Turning off day-time driving headlights

Does anyone know if it's possible to by-pass/turn off the day-time driving headlights?

I've just been under the front hood trying to re-glue my driver's side headlight bracket that fell off and it looks like one hellish job to reach/replace the headlight bulbs when they burn out.  I practically never have to drive after night so I'd like to be sure they would work if I do, or have to drive in heavy rain or smoke.  I figure if someone can't see an 8 1/2 foot X 12 foot box heading toward them a couple of little lights won't help much so I'd like to be able to turn them off during the day.  On my 2006 Chev PU there's a position on the dash light switch that turns off the driving lights.  Hoping I'm just missing something this simple on my 2004 Itasca and that Winnebago would think to do it.

Allen

I am working on that, but haven't figured out how to do it yet.  It is activated when engine is running and parking brake is released, so there must be a circuit activated by the parking brake. 

On my 2004 Winn Journey the DRL light is the same light as the head lights, so can't just unplug the bulb. 

I am told that the DRL's run at a lower brightness than regular head lights, but I can't tell the difference.

Barring someone with experience, it will require a wiring diagram, and Winn does not furnish the chassis diagrams.  Have not found a site for diagrams for Freightliner. 

Head light bulbs are hard to get to do trial and error. 

I could offer some guesses as to how to do it, but wouldn't want to cause problems until I know for sure.  Almost has to be a relay involved.

Thanks for the reply Robert.  I almost wish the DRL were on a separate bulb then we wouldn't be without lights when one of the DTL burned out.  Even if they are dimmer than the night lights, which I agree with you they all seem the same brightness, they can still burn out from use and then you run the risk of getting stopped by police for having only one light.  And I'd sure hate to try to change one on the road someplace.  At home you at least have more time and room to do it.

I can't imagine what Winnebago engineer was thinking when the headlight bracket arrangement was designed (and the glued on fastening is even more unimaginable, which I'm trying to remedy right now).  Surely from driving private owned vehicles it was a known fact that bulbs don't last forever.  I've had to replace one on my 2006 PU already and it only has 30,000 miles on it.  I try to remember to turn them off anytime I can.

Be sure to post your experience if you do find a way to eliminate the DRL, I'll certainly be watching.

Allen

Replace the low beam (doubles as DRL) with http://www.autoanything.com/lights/65A5582A0A0.aspx and you have a easily replaceable bulb.

I wish I had direct knowledge of your RV but on my Chevy Silverado I simply pulled the relay marked DRL. That also worked on the Ford work truck I used to drive.

Our headlights just have the small halogen bulb that inserts from the back side of the lens, which is almost unreachable due to the mounting bracket that runs across the back side of assembly and trying to reach through the generator hood opening.  If they were as easy to change as the ones on my 2006 Chev PU I wouldn't worry about them burning out.  Wish they were the ones with the square, or round like the ones on my 2001 Jeep,  sealed beams.

Allen

Surely someone knows how to do this!!! 

Guys, a couple suggestions that might help. Go to this site and download the .PDF "knowing your Rv chassis"  I'd post it for you but it's 62 pages so too large:
http://freightlinerchassis.com/Owner-Information/owner-information/menu-id-66.html
If you notice it has info for the 24hr help line info. You can call and discuss options with them if you like.
If you really want to get access to the system called PartsPro, which will show you electrical systems etc in microfish form then go to page 58 from the .PDF above and it will explain how to get a password to this site:
http://www.accessfreightliner.com/
This site has lots of info but you need a password and that can be mailed to you after you request with your VIN etc. Kind of a pain but good info. and specific to your chassis. If I recall you can research the library bank even before you have a password so you might have a look.

Not sure why you would want to take the risk, daytime running lights save lives, maybe not yours but someone else's.  Because we have had them as mandatory here in canada it is really surprising how much harder it is to see cars that don't have lights on. Or maybe it is just that I have trained to see headlights in the other lane.

from http://www.usroads.com/journals/rmej/9912/rm991203.htm

"Nearly all published reports indicate DRLs reduce multiple-vehicle daytime crashes....... A Danish study reported a 7 percent reduction in DRL-relevant crashes in the first 15 months after DRL use was required and a 37 percent decline in left-turn crashes."
and "Will DRLs shorten headlamp bulb life or lower fuel economy? Running vehicle lights in the daytime does not significantly shorten bulb life."

Just saying, seems like trying to pick up a grain of sand with boxing gloves on. I don't see how disconnecting the DRL will save anything.

JMHO

I agree with leaving them alone.  I don't have DRL's on my coach, so I turn them on manually.  If one burns out, replace them both. 

Do they see you coming, sure, but they will see you sooner with the lights on.  I have seen this on the rooad in Florida, see a vehicle approaching from a much longer distance with lights on. 

There are better projects to get involved in.

I agree with leaving them on the whole time. Have you ever seen a "Daylight Headlight Test Section" of a highway? What that is is a section of the road where there are an abnormal number of accidents so they turn it into a DHTS so everyone will drive that section with their headlights on. This reduces accidents significantly. When I took Drivers Education in high school we were told that there is a 15% reduction in accidents with vehicles that travel with their headlights on in the daytime. I don't think your are accomplishing anything by turning them off and you might save a life if you leave them on (maybe your life).

They cannot be turned off easily except by 'tampering' with the system. Better check your state rules before doing that though as more and more states now require them. This would be unlawful in a Canadian registered vehicle once the DRL system was introduced by the manufacturer. ALL vehicles are required to have it here unless they are older vehicles produced before the rules were instituted.

That said, I think most can be deactivated by removing the DRL module (or equivalent circuit). Where to find it? Ask your chassis manufacturer.

Many OTR trucks run with all lights on, markers, headlights, and taillights and often say so on a "Lights on for Safety" sticker on the trailer tailgate. They must have a good reason for that!!!!!

I agree with leaving the DRLs alone.  I've been using my headlights in daytime driving since the 70s after reading about a study that showed a decrease in accidents involving vehicles using headlights in daytime.  I'm also seeing more roads where daytime headlight use is mandatory.  Pennsylvania requires daytime headlight use in highway work zones, although I don't think it is strictly enforced.  My DW's Subaru Outback & my motorcycle both have headlights wired through the ignition switch so they come on when the vehicle is started.  My coach on a Workhorse chassis has DRLs.  My Honda CRV is the only vehicle I have to manually turn on the lights.  I wish it had the Canadian DRL option.

Mike Wagner

My Honda CRV is the only vehicle I have to manually turn on the lights.  I wish it had the Canadian DRL option

Click to expand...

Your Honda may already be wired for it!! Perhaps you can find a DRL module plugin from Honda or on the web... Honda's built for sale in Canada had that feature long before 2004.

DRL's became mandatory on new vehicles here in 1989. We notice the difference when traveling in the U.S. especially with light colored vehicles. They really do make a difference when meeting oncoming traffic.

The DRLs are not a problem, so why fix them? They run at low voltage so the effect on bulb life is negligible and the power drain is modest as well. And if there is a chance in a thousand - or even a million - that they help avoid an accident, its worth it.

Stu,

My owner's manual has a section for DRLs but it says Canadian models only so you're right, it may already be wired for it.  I'll look on the internet for information about it.

Mike Wagner

PancakeBill said:

I agree with leaving them alone.  I don't have DRL's on my coach, so I turn them on manually.  If one burns out, replace them both. 

Do they see you coming, sure, but they will see you sooner with the lights on.  I have seen this on the rooad in Florida, see a vehicle approaching from a much longer distance with lights on. 

There are better projects to get involved in.

Click to expand...

In the process of trying to glue my driver's side headlight bracket back in place (and what a pain it's turning out to be, many thanks to Winnebago for such a screwy cheaply engineered way of attaching the headlights) I got to looking at the back of the lens where the bulb plugs in and that will be a real nightmare changing one of those bulbs.  A person's arm will have to thin as a rope and double jointed to do it.

And from what I can tell when the DRLs are shining on something like a building or another vehicle after I start the engine and put the tranny in gear there is no difference in brightness after I turn the headlights on with the dash switch.

Allen

1275gtsport said:

Not sure why you would want to take the risk, daytime running lights save lives, maybe not yours but someone else's.  Because we have had them as mandatory here in canada it is really surprising how much harder it is to see cars that don't have lights on. Or maybe it is just that I have trained to see headlights in the other lane.

from http://www.usroads.com/journals/rmej/9912/rm991203.htm

"Nearly all published reports indicate DRLs reduce multiple-vehicle daytime crashes....... A Danish study reported a 7 percent reduction in DRL-relevant crashes in the first 15 months after DRL use was required and a 37 percent decline in left-turn crashes."
and "Will DRLs shorten headlamp bulb life or lower fuel economy? Running vehicle lights in the daytime does not significantly shorten bulb life."

Just saying, seems like trying to pick up a grain of sand with boxing gloves on. I don't see how disconnecting the DRL will save anything.

JMHO

Click to expand...

All the reports that say DRL's reduce accidents that I have seen are government studies.  All the private studies I have seen say either no noticeable effect, or the reverse.  i.e. they increase accidents.

I am a bit puzzled as to how "scientific studies" can produce opposite conclusions depending on who commissioned them, the governments or private concerns. 

Most of the studies commissioned by non-government entities were done by insurance companies, and one would think that insurance companies have a vested interest in reducing the numbers of accidents. 

Example:  In Poland when DRL's were made mandatory day time accidents increased by 6%, in Bulgaria by 8%.  Austria tried them concluded they were a bad idea, and repealed the law.

http://www.dadrl.org.uk/whatsnew.html

http://www.dadrl.org.uk/docs/Volvo%20DaDRL%20detailed%20cover%2002Oct2007.pdf

The OP has reasons to ask and probably wants an answer if there is one.  An easy one, probably.

I guess the OP could find the hot wire to the DRL and put a switch in series with the bulb...?  Maybe that would be too easy.

:-\ As long as the subject has been changed to DRL safety... I've always been curious, since GM started building DRLs several decades ago, if every vehicle had DRLs, they would all "look" the same.  Then, would DRLs still show a safety "advantage?"  Or, put another way, if two thirty watt bulbs help, would two sixty watt bulbs help more?

There is a cost to all this as well.  In the two countries, the US and Canada, there are probably 200 Million vehicles... if there were (at least) 2 thirty watt bulbs on each one for DRL, that equals 12 billion watts of electricity coming straight out of the fuel tanks.  In energy terms that equals 12 mega watts and if the lights were on for 2 hours/day, it's 24,000 kilowatt hours/day.

Over a year, say 200 days..., it's about 5 million kilowatt-hrs, or, if my math is correct, about 170,000 gallons of fuel/year... about 3% of it was turned into light for DRL, the rest was turned into hot air.

Maybe it's worth it, who knows?  FWIW.    ???  :-X