INSTALL GUIDE: European headlight installation with LED headlight bulbs and LED running light wiring

[V_2]

For people who have done this upgrade. How bright are the LED DRLs actually? And is there any way to wire them to be actual DRLs or do you HAVE to wire them to your parking lights?

I have mine wired as true DRL lights. You just need to tap a circuit that is on when the ignition is in ACC/ON position. I followed a post on fiestast.org, I think, to get the pin layout for the headlight connector.

Edit: found the thread http://www.fiestast.org/forum/showthread.php?t=3318 but looks like it got murdered by photobucket.

 

[TDavis]

I have mine wired as true DRL lights. You just need to tap a circuit that is on when the ignition is in ACC/ON position. I followed a post on fiestast.org, I think, to get the pin layout for the headlight connector.

Edit: found the thread http://www.fiestast.org/forum/#/topics/3318 but looks like it got murdered by photobucket.

Seems like PB is destroying everyone lol. Regardless, that link just takes me to the homepage.

 

[V_2]

Seems like PB is destroying everyone lol. Regardless, that link just takes me to the homepage.

Sorry about that. Seems I can't just copy/paste the mobile URL. Fixed my OP.

 

[TDavis]

Sorry about that. Seems I can't just copy/paste the mobile URL. Fixed my OP.

Gotcha. Wish the pictures didn't get jacked :/

 

[KKaWing]

I have mine wired as true DRL lights. You just need to tap a circuit that is on when the ignition is in ACC/ON position. I followed a post on fiestast.org, I think, to get the pin layout for the headlight connector.

Edit: found the thread http://www.fiestast.org/forum/showthread.php?t=3318 but looks like it got murdered by photobucket.

Seems like PB is destroying everyone lol. Regardless, that link just takes me to the homepage.

If you use Chrome (and possibly with Firefox too) look up the add-on/plugin called "Photobucket Hotlink Fix". Hopefully its this link.

 

[KKaWing]

I have mine wired as true DRL lights. You just need to tap a circuit that is on when the ignition is in ACC/ON position. I followed a post on fiestast.org, I think, to get the pin layout for the headlight connector.

Edit: found the thread http://www.fiestast.org/forum/showthread.php?t=3318 but looks like it got murdered by photobucket.

Seems like PB is destroying everyone lol. Regardless, that link just takes me to the homepage.

If you use Chrome (and possibly with Firefox too) look up the add-on/plugin called "Photobucket Hotlink Fix". Hopefully its this link.

 

[TDavis]

If you use Chrome (and possibly with Firefox too) look up the add-on/plugin called "Photobucket Hotlink Fix". Hopefully its this link.

It worked! Thanks!

So you use one of the new wires from the new pigtail to play as the purple wire on the EU pigtail?

 

[V_2]

It worked! Thanks!

So you use one of the new wires from the new pigtail to play as the purple wire on the EU pigtail?

Yeah, you push out the dummy pin in your connector and replace with a pin from the replacement pigtail. Then run wiring to a fuse tap and you're good to go.

 

[OffTheWall503]

I have mine wired as true DRL lights. You just need to tap a circuit that is on when the ignition is in ACC/ON position. I followed a post on fiestast.org, I think, to get the pin layout for the headlight connector.

Edit: found the thread http://www.fiestast.org/forum/showthread.php?t=3318 but looks like it got murdered by photobucket.

Mine is also configured to come on when you turn the running lights on. I'm not sure what you would need to do to have them on all the time except maybe having them wired into to an ignition based power source.

This method also made it so that the LEDs came on when you unlock your doors, which is how it's supposed to be intended, I'm pretty sure. But if you want to change it up then by all means.

 

[jtm787]

Sorry for the long time in answering there's a forum called xd developers and they have a chat about it and they give the numeric sequence about everything from sat radio to everything but if u had used forscan like i did to just ad fog lamp to an 2014 fiesta se just swaped in the headlight switc and just activated fog lamp in the car ecm

 

[pelotonracer2]

Mine is also configured to come on when you turn the running lights on. I'm not sure what you would need to do to have them on all the time except maybe having them wired into to an ignition based power source.

This method also made it so that the LEDs came on when you unlock your doors, which is how it's supposed to be intended, I'm pretty sure. But if you want to change it up then by all means.

Mine are set the same way.

 

[hendrixsrv]

Anyone know how you can have the daytime running lights running all the time (Of course off when the car is off)? I don't really like switching to the parking light switch just to have it on. Would really help if I can leave the lights on auto and the DRL are still running.

 

[V_2]

Anyone know how you can have the daytime running lights running all the time (Of course off when the car is off)? I don't really like switching to the parking light switch just to have it on. Would really help if I can leave the lights on auto and the DRL are still running.

Easy. Tap the DRL wire into a circuit that is on when the ignition is in ACC/ON position.

 

[Intuit]

Whatever circuit they're tapped into, must have the available overhead to accept the additional power draw from the DRL LED lights. Otherwise you risk slowly damaging the wiring for the tapped circuit. Because they're LED, the current draw likely isn't high. But it still best to do things proper, and check without assuming.

So that leads to the next two questions...
1) How much power do the DRL's draw?
2) Which circuit (standard among all STs) has the available overhead to accept the additional current draw?

 

[V_2]

I forget which 15A fuse I'm tapped into, it's somewhere in my build thread, but I noticed the engine bay fuse layout in the '16 is a little different from 14-15 when I was comparing diagrams.

I ran a 5A fuse for the DRL to test at first and it didn't pop, so current draw is indeed minimal. I've since bumped it up to 7.5 or 10.

 

[Intuit]

Also, with a little bit of planning, it is possible to have your cake and eat it too; in terms of having the DRLs activate with remote unlock/lock or door-open *and* ignition-on.

The proper way is to keep the parking light circuit isolated from the ACC/On circuit, so that the DRLs receive power from only one or the other. Otherwise you would end up having the parking light circuit, (try to) power things on the ACC/On circuit when you unlock the vehicle or open the door. A couple of standard automotive relays, may be a simple way of accomplishing this. But you'll have to harvest a wire harness pin from from another source, such as a junkyard. (unless you really want to hack-up or take apart, part of your OEM harness) You'll also want a low-amp fused always hot, 12v source of power. Small gauge wire is all that is needed for low amperage applications.

You have the 12v Park trigger.
You have the 12v ACC trigger.
Power from the fused always hot 12v will only be fed to the DRLs when current from either source is detected in the relay.

A couple of common automotive SPDT relays will work fine.
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...2D5FEEE162C0233039E82D5FEEE162C02&FORM=VRDGAR
Just split the fused 12v between them. One relay coil will be triggered by 12v from Park, while the other relay coil will be triggered by 12v from ACC/Ignition.

There may be a much, simpler way to get the same effect, but my experimentation with diodes in the past, has been less than successful. If only for a brief period, diodes can also fail in a manner that allows current in either direction.

 

[TDavis]

AFAIK the headlights where made to function with the LEDs on during the day with no other lights on and no switch needed to turn them on, once the car was turned on, they're on. Hence the word Daytime Running Lights(DRL). I don't know why some just want them wired to the parking lights when thats not what their intended function was to begin with.

 

[Intuit]

AFAIK the headlights where made to function with the LEDs on during the day with no other lights on and no switch needed to turn them on, once the car was turned on, they're on. Hence the word Daytime Running Lights(DRL). I don't know why some just want them wired to the parking lights when thats not what their intended function was to begin with.

Notice how the Euro models don't have the outside corner parking light? It's just chrome there.

It has been my understanding that the wire harness for US models doesn't have a pin to power them. So they relocate the pin that would ordinarily power the (missing) outside corner parking light, to the pin that powers DRL. But the parking lights don't operate unless you manually turn them on, or it is dark enough to turn them on.

Someone correct me if my understanding is wrong.

 

[V_2]

There are two methods people are using (a third being to utilize relays on a separate circuit. I planned to do this and bought relays, but said screw it): relocate the parking light pin into the DRL spot of the connector, requiring the parking lights to be switched on in order for the DRL to work.

The other method is to buy a replacement harness connector and use it as a donor to add DRL pins to each headlight connector, then tap into an existing circuit, which only requires turning the car on to illuminate the DRL.

 

[Ducky]

The impression I get reading through the discussion of this thread is the "money no object" best solution is to get these TYC Euro lights with the LED strip and swap out the halogen projectors for proper HID projectors.