I'm wonding if there's a mod that can be done to the C5's that will keep the DRL's on full time? As you know, once the parking lights and/or head lights get turned on, the DRL's go off and the just the parking lights stay on. I want to have the lights stay bright all the time, day AND night.

I had this mod done to my 96 Z28, but it didn't have DRL's to start with. It was just a process that kept the bright part of the dual bulb on full time with relays and a manual switch. Is there a Mod that can be done to keep the DRL's on bright full time?

 

The DRL's are the blinker lights as well. If you notice during the day, turn on the blinker, the drl will blink. At night, you can't have the blinkers on bright all the time as you would be running both the drl/blinker filament and the parking light filament. Thats a lot of heat to generate in a closed area. Yes, you could disabled the parking lamp portion to resolve the heat issue. Altering it will affect your blinker circuits that control the flashing. It could be done, but doing so, too little gain because the headlights wash out most of the light anyway and the only people who will see them are the people in front of you looking in their mirrors.... means nothing to them since they are in front of you! My opinion, not worth the effort to make them stay on at night...nothing is gained.

 

I understand that the DRL's are also the blinkers. I also know how a dual filament bulb works, .....but I still want to be able to turn the parking lights on so that my rear tail lights come on during the day, while still retaining the bright DRL's. I do most of my cruising about an hour before the sun starts to set until about 30 minutes after it sets. During that time I want both my tail lights on AND the DRL's on at the same time!

I'm sure there's a way to retain that bright part of the filament while in the parking light position as that was the exact same idea or theory when I had it done to my Z28. It's hooked up to a toggle switch and relays so that when it's on.....it's full time bright. While in this position my blinkers work so that the bright light turns completely off and then back on. When I turn the toggle switch off, it goes right back to the normal operation mode where it's dim and then blinks bright while turning the blinkers on. I guess I need to post a link to the thread that shows how to do it. I'm just wondering if it's possible to do on the C5's since they already have DRL's.

Here's the link I'm referring to.........it should help you understand what I'm talking about
http://personal.atl.bellsouth.net/b/...e_made_drl.htm

 

Obviously you can re-wire and altering anything when it comes to lighting. Simple use of a relay and switch will do it. You could also wire in a diode, disconnecting the parking lamp filament. The diode would insure that power only went one-way therefore protecting the other circuits. Many, many ways of doing this. My first thought would be using the relay idea to basically invert the function of the DRL's when your parking light switch was on. Also, check your local laws too concerning the vehicle lighting as there could be an issue. Easier would be to ask an officer if its legal. Not sure what will happen when the load on the blinker/flasher circuit is reverse though. It might be necessary to put a load resistor in there to simulate the normal load in the normal configuration. I do suggest caution though as most of the lighting commands come from or through the BCM. You don't want to mess that up.

 

You're certainly right about that. The last thing I want is to have some readout flashing on my dash because of switching something with the wiring. I basically just want the lights to be the same as stock with the exception of having the tail lights on with the DRL's during the day. I rarely ever drive my car after dark anymore, so my first post saying that I wanted them on even at night was more or less a mis-representation of the fact.

A lot of the things you mentioned about how to do this sounded like it could actually work ok for what I want, but with my zero level of understanding the wiring system on a modern car, I will no doubt need to find somebody local with your level of knowledge. What I want would be a piece of cake if I didn't already have the DRL's. I could just have the same thing done that I did to the Z28. Well, Thanks a bunch for the info on this subject. I'll have to see if I can find someone local to help me out with it.

 

I'd be interested in this mod also- love the way the bright DRL's look, and hate how dim they get on the first setting.

 

WITH MY CHEVY AVALANCH THE FIX WAS SIMPLE oops all caps. I am new to the vette but i am sure the same principal applies. In most newer chevys the drls will go out because the ground is broken by the power on of the headlight circuit. If you can locate the ground for the drls and switch it to a constant ground then the headlamps coming on would not be able to ground out the drls and they would stay lit.... any electro nuts out there to sort out the specifics, it's beyond me at that point
On my avalanche the drls were on all the time, I did the same with my hedlights and the low beams stayed on with the highbeams, the vette does this now though. A similar mod could be worked out for the fog lights to stay on with the high beam ciruct enabled with the vet as well, so you would have facing forward, drl's, low beam, high beam and fogs or most any combo of that if you look into it.

using a flasher circuit, by mobil accessories makes one that will enable a positive lead when a positive charge is sent, example your turn signal closes the switch to turn off another light and when the signal goes out the other light comes on, creating a wigwag look with full drls (seperate) and trun signals

 

 

I just made another post on this then kept searching and found this thread. I'm very interested in making this work. did you have any success with it?

looking at wiring diagrams in the service manual shows that there is a ground which comes out of the BCM to turn on the DRL's, if you were to ground that wire the DRL's would not turn off anymore. the problem is it appears to me from the schematic that the DRL would not turn off when the turn signals are on, so the DRL would drown out the turn signals making them invisible. Please let me know if anyone had any success with this modification!

 

Arch!

switchback!

 

This might help, I found the following and am planning on doing it. I don't see a reason it shouldn't work for the DRLs as well...

Option 1

Fog Lights and Low Beams on with High Beams

A PAINLESS WIRING relay part # 30802 will keep your fog lights on when the highs are on. Tap the relay trigger wire into the high beam circuit, and the feed wire from the relay into the fog circuit, you will also have to run a ground wire and hot wire to the relay. You can also use the same part # relay to keep your low beams on when you are running the highs, in that application the relay wires are color coded the same as the C5 headlight circuit, I have this relay on my C5 headlights and have had the same on two GM pickups with flawless performance.

The kit consists of a relay with a 30 amp rating, and the necessary wiring to make it functional. The trigger wire taps into your high beam circuit, when you turn on the high beams the relay closes and delivers current to your fog lights via the feed wire from the relay. You also need to run a hot wire from a 12 volt source thru a fuse to the relay, and a wire from a good ground source to the relay. Very simple to do, I mounted my relay inside the battery box, and ran the wires to the headlight circuit, under the coolant tank and made the connections there, totally hidden when complete. The relay kit is available from the usual mail order speed shops for about 20 bucks, come with complete directions for the high beam circuit, to do the fog lights all you need to do is identify the positive wire in that circuit.

Try searching Google for Painless 30802 Relay Kit.
You will find lots of pricing and a few How To's as well.

Seems like you could just T off the switched wire to the Low Beams to the Fogs and get High + Low + Fogs when you turn on your High Beams?

Option 2

Fog lights and Cove Neon’s on with High Beams

It took me a while but I figured out how to keep the fog lights on when the high beams are turned on.

My first attempt was by hooking up, directly, a wire from the 12V pos. side of the high beam wire directly to the fog lights …. No way. Lights flickered and this just wasn’t right.
Then after looking at my wiring diagram, I realized that the fog lights go off not because of a lack of power but because of a lack of a ground and it is the Body Control Module (BCM) , a computer, which controls among other things, when the fog lights are grounded or not.
The BCM turns off the fog lights at a few times, 1 when the ignition key is off and the headlights are off ( I like this because it means I can’t accidentally leave the fog light on ).
It also turns them off when the fog light switch is pressed to the off position and when the high beams come on.

So I liked some of the factory features, but I do not like the fog lights going off when I turn the high beams on.
I don’t know about you but when I turn my high beams on I want more light, not less.

All I needed to do then was ground the wire that goes to the BMC … which I did, but only to find that the fog lights say on all the time, no way to turn them off, so this was no good either.
Then it hit me, all I really need to do was ground this wire when the high beams came on and leave it alone all the rest of the time, a selective ground, so this is how I did that.

Step 1
A while ago I got and installed this wiring harness from Competition Limited to control my headlights. I liked the fact that the Competition Limited http://www.compltd.com/compt.htm harness (WR 9005\6A) has larger wires than the factory so there is no problem using higher wattage bulbs and that it takes 12V pos. power straight from the battery, or in my case the alternator. This helps to prevent voltage loss which means dimmer headlights. I also liked the fact that the harness can and was modified to keep the low beams on when the high beams come on.

So after I installed this harness I had four headlights on when I turned on the high beams, works great, but the fog lights would go off when the high beams came on.
Installing this wiring harness left the High and Low beam factory wires on the passenger side, not hooked up to anything, so they were left dangling.

Step 2
I purchased a PAINLESS WIRING relay part # 30802 not because I wanted the kit, I just really wanted the relay and I knew this kit had it.
I also bought a Male 9005 socket to plug into the empty factory high beam plug on the passenger side of the car.
This would power my relay, making the relay switch ON when the high beams came on. Two wires from the headlight high beam to the coil inside the relay.

I then found the key wire. On my 99 C5 there is a wire that comes off and under the Micro Fog Light Relay #39 which is located in the fuse box next to the battery. It is a dark green wire with a white stripe that goes to the BCM …. This is the all-important grounding wire that the BCM turns off at the most inopportune time.

I “T’ed” off this wire and connected it to the switch able side of the relay and then to a good ground so that when the high beams came on, it would power my new relay and give the fog lights a ground that the BCM had just turned off. I used no fuses with my new relay because it is powered by the factory high beam circuit, which already has a fuse.

So that’s it, fog lights now stay on when the high beams come on as well as the low beams, 6 lights. I could have put in a toggle switch in to turn off my new relay if I ever wanted the fog light not to come on with the high beams, but I’ll leave that for later if I ever need it. As it is now, when the high beams come on, I have no control, all 6 lights come on, which is fine, like I said, when I turn on my high beams I want light !! Otherwise the fog lights work just like the factory setting.

 

WOW!!!! I forgot all about this thread after starting it back in January. After only getting a few responces, I basically just bagged the idea and went on with all my other modifications. Now that I'm having another problem with my dash lights, I did a search to see what I could find, and here I see this thread again will all this ideas of how to make it work.

I guess all I need to do now is have my "electronics/wiring" guy take a look at this thread so that he can see what needs to be done. As I was reading all the posts, what "I" heard was: Blah Blah Blah.....Blah Blah Blah... I don't even attemp to try and understand it. Well cool, it looks like maybe I'll get to do this mod after all.

And to the first guy who said that the headlights will drown out the DRL's.......I have no idea where you came up with that theory, but it couldn't be more wrong. I'll prove it tonight when it gets dark, since my DRL's stay on when the headlights come on. Unfortunately my tail lights and my dash lights don't come on either when I turn my head lights on.

Anyway, thanks for all the replies that have these different ways of doing this mod!!!

 

Just turn on your fog lights or switch them out for driving lights. They will come on when you turn on the parking lights if you set the switch to on. Mine is switch on, so they come on with the parking or head lights.

 

I said I was going to post a few pictures to prove your "Theory" is wrong. (I say "theory" because obviously you've never seen it,......I think if you had, you'd realize how un-true it actually is) Pictures posted below.

Are you serious???

Obviously you missed my whole point. The fog lights ONLY work when you have the parking lights or head lights on. The "WILL NOT" come on while the DRL's are on. I want the Bright DRL's to stay on all the time....even at night (ie....when you turn the parking lights on, I want them to stay bright like during the day when the DRL's are on) Besides, I already have PIAA fog lights in there. If you look at the first couple pictures below, you'll see what I'm talking about. The DRL's are still on while my head lights on. (One more time so you understand me)......... I want to be able to turn my fog lights and tail lights on with the DRL's still being bright like they are during the day.

Now the last few pictures are with the normal parking lights and fog lights on. Obviously the pictures where my fog lights are on, the DRL's are not on.










Now with the DRL's off and the parking lights and fog lights on.






And here it is at night with the dimmer parking lights on,....yet the headlights still don't drown them out.

 

Daytime running lights have to be on all the time in Canada so they all come just as you want!

 

really? I don't remember any differences with the DRL function for the export model according to the wiring diagrams in my service manual. maybe if that's really the case all we need to do is figure out how to rewire the domestic DRL wiring to match the Export version. and then of course fix it so that the DRL's are off when all other lights are off. I'm not sure if that's everyone's goal, but it is for me! if I can get them to stay on with the other lights I know just how I would fix them so they would turn off when I tell them to.

 

Sooo.... how'd you end up doing this?