Fuse for DRL's?
- Thread starter GGM
- Start date
Well hopefully not *knock on wood* but yes they could ticket if they wanted to. One guy at the dealer said the fine is $500cdn. I have DDE's installed right now and just use that as my daytime, even though you can't really see them. There is not too many cops (actually you don't see any) where i am so hopefully i will be alright. I've already past them and nothing has happened. I guess unless they are paying really close attention i'm alright. I think the law is any car that is like a 99 or 2000 on automaticaly has them or something, i just perfer the look without them on.
Yup, DRL's is a requirement in Canada. But DRL's suck ass, so I don't blame you GGM. You can search Yahoo! on how to disable them. When I had my Jetta (which comes standard with DRL's), the way I disabled my DRL's was I had to pull out the light switch and bend down or tape the prong labeled "TFL". It disabled the DRL's and no annoying error messages came up.
pardi said:
Glad to see you here. ![[:)]](/images/smilies/smile.png "Smile [:)]")
The Canadian law requires all cars that are 1990+ to have DRLs.
The Canadian law requires all cars that are 1990+ to have DRLs.
![[cheers]](/images/smilies/icon_smile_cheers.gif "Cheers [cheers]"){kind=icon}
So far i've had no problems here, i went down to vancouver today and past cops and nothing. I don't think they really notice, plus today was cloudy and you could see the dde's. Not sure how the cops are in TO nowadays. Thats my hometown and i know from previous experience that they can be a$$e$ [kick]
I have thought of that and have spoken to others about it but what i think is they would not do it because it is a canadian car. They would see right away i'm not from the US and i would assume they would say something. But since i haven't tried i'm not sure.
The thing too is that if i ever am stopped or a cop says something about not having DRL's and i have them deactivated i won't simply be able to turn them on right there possibly avoiding a ticket. Maybe i could say that i wasn't aware they weren't on and should look into the dealer activating them and why they weren't activated in the first place ect...would they buy that?
What do you guys think i should say if i ever went to a dealer in the states to try?
Thanks
The thing too is that if i ever am stopped or a cop says something about not having DRL's and i have them deactivated i won't simply be able to turn them on right there possibly avoiding a ticket. Maybe i could say that i wasn't aware they weren't on and should look into the dealer activating them and why they weren't activated in the first place ect...would they buy that?
What do you guys think i should say if i ever went to a dealer in the states to try?
Thanks
GGM:
Here's my personal $0.02.
Cops probably think DDEs are DRLs. I am almost certain that cops (unless they are car nuts) know nothing about what is "real" DRL and what isn't. There are just so many variety of DRLs right now -- some use low beams at full intensity, some use high beams at reduced intensity, some use parking lights (amber) at full intensity etc etc, and I am not convinced that cops know which cars come with which.
My take on it is that as long as you have some kind of lighting, they don't care.
Having said that, I've driven past cops many times without problems -- with absolutely no lights, although sometimes I would get nervous and turn on my parking lights as soon as I spot a cop in the oncoming traffic. But I usually don't bother anymore.
Hm... that's an interesting comment you said cops in T.O. are a**. I thought that's more like the case in Vancouver from what I heard from people on the RSX board I used to frequent. My impression is that cops in Van love to give people who drive modded cars a hard time.
Here's my personal $0.02.
Cops probably think DDEs are DRLs. I am almost certain that cops (unless they are car nuts) know nothing about what is "real" DRL and what isn't. There are just so many variety of DRLs right now -- some use low beams at full intensity, some use high beams at reduced intensity, some use parking lights (amber) at full intensity etc etc, and I am not convinced that cops know which cars come with which.
My take on it is that as long as you have some kind of lighting, they don't care.
Having said that, I've driven past cops many times without problems -- with absolutely no lights, although sometimes I would get nervous and turn on my parking lights as soon as I spot a cop in the oncoming traffic. But I usually don't bother anymore.
Hm... that's an interesting comment you said cops in T.O. are a**. I thought that's more like the case in Vancouver from what I heard from people on the RSX board I used to frequent. My impression is that cops in Van love to give people who drive modded cars a hard time.
My thoughts exactly. If DRL is disabled electronically, your only option is to bring it to the dealer if you ever want/need it turned on again.
Although I dislike DRL myself, I must admit I re-enable my DRL whenever I go on a long trip on the highway. I *want* to be seen on the highway, and I do believe DRL helps, especially since my car is silver.
Although I dislike DRL myself, I must admit I re-enable my DRL whenever I go on a long trip on the highway. I *want* to be seen on the highway, and I do believe DRL helps, especially since my car is silver.
Pardi, i agree with you on the cops not noticing because there is many different types. the only thing is during the day when it's bright you can't see the dde's so it's like i have no lights but whatever.
I don't live in vancouver so i wouldn't know how they are but i have heard form people that they are really strict on modded cars. There apparently is big street racing going on so they are super strict. there have been tons of accidents because of them. I haven't had any problems when i've gone there (usually go every week or so), i hardly don't see that many cops to begin with anyways.
So if i get stopped do i tell them that they are my DRL's? It's funny cause every other bimmer has the normal lights on so i guess i'm just paranoid they know lol
I don't live in vancouver so i wouldn't know how they are but i have heard form people that they are really strict on modded cars. There apparently is big street racing going on so they are super strict. there have been tons of accidents because of them. I haven't had any problems when i've gone there (usually go every week or so), i hardly don't see that many cops to begin with anyways.
So if i get stopped do i tell them that they are my DRL's? It's funny cause every other bimmer has the normal lights on so i guess i'm just paranoid they know lol
Yep, just tell them those are your DRLs!
For the parking lights on my RSX, I have changed the original amber to white bulbs, which are hardly visible under bright sunlight (I guess it's like your case where you can hardly see DDEs during the day?). So I should add that if I get REALLY nervous upon seeing a cop on the opposite side of the road, I'll turn on my low beams.
Anyway, I still find it a little hard to believe there's no fuse involved for the lights on the BMW...
For the parking lights on my RSX, I have changed the original amber to white bulbs, which are hardly visible under bright sunlight (I guess it's like your case where you can hardly see DDEs during the day?). So I should add that if I get REALLY nervous upon seeing a cop on the opposite side of the road, I'll turn on my low beams.
Anyway, I still find it a little hard to believe there's no fuse involved for the lights on the BMW...
GGM:
Actually, I've thought of something but I'm not sure if it will work on the E46...
Common sense and a bit of electronics background tell me that the reason the warning light comes on the dash is because the car detects a broken circuit going to the halogen bulbs (by disconnecting your DRLs you are essentially breaking the circuit). In theory, if you put a load through the connectors (resistor comes to mind), you will not get the warning light anymore because the circuit is closed, and the car doesn't know whether it is a lightbulb or not (I don't think even BMWs are smart enough to distinguish). You are still wasting energy, but at least no more DRLs or hideous warning light.
Just a thought...
Actually, I've thought of something but I'm not sure if it will work on the E46...
Common sense and a bit of electronics background tell me that the reason the warning light comes on the dash is because the car detects a broken circuit going to the halogen bulbs (by disconnecting your DRLs you are essentially breaking the circuit). In theory, if you put a load through the connectors (resistor comes to mind), you will not get the warning light anymore because the circuit is closed, and the car doesn't know whether it is a lightbulb or not (I don't think even BMWs are smart enough to distinguish). You are still wasting energy, but at least no more DRLs or hideous warning light.
Just a thought...
And a good one at that. This is an old trick for fooling a circuit into thinking a removed device is present. Now if only we knew the resistance it is looking for.....
You could take your ohm meter and measure the resistance of the DRL bulb![[idea]](/images/smilies/icon_smile_idea.gif "Idea! [idea]")
then head to radio shack and the rest could be history....
I think we are on to something.....
You could take your ohm meter and measure the resistance of the DRL bulb
then head to radio shack and the rest could be history....I think we are on to something.....
![[confused]](/images/smilies/confused.png "Confused [confused]")
Resistors all look pretty much the same. The thing is finding out what resistance to use for the load, but in this case, all we need really is the current (how many amps are going to each bulb).
Maybe bmwrocks can give you some guidance as to what you can do with a voltmeter in the meantime. I suppose my car is still being assembled right now, so I can't look into this until next month. Gotta dig out those electronics books again.
Maybe bmwrocks can give you some guidance as to what you can do with a voltmeter in the meantime. I suppose my car is still being assembled right now, so I can't look into this until next month. Gotta dig out those electronics books again.
Here is a pic of a whole bunch of resistors. Each one of those barrels with a wire is a resistor, in this case all are of equal resistance. There is another wire on the other side of the barrel, the whole thing is maybe 3" long. They sell these at radio shack real cheap in all different ohm values.
You would short the lamp connector (unplugged from the lamp) pins with the resistor.
You first need to know what value resistor to use. Use an ohm meter on the bulb for this. Maybe I will do it for you.
One more thing....remember you are doing this at your own risk.
Try and search for others who have done this on their BMWs. Surely someone has tried this......
You would short the lamp connector (unplugged from the lamp) pins with the resistor.
You first need to know what value resistor to use. Use an ohm meter on the bulb for this. Maybe I will do it for you.
One more thing....remember you are doing this at your own risk.
Try and search for others who have done this on their BMWs. Surely someone has tried this......
