Ok, so after being lazy for months and not finding any information on different forums I finally decided to figure this out and I had great results so I thought I would share. I'm open to any thoughts, constructive criticism, etc...
Step 1: Buy 2014 Jeep SRT8
Step 2: be upset for months that they'd make such gorgeous headlights and not have a factory option to have the parking light portion run as a DRL with the strip in the bumper
Step 3: Fix it
I had read previous posts and was worried that the 12V power to the parking lights was pulsed, ground at rest, etc... but that was not the case. Another major concern was how to get them to turn off for turn signal use. But I finally looked at my headlights yesterday and they do NOT turn off when the turn signal is engaged.
So here is what I did: very simple, I ran a wire from the DRL fuse in the fuse box to each headlamp attached to the DRL wire. I also attached a diode. The headlight ribbons are very bright after doing this mod to the DRL wires. I recommend placing a relay so that they dim appropriately when headlights are turned on, otherwise the ribbons are too bright at night and distract other drivers. I've included the instructions and connections at the very bottom.
DRL fuse: 10 amp F40
Driver's side DRL wire: White with Yellow stripe
Passenger side DRL wire: White with Dark Blue stripe (there are 2, so use the one that is 3 terminals in from the corner, pic below)
I'm including parking light wire colors for reference only. If you use parking light wires instead of the DRL wires then the intensity will be lower on the light ribbons and amber corner markers in headlight will be illuminated, but then you will NOT need a relay. Your choice.
Driver's side parking light wire: White with Brown stripe
Passenger's side parking light wire: White with Orange stripe
Diode I used was from radioshack part number 276-1144 and worked great
Diode package:
How to orient the diode with white stripe towards headlights:
Here is where I soldered wire to the fuse. I used a 15 amp fuse instead of the oem 10 amp. It's just what I had around because I had blown the 10 amp while testing things. 10 would probably be safer:
Here is the passenger side headlight wiring with DRL wire exposed:
Here is where I ran the wire (inside the black plastic wire loom) across from the passenger to the driver's side:
I did not photograph the driver's side when connecting but there's only one White with Yellow stripe on that side.
How it looked plugged in when completed:
After I performed the install to the DRLs I drove around for a while and it was wonderful. However, when the ribbons are running in DRL mode they are super bright. A relay is needed to have them dim when headlights are activated. Here are the connections for the relay that you need to attach. Keep in mind, you have to buy a 5-terminal relay with an 87a terminal (in the middle). Also, make sure that the relay you buy disconnects the circuit between 30 and 87a when activated. If you buy a relay at an auto parts store, it probably won't work. If you buy it at a best buy or alarm/stereo shop it most likely will work. Just tell them what I listed below and they should be able to confirm.
Relay wiring:
85: Ground
86: Parking light wire or headlight wire
87: leave empty (do not connect)
87a: new wire going to DRL wires at headlight
30: new wire from fuse box (cut the wire somewhere downstream from the diode and place the side from the fuse box and diode to 30 and the other end coming from the headlight to 87a
Further explained:
85: leave to constant ground
86: This should be 12V when you want the relay to be "active". I would use the parking light wire that we already know about from the passenger side headlight wire harness (white with orange stripe).
87: this should be left empty. We're using the relay to leave our DRL connection to ribbons on constantly from 30 through to 87a. When the relay is powered that connection is severed so that the headlights act as if we never installed anything when headlights are on.
87a: After cutting the new wire you just installed from the fuse box to the headlights. The side going to the headlight should be attached to 87a
30: and the other side that goes to the diode and then the fuse box should go to 30
I also wired a simple switch so that if I want the ribbons bright at night for some reason i can just flip the switch. I don't recommend this as it could complicate matters if you're not electrically inclined. If you are electrically inclined then just add this switch along the parking light wire.
Here's a picture of the relay and switch secured to whatever that ECU is for:
The final product with the top picture having connected to the parking light wire and the bottom picture connecting to the DRL wire. (For bottom picture the car was in neutral so that bumper strip would be illuminate for comparison's sake). The camera angle isn't the same, but man what a difference!:
With DRL wires used instead of parking light wires:
I drove it around for a while and am extremely happy with it. Hopefully this information will be helpful.
-Nik
Update #1: There is a "flicker" to the ribbon lights when i unlock the doors prior to starting the cars. I'm open to ideas but I think adding diodes should solve this problem. I'll update this post once I try them.
Update #2: Flicker problem resolved with the addition of a diode. This also stops the bumper DRL strip from being on when unlocking the doors which is the way it comes from the factory. I haven't had any other issues and no warning lights.
Update #3: Thanks to CLStech for pointing this out. Instead of using the parking light wires at the headlight, I used the DRL wire at the headlights. This allows for much higher light output intensity. This makes it much easier to see the ribbons during daylight hours. This also eliminates illumination of the amber corner markers.
Update #4: When running in DRL mode, the ribbons are excellent and appropriate for daytime driving. However, they are too bright for nighttime driving. I have added the wiring for a relay to switch them back when the parking lights or headlights are on.
Update #5: I have added the relay and the ribbons now dim when parking/headlights are active. I wired the relay exactly as listed above and it worked on the first try. Hopefully this will complete this project. I know cmn1 is tired of me asking him to update my DIY :cheers:
Step 1: Buy 2014 Jeep SRT8
Step 2: be upset for months that they'd make such gorgeous headlights and not have a factory option to have the parking light portion run as a DRL with the strip in the bumper
Step 3: Fix it
I had read previous posts and was worried that the 12V power to the parking lights was pulsed, ground at rest, etc... but that was not the case. Another major concern was how to get them to turn off for turn signal use. But I finally looked at my headlights yesterday and they do NOT turn off when the turn signal is engaged.
So here is what I did: very simple, I ran a wire from the DRL fuse in the fuse box to each headlamp attached to the DRL wire. I also attached a diode. The headlight ribbons are very bright after doing this mod to the DRL wires. I recommend placing a relay so that they dim appropriately when headlights are turned on, otherwise the ribbons are too bright at night and distract other drivers. I've included the instructions and connections at the very bottom.
DRL fuse: 10 amp F40
Driver's side DRL wire: White with Yellow stripe
Passenger side DRL wire: White with Dark Blue stripe (there are 2, so use the one that is 3 terminals in from the corner, pic below)
I'm including parking light wire colors for reference only. If you use parking light wires instead of the DRL wires then the intensity will be lower on the light ribbons and amber corner markers in headlight will be illuminated, but then you will NOT need a relay. Your choice.
Driver's side parking light wire: White with Brown stripe
Passenger's side parking light wire: White with Orange stripe
Diode I used was from radioshack part number 276-1144 and worked great
Diode package:
How to orient the diode with white stripe towards headlights:
Here is where I soldered wire to the fuse. I used a 15 amp fuse instead of the oem 10 amp. It's just what I had around because I had blown the 10 amp while testing things. 10 would probably be safer:
Here is the passenger side headlight wiring with DRL wire exposed:
Here is where I ran the wire (inside the black plastic wire loom) across from the passenger to the driver's side:
I did not photograph the driver's side when connecting but there's only one White with Yellow stripe on that side.
How it looked plugged in when completed:
After I performed the install to the DRLs I drove around for a while and it was wonderful. However, when the ribbons are running in DRL mode they are super bright. A relay is needed to have them dim when headlights are activated. Here are the connections for the relay that you need to attach. Keep in mind, you have to buy a 5-terminal relay with an 87a terminal (in the middle). Also, make sure that the relay you buy disconnects the circuit between 30 and 87a when activated. If you buy a relay at an auto parts store, it probably won't work. If you buy it at a best buy or alarm/stereo shop it most likely will work. Just tell them what I listed below and they should be able to confirm.
Relay wiring:
85: Ground
86: Parking light wire or headlight wire
87: leave empty (do not connect)
87a: new wire going to DRL wires at headlight
30: new wire from fuse box (cut the wire somewhere downstream from the diode and place the side from the fuse box and diode to 30 and the other end coming from the headlight to 87a
Further explained:
85: leave to constant ground
86: This should be 12V when you want the relay to be "active". I would use the parking light wire that we already know about from the passenger side headlight wire harness (white with orange stripe).
87: this should be left empty. We're using the relay to leave our DRL connection to ribbons on constantly from 30 through to 87a. When the relay is powered that connection is severed so that the headlights act as if we never installed anything when headlights are on.
87a: After cutting the new wire you just installed from the fuse box to the headlights. The side going to the headlight should be attached to 87a
30: and the other side that goes to the diode and then the fuse box should go to 30
I also wired a simple switch so that if I want the ribbons bright at night for some reason i can just flip the switch. I don't recommend this as it could complicate matters if you're not electrically inclined. If you are electrically inclined then just add this switch along the parking light wire.
Here's a picture of the relay and switch secured to whatever that ECU is for:
The final product with the top picture having connected to the parking light wire and the bottom picture connecting to the DRL wire. (For bottom picture the car was in neutral so that bumper strip would be illuminate for comparison's sake). The camera angle isn't the same, but man what a difference!:
With DRL wires used instead of parking light wires:
I drove it around for a while and am extremely happy with it. Hopefully this information will be helpful.
-Nik
Update #1: There is a "flicker" to the ribbon lights when i unlock the doors prior to starting the cars. I'm open to ideas but I think adding diodes should solve this problem. I'll update this post once I try them.
Update #2: Flicker problem resolved with the addition of a diode. This also stops the bumper DRL strip from being on when unlocking the doors which is the way it comes from the factory. I haven't had any other issues and no warning lights.
Update #3: Thanks to CLStech for pointing this out. Instead of using the parking light wires at the headlight, I used the DRL wire at the headlights. This allows for much higher light output intensity. This makes it much easier to see the ribbons during daylight hours. This also eliminates illumination of the amber corner markers.
Update #4: When running in DRL mode, the ribbons are excellent and appropriate for daytime driving. However, they are too bright for nighttime driving. I have added the wiring for a relay to switch them back when the parking lights or headlights are on.
Update #5: I have added the relay and the ribbons now dim when parking/headlights are active. I wired the relay exactly as listed above and it worked on the first try. Hopefully this will complete this project. I know cmn1 is tired of me asking him to update my DIY :cheers: