, you bypassed the computer somehow. I don't think there is a way around this now. Maybe it is in the firmware, maybe they've changed it so that the grey wire does not matter anymore when lights are on. Sorry.

Andrej
 
#17 ·
p64 said:
Hello!

I am glad that tis topic lives on.

On my car, the grey wire is for parking lights, and brown is for all the lights, when you have the switch turned on, both are grounded. So, without grounding the grey wire, you bypassed the computer somehow. I don't think there is a way around this now. Maybe it is in the firmware, maybe they've changed it so that the grey wire does not matter anymore when lights are on. Sorry.

Andrej
Click to expand...
I see. I have an idea! What I know is that the brown wire (all lights) goes to the Automatic Lighting/Rain Sensor circuit. This circuit sends information over the B-CAN bus. See the pic. Why do such a circuit need information about if the lights are turned on or not? If its task is just to provide information for the MICU about how much rain the sensor 'sees' and how much ambient light there is then it is redundant. It must have a function then as it is there ;). It might control the sensor somehow. So what about a test and cut this wire (I will not do it actually, rather disconnect the plug at the sensor and connect all pins except this one...) and connect it to battery voltage (the service manual says that with the plug disconnected - and I think the combination light switch in OFF position - battery voltage should be measured here). This way the sensor will 'think' that the light is off even if it is on. Will the light switch turned to all lights on position turn on the night mode automatically then? Just an idea. Maybe I am wrong.
 

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J
#14 ·
ask a silly question, but surely if its law to drive with sidelights on, why dont car manufacturers put that feature on the car for those countries? surely it should be a law for the manufacturers to add this feature to make it safer/easier for the drivers
 
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#15 ·
jaydh said:
ask a silly question, but surely if its law to drive with sidelights on, why dont car manufacturers put that feature on the car for those countries? surely it should be a law for the manufacturers to add this feature to make it safer/easier for the drivers
Click to expand...
In case of Hungary it is not Honda's fault. We have such a Road Traffic Act that we just have to turn the lights on on open roards (I mean not in cities and villages - sorry I do not know the English term for it). It will not be easy to implement in a car :)
 
J
#16 ·
rural = countryside, urban = cities/towns

oh ok, fair enough for hungary it will not work, but in sweeden it is the law to drive with your side lights on, hence volvo and saab have auto lights out there (volvo outside sweeden also have the side lights on permenantly)
 
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#18 ·
Try it!

But I think that the sensor also just ground the wire, and does not get any info through it. It communicates through the b-can bus, wher it gets information of the combination switch position, since at auto position, OFF wire and POS light wire should not be grounded. And then via the bus it gives information for the night mode.

But still, the updated version behaves different. Beats me.

I'll dig into testing in about 12 days, when I get home from abroad.

Andrej
 
P
#20 ·
Hello!

I can't tell you for sure, but in my opinion, you have a good chance that it does.

Here is a rather easy test: get to the connector on the back of the combination switch (top cover off, held by clips, lower cover held by three screws), find the brown wire (pin 10), stick one end of the wire in that pin and the other in the pin 12(black wire) or any metal part of the car's body. The lights should come on, but the dash should stay the same, and there should be no green indication light on your cluster.

Andrej
 
F
#29 ·
Bugebubben: do not know exactly, there was no instructions which sensor it is, and I had no time today to examine it, but I will.

People wrote, that black piece of paper will do the trick. I think that only the rain sensor can be glued to the windscreen.

To turn them manually is not so easy as you think. More often I forgot to turn them on during the day, when you move a lot in the city. After a few Get-off the car and get-on several times a day and it becomes anoying to turne the damned lights still on and off again.
 
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