I've got about 600 miles on my 2003 TL-S and really like the car. But I do miss the daytime running lights my previous car had. With the automatic headlight turn off, I know I can leave the lights on all the time, which I do. But that's just regular low beams; usually daytime running lights operate at a lower setting.

I also know that all Canadian cars have daytime running lights, so I asked the tech writer at my dealer about converting this U. S.-spec car to Canadian spec, and he just stared at me blankly. Two questions:

1. Has anyone converted a U. S.-spec TL to daytime running lights? If so, how?

2. Can anyone in Canada describe the switching/connection setup which controls daytime running lights, or cite chapter and verse in a service manual which my U. S. dealer could use as a guide?

Thanks.

 

I also wanted this DRLs when I got my 2000TL overn 3 & 1/2 yrs ago. I ask the service maneger back then & he said quite a few people had ask about it. The dealership had tried on an RL then & could not get a conversion kit to work with the auto off feature. I think this issue has fallen on deaf ears. I don't think to this date that anybody has got a Canadian DRLs for a U.S. model.
HONDA has been ass backwarks on this issue. Everybody else just about has come around on this issue. GM, Volvo,Toyota & some other makers have DRLs. I can't see the reason that HONDA/ACURA could not make it possible for anybody that wan't's to have them. I just turn on the low beams everytime or just let the auto off feature work. I have done this with my TL since 12/29/99. I have replaced the tail lamps once bulb. I also replace the front parking light bulbs & tag bulb. Only has one tail light bulb burned out. I replaced the others because of time & just not wait for each to burn out.

 

has any one just tried sticking a fuse in the drl fuse spot to see if that works?

 

LOL it'd be funny if it actually worked :p



@cUr@-TL

 

This was discussed at length a long time ago on here. It is not a simple task to convert a US-spec TL to have DRLs like the Canadian-spec cars. If you look at the wiring diagram you will see there is a completely different wiring harness with additional relays and modules. Unless you wanted to rewire the entire exterior light system of the car (at a tremendous expense), it is not worth it.

 

I for one think that DRLs are a negative. Let me decide when to turn on my headlights. I hate that Toyota/Lexus decided to go the DRL route like GM. Makes it look like you forgot to turn off your headlights.

 

Agreed. I also do not like DRL's.

If you are going to put them on my car, fine, but give me the choice to turn them on.

 

I have DRL on my 99 TL since I bought it in Canada. Its so funny, I have counted 3 other TL owners that have come up to me and asked why my lights do that. I think they're good, because I always like to have my lights on for saftey, and now I dont have to have my HIDS on all the time, which is good for me since I dont want to burn out the bulbs any sooner than they will burn out already. They're already a purpleish colour, and I'm about to jack a pair of bulbs from one of my cars on my car lot and switch them up. BTW - I have a 2000 LS400 here with HIDs, those bulbs will work on my car right??? I think those are D2Rs, because they're not a projector style. All the other cars I have that have HIDs are BMWs and porsches. Anyways, thats my .02 about DRLs.....

 

no connections.

 

It's funny how you always want what you can't/don't have. DRL is only very minor. Think about us Canadians not able to get the navi option. To me, that's a bigger lost than DRL.

 

At least for Toyota, there are different mods that allow you to do to turn on or off the DRL. I did it on my Celica and it really works.

 

I like DRL

In Sweden, a study based on 2 years of pre-law and 2 years of post-law data reported and 11-percent reduction in multiparty daytime crashes subsequent to the DRL law.

In the United States, a small-scale fleet study conducted in the 1960s found an 18-percent lower daytime, multiple-vehicle crash rate for DRL-equipped vehicles

In a study in Canada comparing 1990 model year vehicles (required to have DRLs) with 1989 vehicles, a statistically significant 11-percent reduction in daytime multiple-vehicle crashes other than rear-end impacts was estimated. This estimate was adjusted to take into account the fact that about 29 percent of 1989 vehicles were fitted with DRLs. Collisions involving pedestrians, pedalcyclists, motorcyclists, and heavy trucks and buses were not included in this study.

There are many other studies. All cars should come with DRL because its easier to disable them then to put DRL in.

 

Thanks, Pianoman 41. Guess I'll just leave my lights on all the time. And Tatewaki -- sorry about no nav in Canada. Is that because the DVD doesn't include Canadian roads? Or is Acura just being weird?

 

Every Canadian car from about 1989 on has DRL. Auto makers have to put them on our cars here by law. It sure does help in "seeing" on comming trafic from a distance. They have done studies and shown that having DRL has reduced head on accidents by a huge amount. In some European countries you can actually get a ticket for not having your DRL operational; or using just your normal low beam. I think they are great because you can spot a car with DRL miles away before you can spot a car without DRL. Its funny to hear your passenger say "look at that idiot, he doesn't have his lights on!!!" It does work in preventing crashes.

 

In previous cars that didn't have DRL's I have wired up a set of fog(driving) lights to come on whenever the car is started. I also installed a manual switch to control them if I needed to but about 95% of the time I just left them on.

But, my TLS already has a set of fog(driving) lights and I dont want to install another set of them. I would like to see if I can have them set up to come on all the time because I don't want to burn out my HID's early and the HID's put more strain on the entire electrical system (altenator, voltage regulator, battery, etc..). The fog lights barely use any power.

Has anyone ever looked into converting the fog lights into daytime running lights?

 

I don't understand, if it's day time and it's bright, then why do you need lights on? Same question I asked when I went to see a VW.
It seems someone is trying to race you when you see his/her lights in the rear view mirror during day time.

 

The point of daytime running lights is not to see other cars but to increase the chance that they'll see you. That way, they're less likely to try driving on the same piece of road your car occupies. All this assumes, of course, that the other driver is

1. awake
2. not deeply engrossed in a phone conversation
3. not concentrating on the burger in hand
4. not reading a newspaper
5. not shaving or putting on makeup
6. not watching TV
7. able to perform rudimentary time/distance calculations involving two moving cars.

That's lot of assumptions, so I want all the edge I can get.

 

I hate DRL's and even on the Tahoe i got rid of them because i couldn't stand doing the override function everytime i started the truck.

 

what are daytime running lights?

 

they are lights that come on the minute you start the car. They are typically the high beams at a reduced power. They are a saftey feature to help others see your car better. The american TL doesnt have them the canadian model does. And no you cant add that feature with out doing alot of rewiring

 

hmmmmm, weird why cant you just use normal lights instead =]

my uncle (real smart guy) told me about leaving your light on during daytime actually saves more batter then leaving them off.


and i see alot of people do this.

how does that work.

 

because it puts stress and added wear on your HID's and they can be costly to replace.

No it wont save more on your battery. How could it if you are constantly drawing power from your charging system to power the battery. And the cars you see with their lights on durring the day most likely have DRL

 

ROFL?

 

i have a canada spec TL and i like the fact that other drivers have a higher chance of seeing me because of my DRL's

 

From my local Honda dealership u can get a Daytime Running Light Relay for $54. I know this because my friend imported a Honda from America, and to pass out of country inpection, it needed to have DRL's. It's a $54 relay with three wires that wires to your headlights. And the DRL's shut off when u turn ur highbeams or lowbeams on.

Thats all you need.

 

suddenly I see so many threads rising from death and that's good right? recycle is good for the environment

 

sweet im gonnan buy that, i hate drls, it looks gay at night when u got ur hids on.

 

where would the drl relay be placed? and how would i know which wires to attach to? im definatley interested cuz during the winter summer change/ summer winter change on the street i live you cant see cars coming towards you that well but i have noticed that drl makes it easier...but im not going to spend $54 and not know what the hell to do ya know...

 

on my canada spec TL the DRLs turn off when the HIDs come on

 

DRLs are lame. Studies have shown when *some* cars have DRLs, it may help reduce the
chances of a crash. However, when everybody has them, the rate evens out to normal, plus people *expect* other cars to have DRLs and stupidly see normal cars less than before.

You know how a cop running code stands out a bit? Imagine every car on the road with flashing red and blue lights on top. We'd get desensitied to it and we'd still be running into each other.

When everybody has DRLs, nobody does.

 

true in a sense. but with DRLs u can spot a car from so much further away with just a quick glance. It's especially handy when making left turns into a busy street.

 

its a really small 3 wire relay. i think u can wire it directly to headlight wires or the wires near the fuse box. they work just like canadian DRLs. turn on when the car starts, and off when the low beams turn on.

 

I think DRL's are good, especially with newer Acura's and Honda's. I say this because I see more newer Acura's and Honda's at night with no lights than any other car because the dashboard display uses the bright lighting and people actually are stupid to think their lights are on. I flash folks to tell them and they just keep driving along...so DRL's would at least make the front of their car easier to see.

Bottom line, Acura should step it's game up a long time ago and should of installed "auto on" lights with a sensor to detect darkness. I know the newer Acura's have that, but Honda still doesn't. Such a simple item and would help the dusk/dawn drivers with no lights.

My anger comes from nearly being t-boned by one of these stupid asses

 

really? You're the first ever to uncover such a brilliant artifact... wish i knew of this sooner...u think my local dealership would have it?

 

i dont know. i know mine does.

 

The Canadian DRL is using the high beam at much reduced brightness. You don't want to use the high beam at full brightness to blind everyone driving in front of you.

 

thats what the relay does----cuts the power to half. They work at reduced brightness when the car starts, and shut off when the low beams turn on or high beams flash. exactly like factory system

 

Hold up... this thread is old... however, since I am here: If this is only $54 dollars (BTW, when I say dollars it can be Jamaican, varunverma was not specific) and I go ahead and do the addition/conversion, which lights would remain on? Would I have to get additional lights? Would my HIDs remain on at a lower brilliance such as If I was using a dimmer on halogen lights?

I suspect that if it was such a easy fix, it would be a dealer installed option or someone could give a definitive answer in these forums and it would not take three years to do so. In addition to that, it would be several pages long, for sure.

The way I see it: In Canada as well as other nations, it is a LAW that the car have that. I am not saying that all laws are good for safety, however the numbers show that this one might be a good law. Well, but not all laws are good for the wallet, so if given the choice of weighing the actual cost compensation for omitting a feature that at best is a good figure on limited statistics in isolated cultures, I am behind Honda in their desicion of omiting the feature.

Now I can't talk from experience... I like DRL. One of the few mods on my car is actually the Fog Light Modification But then again... I drive a TL Type-s with fog lights standard. ccording to some, I am currently breaking the law for driving with my fog lights on and not my headlights. As I knock on wood, I hope that no cop ever provides me with a chicken chit citation.

 

they are the highbeams at reduced power. And i live in Canada, so Canadian dollars.

my buddy bought this relay almost two years ago guys, it was $54 then. I can see if they still have it if anyone needs one.

 

There are DRL kits out there that will add DRL to your car, pretty much using the relays that output reduced power for the High Beams.... you might be able to get a insurance discount as well for having DRLs now.