I cant make sense of this DRL wiring diagram

GTE

Hello all!

Last Summer I installed some Ring Automotive DRL's. They were the cheaper one across their range.

Today I came across the more expensive version, the one I actually wanted. So as a Christmas present I got them but now I have hit a slight problem.

The special thing about them, so the box says, is that if you hook it up to the sidelight circuit the DRL's will become less bright when they come on as not to dazzle anyone. Sounds nice as they are seriously bright LED's.

I dont particularly want that as I switch the current DRL's off when it gets dark anyway but I may have come across a problem in ignoring this.

I hooked up the positive and negative wires and they worked for about 5 to 10 seconds then switched off by themselves. When I tried the switch again they would flash for a nanosecond. Id have to wait 15 seconds or so before I could switch them on again but they switch off every time.

I thought my wiring was a problem since it was so cold out and I rushed.

In the box there is a Try Me Now button which has the DRL's hooked up to a few AA batteries so you can see what they are like in the store.
They also switch off after about 5 to 10 seconds.

http://www.ringautomotive.co.uk/images/pdfs/BRL0398%20instructions%20HiRes.pdf

That is the fitting diagram.

Is there anything in the diagram that I am missing that could be causing this?

Its happening to the DRL that is fitted to the car now and the one that is still in the box hooked up to the Try me now thing.

Im a tad confused at this stage. The box says they run off 12 to 24 volts so they are not being overloaded. The other, old DRL is still working along side the new one.

Any ideas?
How do the DRLs know when to come on if I fit them as per the wiring diagram?

My current DRL's are setup using the fog light circuit of my Golf. I pull the light switch out one notch and they switch on.
If my current wiring wont suit the new ones I was thinking of having them come on when the engine starts but instead of using the side light circuit to switch them off/dim I use the front fog switch. Its handier as the wiring is there and ready to connect.

Thanks!

Matt Simis

Not to sound like a pedant, but have you tried connecting them up as intended? I assume they use PWM to reduce the effective power going to the lights when a 12v signal is picked up on the Sidelight circuit. I dont know the effect of not connecting anything at all to that circuit (which is what I gather you did), though you would have thought they would run at full brightness all the time.

Kinda confused about something though, you mention you turn them off when it gets dark, the wiring makes no provision for a switch, how are you doing this? EDIT: Ok see your edit. I still think running them as intended works and looks better, whats the advantage to having to manually do everything?


What about making it really simple to determine they work properly at all;

• Get a spare battery (or the one in the car if you dont have old ones)
• Use Aligator clips or hose clamps (aka jubiliee clips) to hold the wires to the terminals if you want (hard to keep them held on for more than a few seconds)
• Try each DRL one at a time
• Connect the black wire to the negative terminal
• Connect the white wire to the 12v positive terminal on the battery
• Should power up at 100% and stay on

• Connect the Yellow wire to the positive terminal, should Dim to 50%.

The Auto Dimming ability is what separates ****ty DRLs from OEM quality ones, you should keep that aspect IMO.

GTE

Matt Simis wrote: »

Not to sound like a pedant, but have you tried connecting them up as intended? I assume they use PWM to reduce the effective power going to the lights when a 12v signal is picked up on the Sidelight circuit. I dont know the effect of not connecting anything at all to that circuit (which is what I gather you did), though you would have thought they would run at full brightness all the time.

Kinda confused about something though, you mention you turn them off when it gets dark, the wiring makes no provision for a switch, how are you doing this? EDIT: Ok see your edit. I still think running them as intended works and looks better, whats the advantage to having to manually do everything?


What about making it really simple to determine they work properly at all;

• Get a spare battery (or the one in the car if you dont have old ones)
• Use Aligator clips or hose clamps (aka jubiliee clips) to hold the wires to the terminals if you want (hard to keep them held on for more than a few seconds)
• Try each DRL one at a time
• Connect the black wire to the negative terminal
• Connect the white wire to the 12v positive terminal on the battery
• Should power up at 100% and stay on

• Connect the Yellow wire to the positive terminal, should Dim to 50%.

The Auto Dimming ability is what separates ****ty DRLs from OEM quality ones, you should keep that aspect IMO.

Indeed, I did do it all manually with the old DRL's which after doing it for a bit was just habit to push in the light switch as I twist for the dipped lights.
The old DRL's simply ran off the fog circuit which I installed last Summer.

I haven't wired them up as I per the diagram because I assumed I could operate them like the older ones and the wiring is there but it seems there is some posh stuff going on in the circuitry. I lost daylight and heat to keep at it today.

Tomorrow Ill do a check (could I use a car battery charger aside from a battery for your test?) and probably wire them up as intended BUT I would like to have it that instead of the side lights dimming the DRL's I would want the front fog circuit I added to be the "side light circuit" which the DRL is paying attention to since its all there working fine. Easy access

With that PWM (pulse width modulation? I know it from sound tech but not in electronics):
Would that detect a change in voltage from the battery as engine switches on which triggers the DRLs on? How does it stay on after that?

EDIT:
On the pulse width mod note I think now I understand why the LED rear lights on buses flicker when you see them through the cameras inside coaches. The frames per second of the camera clashes with the PWM freq? Ahh!! An interesting day today altogether!

GTE

Well, curiosity got the better of me so after I mixed up the Christmas cake I went out to the shed and hooked up the second DRL to a battery charger.

It did not switch off of its own accord.

So, it got me thinking that the magicworks inside the DRL's that can detect the power from the sidelights must be able to do other things.

I started the wagon up and then the lights and all was fine. When I switched the engine off the light remained on for 5 or 6 seconds which I can imagine is some kind of. . . the name of it escapes me but its when the lights stay on after you leave the car so you can walk to your door in light.
I guess the DRLs can differentiate between engine on and engine off, even through the front fog circuit.

Problem now is!
When I had the DRL in the battery charger I tried connecting the Yellow (side light cable) to the + and no dimming happened. Maybe its looking for a different kind of signal again. No worries though.

Ill hook it up properly tomorrow and use the front fog circuit as the side light signal. With luck that will work fine.

Not that bad now that I was able to think it through.

Thanks Matt.

Matt Simis

bbk wrote: »

I started the wagon up and then the lights and all was fine. When I switched the engine off the light remained on for 5 or 6 seconds which I can imagine is some kind of. . . the name of it escapes me but its when the lights stay on after you leave the car so you can walk to your door in light.

Coming Home / Leaving Home light function !

bbk wrote: »

Problem now is!
When I had the DRL in the battery charger I tried connecting the Yellow (side light cable) to the + and no dimming happened. Maybe its looking for a different kind of signal again. No worries though.

Ill hook it up properly tomorrow and use the front fog circuit as the side light signal. With luck that will work fine.

Strange, wouldnt have thought so, you are just trying to emulate the 12v signal from a sidelight, the circuitry is designed for every type of car, so it cannot get too specific.

If you wire it to the fogs as the Dimming trigger, then you will have full brightness from start up to Full Beams if you forget to toggle the Fogs. Or worse still, if you toggle the Fogs before its dark or leave them on or something you will have 50% dimmer DRLs in daytime!

Assuming the dimming function works.

GTE

Matt Simis wrote: »

Assuming the dimming function works.

Absolutely!

I did everything by spade connectors and the kit comes with similar things so I should be able to test fit everything easily enough.

Im so used to doing something with the front fog switch as it is Im happy enough to wire it using the front fog as a dimming trigger.

Im amazed in the brightness difference between the cheaper Ring Automotive and the more expensive ones I got today. Tis great stuff!

GTE

Fitted them today with the front fog circuit acting as the dimming trigger.

I must say they are quite good DRL's. Very bright and the dimming is a great feature.

The coming home function is nice too!

Only tiny thing is that sometimes the DRL's dont come on or off at the same time. No bother really!

Thanks for the help Matt. There is some great magic going on in those DRL's.

Matt Simis

bbk wrote: »

Thanks for the help Matt. There is some great magic going on in those DRL's.

But up a photo! I have some Audi S6 OEM LED DRLs (actually 3 units, in pieces) I might hack onto the S8 over Christmas, they also have the dimming function. The problem with the Audi units (apart from the horrific expense) is they are massive, I mean stupidly massive for LEDs.



So if these dont work out, Id like some auto Dimming alternatives lined up, like yours.