How to disable day-time running lights?

Patrick F. Clarin said:
Anyknow know how to do this in a '02 WRX?

On the '02, you need to unplug the connector
going to the SILVER METAL resistor which is
mounted on the passsenger side strut tower.
The resistor is WHITE CERAMIC in color
with a SILVER bathtub-shaped housing
bolted onto a green metal holder. The connector
has TWO (2) pins and is oval shaped. The resistor
wires are black, varnished shiny and rigid.
Unplug this and put a bag over the connector as
it is 12V live when the motor is running. Unplug it
and your headlights will behave like a normal car.

Note: DO NOT unplug the 4-pin/wire conector
next to the DRL resistor, which is in a green housing!

More info is here: http://www.lightsout.org/disable.html
 
Ball peen hammer!

But seriously this is a safety feature.

Absolutely foolish and stupid as a "safety feature". All it does is cause
more wear and tear on your charging system and let people know you are so
much less than bright that you must have your lights on in the daytime so
perhaps someone else will look out for you. It is almost as bad an idea
as that third stoplight which came into being in 1986. As soon as people
were used to seeing it the accident rate went right back to where it was.
Headlights are the same way. It only works a little bit when it is odd.
When people are used to seeing them there is not one bit of difference.
We as public are too easily sold on these hair-brained engineering ideas.
And we get to pay for them in the skyrocketing cost of a new automobile.
A $2000 dollar car now sells for over $27,000.00 and all you got for your
money was a catalytic converter which makes no difference, airbags which
cause more injuries than they prevent, and bumper parts made from plastic
and styrofoam rather than steel!
Why not disable the
seatbelts,airbags and ABS while you are at it?

Seat belts and ABS remain but airbags were disabled before the car had two
miles on it.
 
Some people have to disable them to comply with local regulations. I had
to disable mine in Iceland on my '03 US-Spec Baja to pass the safety
inspection. If you have DRL here in Iceland, the lights have to stay on
all the time at full intensity. On the Baja, even though the engine is
running, if you pull the e-brake, the lights will extinguish. These don't
qualify as DRL here and must be disabled.

-Alex
 
I have heard these DRLs run anywhere from 40% to 80% of full low
beams. Does anyone know which it is for my '03 Baja? To me, whatever
they are, they are too bright. It's a minor complaint and probably
not bothersome enough to try to disable them but for the safety of
just being noticed they seem overkill to me.
 
So "nothing" is better than "pretty good most of the time"???

What's the difference between full strength DRLs that are always on and
simply turning he headlights on all the time?
 
So "nothing" is better than "pretty good most of the time"???

What's the difference between full strength DRLs that are always on and
simply turning he headlights on all the time?
 
Agree. That wasn't my point. I was writing in response to a previous
post from a person who told us that the law in Iceland required that
DRLs be full brilliance and on all the time, and DRLs that didn't meet
this requirement had to be disabled.
 
I have a '96 Impreza and since my headlights run off the ignition I just
leave them on all the time day or night.

I have noticed this is a help to me especially when I encounter vehicles
that appear to be painted the same color as the pavement. If I am glancing
quickly to make a turn and I don't see the "camo" paint job, I can still see
the DRLs. Since it is so much brighter during the daytime, why not leave the
lowbeam at full power?
 
In
Patrick F. Clarin said:
Anyknow know how to do this in a '02 WRX?

The surest way is to drop the glovebox (all screws are easily visible).
Behind the glove box is the main DRL relay, which even has a sticker on it
loudly proclaiming itself to be the DRL relay/controller. Unplug it, put
the glove box back in and go on your way without wasting watts.

Yes, disconnecting the dropping resistor in the engine bay will do the same
thing, but will leave live 12V flopping around. Killing it at the source
stops stray voltage.
 
JW <[email protected]> said:
Absolutely foolish and stupid as a "safety feature". All it does is cause
more wear and tear on your charging system and let people know you are so
much less than bright that you must have your lights on in the daytime so
perhaps someone else will look out for you. It is almost as bad an idea
as that third stoplight which came into being in 1986. As soon as people
were used to seeing it the accident rate went right back to where it was.
Headlights are the same way. It only works a little bit when it is odd.
When people are used to seeing them there is not one bit of difference.
We as public are too easily sold on these hair-brained engineering ideas.
And we get to pay for them in the skyrocketing cost of a new automobile.
A $2000 dollar car now sells for over $27,000.00 and all you got for your
money was a catalytic converter which makes no difference, airbags which
cause more injuries than they prevent, and bumper parts made from plastic
and styrofoam rather than steel!


Seat belts and ABS remain but airbags were disabled before the car had two
miles on it.

Why don't you do us all a big favor jolson, make a big difference and
gohighspeed off a cliff to your theorys about safety. I really would
like to know.
 
H. Daniel Chesney said:
Why don't you do us all a big favor jolson, make a big difference and
gohighspeed off a cliff to your theorys about safety. I really would
like to know.

What is it about the human animal that compels us to tell everybody else how
to live their lives? This man disapproves of his air bags and so disables
them. That's his business and his business alone. Unless and until you're
invited to ride in his car, why does it concern you at all? I really would
like to know.

- Greg Reed
 
Karen said:
Patrick said:
Anyknow know how to [disable DRL's] in a '02 WRX?
I hope you are never in an accident...I can only imagine what your
insurance company would do with that info.

I also hope that the OP is never in an accident, but not because I worry
about his getting in trouble over disabling the still-optional and
questionably effective DRL's on his car.

- Greg Reed
 
Ignignokt said:
Karen said:
Patrick said:
Anyknow know how to [disable DRL's] in a '02 WRX?
I hope you are never in an accident...I can only imagine what your
insurance company would do with that info.

I also hope that the OP is never in an accident, but not because I worry
about his getting in trouble over disabling the still-optional and
questionably effective DRL's on his car.

- Greg Reed

When the parking brake is on, the light are out. But they come on if you
use the light switch. So, there must be a sensor on the parking brake
that tells the computer to turn off the lights. It might even be a reed
switch. If so, place a magnet next to it. It will make the computer
think the parking brake is on. Don't know what the computer will make of
that when the car moves.

If its not a reed switch, there must be some other circuit there you
either open or close.

Al
 
A little clarification:

Full-intensisy lights must be on at all times, day or night in Iceland
(even in the middle of June when the sun never goes down).

On my Baja, the DRLs come on at an intensity less than full (half?). In
order for the lights to be on at all times at full intensity, cars that
have less-than-full intensity DRLs must have the DRLs disabled. The
rationalization is that a driver may begin to drive at night, seeing the
always-on DRLs, but think they're the full-intensity headlamps, and thus
breaking the law that full-intensity headlamps must be on at all times.
 
alex3324 said:
A little clarification:

Full-intensisy lights must be on at all times, day or night in Iceland
(even in the middle of June when the sun never goes down).

No, if you have day running lights here in Iceland that stay on all
the time then you do not have to use the full-intensity headlights.
Most cars have, however, the full-intensity lights on when you turn on
the ignition.
 

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