Daytime running lights on a US car

[mxr662]

How do the daytime running lights work on the Canadian q's. I would like to have the running lights on mine. Which part of the headlight is on?

Andy

[Skibane]

Canadian Q's are equipped with a "Daytime Light Control Unit" that USA Q's don't have. It connects to the Body Control Module and runs the high beams at half-brightness whenever certain conditions are met (i.e., when the engine is running, the headlamp switch is turned off, the parking brake is off, etc.).

Hopefully, someone can tell us whether the connectors are present on a USA Q to plug in this missing control unit, or whether other modifications are required.

[Haitian_King]

I would like to have the running lights on mine.

Why?

I guess it's just a personality thing, but I hate head lights on during the day. It drives me crazy!

[TBrack]

more like a safety thing

[Haitian_King]

I don't get it. On a bright summer day, when the performance on headlamps are greatly reduced, why would they need to be on? I know Canada has a law and makes it mandatory, but why would anyone here in the US do it voluntarily? Are high beams at half brightness really better than low beams on full power during the day? Even in the rain? That's what fog lights are for.

[Skibane]

Supposedly, it makes vehicles harder to overlook, particularly when you're not looking directly at them. The lights stand out against a typical daytime background. IMO, based purely on personal observations, it seems to work - You can tell that a vehicle is there, much further down the road than without them.

Motorcycles - being even easier to overlook - benefit even more, and most cyclists seem to be in favor of them.

[GseaQ]

Unfortunately, what you want can't be done. I researched it every which way. The American and Canadian models, believe it or not, have different wiring harnesses. I imported a '95 Q and the only thing I could do was a simple relay hookup to the clearance/ marker lights. Even the aftermarket DRL modules require you to merge the individual headlight circuits into one - unless you install 2 DRL modules - 1 for each light.

This is an answer I gave somebody on IOM a few weeks ago. I studied the wiring diagrams for both the Canadian and USA 1995 cars side by side. The harnesses are totally different.

The '92 has only a DRL module behind the right headlight and the high beam is on at 60% or something whenever the engine is running. Check the schematics out. Maybe the earlier models have a jumpered plug in the harness behind the right headlight.

The '95 uses a DRL module behind the right headlight and a DRL cancel module behind the left headlight or in the engine bay. Presumably this is used to coordinate the lights with the park brake.

Glenn

[lino]

Check out this thread:

zerothread?id=263672