Parking light

 

your giving links to the 2009+ this is a different thing!

 

Guys, I am adding to this thread as I spent a lot of time wiring in these front LED DRL lights to work differently than the standard setup, which I think is pretty cool. This was done on my 2005 997.1 C2S so I don't know how much crosses over to the 997.2 cars. I wanted to use the Yellow LEDs as the Turn Signals (obvious), the lower bright LEDs as the Driving/Fog Lights, and only the center horizontal bar as the DRL with the Current Sensing Module activating them.

The current sensing module has leads that connect to the battery and sense the voltage shift between when the car is running (14v into it) or not running (12v into it) and powers the outputs only when the car is running, therefore, turning on the DRL lights only when the car is running. It works by doing nothing when it receives 12v (car off), but when it receives 14v when the car is running, it sends 12v out the L & R + and - leads to power the DRLs. This way you can have only the front lights that you want on as the DRLs, which in my case was the middle horizontal bar. I wanted to use the curent sensing DRL module so that the only place I had to tie into the factory Porsche wiring was right behind the new LED DRL lights for the parking light circuit.

One note: If the DRL option is enabled in the PCM of the car (PIWIS or Durametric programming), then the headlights are on also, which I didn't want, so the factory DRL option has to be disabled / turned off to do it my way.

So through trial and error, and burning out two of the Current Sensing DRL modules, what I discovered with the help of the seller I purchased the Current Sensing DRL module from, is that only the upper row of yellow LEDs and the lower row of white LEDs are actually LED lights. The middle while bar are not LED lights but rather regular bulbs, so they draw a lot more current than the LEDs do. These are the lights I wanted to use as my DRLs and when I hooked my modules to them, the current draw from these non LED lights actually burned out the sensitive current sensing circuitry in the DRL Module. The first one burned out so that the lights were receiving power all the time - car on, car off, key out, doors locked - all the time. The second one burned out so that the lights never received any voltage from the DRL module.

Here's how I got around that issue so I could use the middle horizontal light bar as the DRLs - I used an SPDT (Single Pole Double Throw) relay which is triggered by the current sensing DRL module outputs, but then draws the current to power these directly from the battery, instead of running it through the DRL Module. The SPDT Relay is really common in automotive applications and used for such things as turning on high-power lights, stereo amplifiers, winches, etc.

This method works great and now the thin horizontal, non-LED lights come on when the car is running, but are off otherwise, and they turn off 25-30 seconds after shutting off the car and removing the key. With the headlight switch set in "Home" both the horizontal and the lower bright, white LEDs stay on for 30 seconds and then both turn off, both also illuminate when unlocking the car. All other light functions work as factory - the bright white lower LEDs now come on when the headlight switch is pulled out 1 click for the driving lights, and as part of the "Home" function. The upper yellow LED lights are simply the turn signals. The white horizontal light bar is on as the DRLs only when the car is running, and as the front parking lights when the headlight switch is in that position, even with the car off.

The way I wired this was:

1. I took the original + and - wires I had run from the battery and brought them down near the mounting location of the DRL module & SPDT relay. The positive wire has an inline fuse installed - The 5A that comes in the holder is too small to power these non-LED lights and will blow, but 7.5A seems to work fine, which is what I have in mine now.
2. I connected any of the wires that needed a constant 12v Power source to this POS (+) battery wire using a 3-way gel-filled connector, which was the lead wire from the battery, 1 wire from the DRL module and 1 wire from the SPDT Relay.
3. I connected all the ground wires to this NEG (-) wire directly from the battery through a common ground loop, which included 1) 1 negative wire from the DRL Module, 2) 1 negative wire from the SPDT Relay, 3&4) both negative wires from the Left & Right DRL Module Outputs, 5&6) both - wires from the parking light circuit that I connected to right behind the LED lights by scotch-locking onto them.
4. I connected the two POS+ red wires from the DRL Modules Outputs to the trigger input wire of the SPDT Relay. When the DRL module senses 14v and sends the 12v signal out on these leads, it picks the SPDT relay to "turn it on"
5. I connected the two POS + wires that I spliced into my parking light circuit right behind the new LED lights to the + output wire from the SPDT relay. When the SPDT Relay gets tripped by the DRL module toggling, it sends 12v to the front parking light wires, illuminating the horizontal light bars, but draws the amperage for these directly from the battery instead of through the DRL module, which would burn it out.

Here's a video I've posted to YouTube that talks about how and why I did it this way. It also includes a couple descriptive photos at the end - 1 shows the DRL Module and SPDT relay mounting location, and 2 shows the front trunk with the plastic trim panels reinstalled, making the installation unnoticeable vs an OEM 997 without this functionality.

http://youtu.be/v-MYF9UkKcE (there's a slight audio glitch in the movie near the beginning for some reason, but I think you'll still get the gist. Also, I mis-spoke in the video and it was shot with the headlight switch in the OFF position, not the HOME position. In the HOME position, both the middle horizontal lights are one PLUS the bottom row of bright white LEDs and both turn off after 30 seconds - sorry about that)

I apologize for the long post, but I thought it might help anyone else who wanted to hook these lights up the same way as I did, without burning out their current sensing DRL module and trying to figure out why that happened. Also, doing it this way I'm able to have my car hooked up to a Battery Tender Plus Smart Charger without any charging or lighting issues as I've seen other people have had just using the Smart DRL module without the diode update (I'm not using the diode update).

Let me know if I can help with any specific questions.

Pete

 

I know this is an older post, but would you happen to have specific parts list and source as well as specific wiring instruction?

 

The current sensing DRL module was sourced from Maxspeed Motorsports. The SPDT relay can likely be purchased at any mobile electronics or auto parts store, Radio Shack, or similar. Both the relay and the DRL module will come with connection instructions, and those combined with the detail in my post here should get you where you need to be. By the way, that setup is still working perfectly. I will add that you will get a front left and right light error message when turning on your lights if they're wired this way, but all the lights do function correctly. If you don't want the little red exclamation point illuminated on your dash when you're using your headlights, you won't want to connect them this way.

 

I installed a set of LED DRL's from eBay's seller Fishcake321 which is a reputable seller. I installed the lights per the installation guides from this forum and I'm stumped. From the troubleshooting that I've done, the wrap around DRL light bar is throwing the Check Front Side Left and Right Light warning on my dash.

I pulled the lights out and plugged the OEM bulb into the socket and boom the warning is gone. The seller said there isn't a need to add a resistor to the light.

Has this happened to somebody else?

 

I bought the fvd led lights front and rear,. The rears worked fine but like yours I have the exclamation mark and error messages for burnt light on left and right. Any suggestions

 

From my research tonight I need load line resistors. Here is a simple plug and play module.

 

Yes, happens on mine too. I don't get the error message the first time I start the car in the morning, but get it every tine thereafter throughout the day. Error is sometimes only for 1 side and sometimes for both. I did a test with the resistors, but they got so hot so quickly that I opted to not use them and just live with the occasional error message in order to have the center bar as a DRL. If you find a good resolution to the error, let us know.

 

Yes, you need resistors, I had the same error.

 

FYI The resistors work and eliminate the light error. I used electrical tape on the connections to ensure they don't loosen over time. The resistors do get pretty hot but they're dangling in an open cavity in the front bumper, what's the risk?

 

I had resistors in the rear, there is plenty of space back there, nothing is dangling.

 

I'll post some pictures of my car this week once I get time