Hello,

I bought a kit of 2 LED bulbs which can work both as turn signal lights and DRL. Included is a relay and that is where I would like to ask for advice regarding wiring/connection. I need to connect the following to the relay:

parking lights +
switched-mode 12V+ (12V+ that works only after turning the key in the ignition)
plain 12V- (manual says 12V- on the battery, but the battery of this car is in the trunk)

Does anyone know where I could access these wires most easily under the hood?

Any help would be much appreciated 👍.

 

Behind the headlights, you are doing lighting after all. Either look up the pin designation to the plug that goes to the housing or test with volt meter. and you 12V- would just be a ground. You can use the ground from the headlight harness, the front battery connection by the fuse box, or make your own.

 

Thanks for your advice, my installation is finished.

I used a fuse tap adapter and tapped into an ACC 10A circuit (see below). The relay came mounted on a metal holder with a hole using which I could easily attach the relay with a metric bolt into a thread on the side behind the right headlamp. (Dunno what it was there for, but it was unused so I used it gladly).

One thing to point out, though - all of the DRL/turn signal LED lamps I ever came across on the internet have one non-neglible design flaw - they have the same number of white DRL LED chips as they have amber turn signal chips which inevitably leads to a dazzling effect of the turn signals in the dark. In my case, it was 3 white and 3 amber per side, so a total of 6 white and 6 amber chips per lamp. What I did was apply black high-temperature resistant sealant with a brush and covered 2 out of the 3 amber LEDs on each side of the lamp. After that, the turn signals ceased to dazzle and the whole thing feels perfectly road legal. Should the sealant come off, I have a backup plan of using hose clamps and drilling holes in them for the 3 white and 1 amber chip while screening the 2 amber chips on each side.

What I like about this kind of DRL solution is that it is easily fixable/replaceable, unlike many aftermarket DRL systems that often look cool and are high-quality (Osram makes these, for instance), but may require cutting/drilling into the bumper etc. and forces you to procure the exact same model when it breaks down.

Another thing to keep in mind - look for sturdier LEDs with a metal body - plastic ones are guaranteed to fail early because of poor heat dissipation - this is something that is true of most LEDs and something that a lot of aftermarket (cheap Chinese ones especially) LEDs suffer from.

Turn signals (with sealant applied)


LED DRL:


Fuse box connection:


Relay mounting: