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Get To Know More About DayTime Running Lights

What Is Car Daytime Running Light?

A relatively new feature in a lot of cars is the daytime running lights (or DRLs). These are the lights which are situated on the front of a vehicle that remain on whenever the engine would be running. Unlike headlights, the daytime running lights would be fairly dim and would not illuminate the road ahead.

Important Features For Car Daytime Running Light

Do you want to know the essential features of daytime running lights? Then you have arrived at the right place. Have a look below to know the important features of daytime running lights:

 

  • It should provide better perception of the vehicle by other road users.
  • There should be more time for other road users to react.
  • The daytime running lights would switch on automatically.

How Do Car Daytime Running Light Work?

Are you searching how do the daytime running lights actually work? Then all you have to do is to have a look below and then you will be able to understand everything.

 

It is very easy to operate the daylight running lights. – you will not have to do anything. They are designed in such a way so that they can turn on when your engine would crank, and would turn odd when the engine would be shut down. That is all there is to it. There is no need to manually turn them on and off. Just keep in mind that the daytime running lights should not be confused with auto headlights, which would be turned on by themselves when the level of light would drop to a certain point.

Purpose Of Car Daytime Running Light

The main purpose of daytime running lights is to raise the visibility of your car, so that other drivers would be able to see you on the road. During the night, the headlights and tail lights would start illuminating which would mean that it would be easy for drivers to spot you. But during the day, there are a lot of drivers which would turn their lights off and it would not at all be easy to spot other vehicles quickly.

Tools Needed For Car Daytime Running Light

There are a number of skilled auto mechanics who have a goal of opening their own car repair shop at some point in their career. But let’s face it; if you want to put up an efficient as well as profit making shop, then you might need much more than mechanical skills. There are a number of tools which you might need to perform the car repairs quickly as well as reliably. Auto repair equipment that you will need to repair your Day time Running Light may include:

 

Top Brands For Car Daytime Running Light

If customers trust a brand, then it would make them loyal, and if they are loyal, then they will surely buy more. We are well aware that customers want comfort, cheerfulness as well as satisfaction in their lives and that’s the reason why we offer top quality auto parts brands to our customers. We make sure to provide a positive experience to our consumers from the brands which we are offering so that they can form an opinion that a particular auto parts brand is trustworthy and would give them peace of mind while they are purchasing it for their car. Here we have listed out some top brands for Daytime Running Light.


Philips Daytime Running Light And Parts

General Electric Daytime Running Light And Parts

Dorman/Conduct-Tite Daytime Running Light And Parts

Wagner Daytime Running Light And Parts

Sylvania Daytime Running Light And Parts

Blue Streak (Hygrade Motor) Daytime Running Light And Parts

Putco Lighting Daytime Running Light And Parts

Hella Daytime Running Light And Parts

Dorman (OE Solutions) Daytime Running Light And Parts

How To Change Car Daytime Running Light?

Do you want to change your daytime running lights on your own? Then have a look at the steps of changing the daytime running lights below:

12v Electrics

  • There would be a lot of people who would remember figuring out the 12V system in a car which was very easy, and this could be easily done by just looking under the dashboard or the bonnet and tracing out the wires, even without a wiring diagram. It was extremely easy to hook up driving lights, wiring up the trailer connection or putting in a 12V supply for the fridge. But sadly, now those days have gone and then it would be much harder to trace things out and, in some cases, to locate a connecting point.

Step 1 - Locating A Suitable Mounting Point

  • The initial step would be to have a look at the front of your chosen vehicle for suitable DRL mounting points - air vents or the grille are the usual locations. Just be careful about blocking any airflow.
  • Some of the legal requirements should also be kept in mind – there would be some subtle differences between state requirements. The centre line of the lamp module should be parallel to the ground; so the light should be in the horizontal position. In addition, the lights should be mounted no less than 250mm (10in) and no more than 1500mm (5ft) above the ground. Finally, the lamps should be mounted within 400mm (1ft 4in) of the widest point of the vehicle and be at least 600mm (2ft) from the centre of the other light. It should be noted that there are some states which would specify between the lights. That measurement would be reduced to 400mm (1ft 4in) if the vehicle is less than 1300mm (4ft 3in) wide.
  • The lights should be on all the time the car would be driven during the day but it should be turned off automatically when the headlights would be turned on. Just keep in mind that all the new cars would be fitted with DRLs seem to operate this way, nor would they be mounted as per the above, but that’s because there would be a difference between original equipment installations and aftermarket fittings.

Step 2 - Buying Daylight Running Lights

  • It can be tricky to source the appropriate DRLs. It would be the easiest way to surf the internet and then sometimes aftermarket products would be present for some particular automobiles.

Step 3 - Mounting The Lights

  • Then the next step would be to choose the appropriate location as it is a case of drilling holes and fitting the light brackets. Now in this case, the brackets would be fitted first with the actual lights just clipping in. Make sure that the adjustment of the angle of the light should be easy.

Step 4 - Running The Wiring

Then it is essential to think where the mounting would be going. There might be the lights where the wirings have been connected already and there would be insulated two core (positive and negative) with a PVC outer sheath. There would be a need to run the light cables to the relay which would in turn require to be connected to both a headlight connection and a fused 12V supply. The final connection would be from the ignition supply to the relay. All that would ensure that the DRLs will operate whenever the ignition would be turned on but not when the headlights would be used. The relay should be near both the battery and the headlight it would be connected to. There is a little tip that you should make sure that the wiring should not come into contact with anything hot like the radiator which is close by nor run through metal holes where it could be chaffed.

  1. The Problem And The Solution - Now at this very point, you might run into a little problem. The needed connection points might be very fiddly to get at. There would be two choices here. One would be to do all the connections up to the relay and then get an auto electrician to do the rest. Or the other one would be to spend a bit more money on something which would be a smart controller. It should be connected straight across the battery – making sure there’s a fuse on the positive side. It should work by monitoring the battery voltage which will be higher anytime the engine would be running. There would be no involvement of the switching.
  2. Connecting The Light - It would be a great idea to make sure that all the connections should be tight. Crimped connections should be used as they would work very well and they would be quite cheaply obtained from a decent hardware or motoring shop. At the end it is essential to make sure that all the wiring should be neatly strapped/taped up out of the way. Wiring of a different colour to red and black can be utilized but if you want to keep the things conventional and obvious, then red and black can be used to tape to indicate positive and negative. Then the lights should also be tested so that it is made sure that they are working properly.
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John Framigllia
Technical Writer
Our technical writer is known for simplifying automotive parts and services. Intuitive with various vehicles and manufacturers, he knows how to simplify complicated problems.