Daytime Running Lights non-functional

[RustyBucket]

The weather was nice this weekend, so I took advantage of it to figure out why my daytime running lights were not working.

As far as I know, the DRL system only came on Canadian models and it has two major components:- DRL control module (located behind right headlight)- DRL relay (located near the airbox in the front left corner.

I'd checked the DRL relay earlier and it worked fine, but I wasn't getting voltage to the coil pins at the connector. Time to move to more hard-to reach components.

The diagram in the FSM isn't exactly clear on the location of the DRL module. It's higher than what appears in the diagram, directly behind the right headlight:

To remove it from the car, you have to unscrew the mounting bracket from the body. The circuit board is attached to the plugs and the entire black end panel is just clipped in. You bend the grey plastic up to free the end panel and then the whole circuit board assembly slides out.

In retrospect, I should have gotten a photo of this step

This is what the circuit board assembly looks like removed from the box: I'm kind of surprised that the relays you see here don't have protective covers on them.

Flip the circuit board over and what do I find... ...A corroded trace on the circuit board. It looks like moisture got in through the corner (the box isn't sealed) and did its nasty work. You can see the clips that hold the assembly into the outer case.

After a few minutes with my trusty old soldering iron and a little bit of wire: ...There 's still some flux that needs to be cleaned up there.

I also re-soldered the connector pin next to the corroded trace since the solder there looked a little corroded. Thankfully, that trace was fine.

I put the box back in (with a a bit of sealing) and now my daytime running lights are working perfectly again.

[Q451990]

Good work!

Heath

[Rvan]

I'm having similar problems on my 97 Q45t (Canadian Model). I've pulled and opened the mechanism and can't find any bad solders or connections.....
when I turn on my headlights, often only the left light comes on.... and also I often hear a clicking coming from that board. I guess I should just order a new board?

[Rvan]

If I could find one!?!?