LED DRL's

Hornblower

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I've done some searching but haven't found the details for doing what I have in mind. First off, my OEM headlight switch is only off-on. Rather than change that, what I want to do is install LED DRL's and wire them so they are always on anytime the engine is running. I had previously disabled the stock DRL's because I just don't appreciate the "cheezy" idea of using the regular low beams for DRL's. LED's would last much longer, run cooler, and use much less power than regular headlight bulbs so, to me, it's a matter of three things...where to mount the LED's, what LED bulbs to use, and where to make the electrical connection. I'm hoping someone else has already figured out how to do this and is willing to share that information. It would be much appreciated. --Ken B.
 

Absolute Diesel

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Those look great but holy S$%@ - 500 euro's?

Was shopping around at places like TMTunig for a lighting upgrade (Xenon OEM look + LED tails) and that alone is pushing 1000$.

Toeball you are a resourceful guy in the aftermarket industry - anything cheaper out there?
 

Hornblower

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Yeah, thanks ToeBall for that find. When I mentioned searching, I meant I didn't find what I was looking for in this forum. At any rate, this is very interesting although quite expensive. Maybe some company in the U.S. will come out with an LED solution for less money. What I was really hoping for is sticking in some LED's in the area next to the turn signals. I'm not sure how accessible that area is but, judging by what Pogea has developed, it can be accessed. Thanks again ToeBall
 

ToeBall

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Well, you could always just install a set of Plasmaglow Lightning Eyes, but I don't know much about their long term durability.

http://www.plasmaglow.com/lightning-eyes-headlight-kit/

They're about $25 on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Plasmaglow-10875-Lightning-White-Headlight/dp/B004WNYBCO

Then there's also the Depo dual projector housings for about $350, which I think look pretty bad, and, being Chinese production, quality is hit or miss...

http://www.parts4euro.com/DCShop/product_info.php?products_id=751

Finally, the S6 style LED DRL kit for about $250...

http://www.parts4euro.com/DCShop/product_info.php?products_id=1167

There's plenty of other, but this was what I could turn up real quick. Bottom line is, when it comes to aftermarket parts, you get what you pay for, and headlights are not a good place to skimp on price.
 

Hornblower

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Thanks to you, ToeBall, I have become aware of several options available to me. After talking to Damian at TM Tuning, I went ahead and ordered the SlimLine system which looks like what I wanted and should be fairly straightforward to install. Once I get this installed, I hope to come back with a post about how all of this turned out. Thanks again for your help. -Ken B.
 

Hornblower

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Question for anyone...where would be the best/easiest place in the engine compartment to connect my LED DRL's to a switched 12VDC source? I was thinking maybe I could find that switched 12VDC source somewhere on the fuse panel in the engine compartment. Any suggestions? Thanks! --Ken B.
 

ToeBall

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Question for anyone...where would be the best/easiest place in the engine compartment to connect my LED DRL's to a switched 12VDC source? I was thinking maybe I could find that switched 12VDC source somewhere on the fuse panel in the engine compartment. Any suggestions? Thanks! --Ken B.
I don't know if I'd do that. For one, I think DRL's are supposed to turn off when the hand brake is applied, also when the headlights are off but parking lights are on. There should be a dedicated DRL circuit going to your main headlights. If this is the case, then you can pull trigger from there or rewire them to connect to the LED's.
 

Hornblower

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TB, you've mentioned some things I had not thought of. Earlier, I had disabled the OEM DRL's using VagCom. I just didn't like the idea of using the low beam headlights for DRL's and, in fact, that is the entire reason for now installing the LED DRL's. Maybe what I need to do is re-enable the OEM DRL's with VagCom and then, find that wire going to the low beam headlights and redirect it to my new LED's. This is assuming there is some dedicated wire there for that purpose which I'm not at all sure of. Would you or anyone else know about that? Thanks.
 

ToeBall

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There should be a separate circuit for DRL's running to the headlight housing which just happens to be wired to the filament internally to the housing itself. Same one used on the Mk6 for city lights/DRL/LED's. I'll have to look up the wire color when I get off work today, or just take a look at Bently's. Don't actually wire into your low beam circuit, as that would force you to use your LED's in place of your low beams for headlights as well as DRL's.
 

Hornblower

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There should be a separate circuit for DRL's running to the headlight housing which just happens to be wired to the filament internally to the housing itself. Same one used on the Mk6 for city lights/DRL/LED's. I'll have to look up the wire color when I get off work today, or just take a look at Bently's. Don't actually wire into your low beam circuit, as that would force you to use your LED's in place of your low beams for headlights as well as DRL's.
TB, that would be much appreciated. I don't have a Bentley's book so anything you can tell me would be a great help. This is sounding pretty good as far as there being a separate wire dedicated for DRL's running into the headlight housing. Once I find that on my car, I assume I will need to re-enable my DRL's and just cut that wire so it won't turn my low beams back on. Seems like that might throw a code though. OTOH, with the new connection going to my LED DRL's, maybe it won't.
 

ToeBall

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TB, that would be much appreciated. I don't have a Bentley's book so anything you can tell me would be a great help. This is sounding pretty good as far as there being a separate wire dedicated for DRL's running into the headlight housing. Once I find that on my car, I assume I will need to re-enable my DRL's and just cut that wire so it won't turn my low beams back on. Seems like that might throw a code though. OTOH, with the new connection going to my LED DRL's, maybe it won't.
Well, according to Bently's, the left DRL is the green/black wire, circuit ID L176. The right is green/red, circuit L177. They may be labeled, though I doubt it. My advice would be to measure the resistance through the housing on that pin and the ground, repeat on the LED trigger, and then get a resistor to put inline to make up the difference. That should keep you from throwing codes, I think.
 

ZiggyTheHamster

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Well, according to Bently's, the left DRL is the green/black wire, circuit ID L176. The right is green/red, circuit L177. They may be labeled, though I doubt it. My advice would be to measure the resistance through the housing on that pin and the ground, repeat on the LED trigger, and then get a resistor to put inline to make up the difference. That should keep you from throwing codes, I think.
You could also disable cold diagnostics on DRLs with VCDS. That's probably the "right" way.
 

Absolute Diesel

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Yes please post pics of your mod! Looking forward to seeing the results.

On a side note, can you use VAGCOM to code the DRL's to be either your city lights or high beams instead of low beams?

Would love to be able to just install a single LED into each housing on the other side of turn blinker to function as a DRL, similar to the setup on the 2011 sedans.
 

Hornblower

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Yes please post pics of your mod! Looking forward to seeing the results.

On a side note, can you use VAGCOM to code the DRL's to be either your city lights or high beams instead of low beams?

Would love to be able to just install a single LED into each housing on the other side of turn blinker to function as a DRL, similar to the setup on the 2011 sedans.
I'm a newbie when it comes to using VCDS so I don't know what all can be done in that regard. I did figure out how to disable the low beam headlights as DRL's but that's as far as I've gone.

Also, I elected to go with the TM Tuning Slimline LED units instead of trying to mount strips inside the headlight housings. Personally, I like this look much better and the installation should be quite straightforward. The only thing I'm still trying to decide on is where to tap in to switched ignition. I don't know about our 2010 models but supposedly, earlier models had a terminal marked 75x under the dash and that was a great source for switched ignition. As you've probably read, there have been other suggestions on this thread worth considering as well. My
TM Tuning LED's should be arriving around mid-October so it will be a while before I can post any pictures.
 

ZiggyTheHamster

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You shouldn't need a switched ignition source that I am aware of. The DRLs should have a dedicated +12V in the wiring harness from what I gather.
 

ToeBall

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Correct, you recode with VCDS to tell it to use your city lights instead of headlights, turn off monitoring for bad bulbs, and then connect to that circuit. alternately, you could run them through your fog light circuit.

BTW, mine work... :D

IMG019 by Toe_Ball, on Flickr
 

Hornblower

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Correct, you recode with VCDS to tell it to use your city lights instead of headlights, turn off monitoring for bad bulbs, and then connect to that circuit. alternately, you could run them through your fog light circuit.

BTW, mine work... :D

IMG019 by Toe_Ball, on Flickr
If you recall how you did it, where do I go in VCDS to change the selection of what bulbs are programmed for DRL's? As it comes from the factory, that selection is for the low beam headlights. I previously disabled that. It sounds like I can go back in with VCDS and program DRL's for city lights or fog lights. TB, if I'm understanding you correctly, I can go in with VCDS and make my city lights the DRL's. Is that right? Then, all I have to do is wire my LED DRL's into the city light wires and both the city lights and my new LED's will become my DRL's. What if I don't want the city lights on as DRL's? If it matters, my model has the on-off headlight switch only and no provision for parking lights or fog lights.

FWIW, the instructions for wiring the LED DRL's from TM Tuning call for connection of 3 wires as follows: One to switched ignition, one to ground, and the third to side marker lights. I'm assuming the one to side marker lights is so the LED DRL's will dim when the headlights are turned on. That sure does seem simpler than wiring to city or fog lamps and reprogramming with VCDS. I have located F19 in my engine compartment fuse box which is a 30A fuse for the wipers. I was thinking that could be a good place to tap into for switched ignition. See any problems with that approach?
 

ToeBall

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If you recall how you did it, where do I go in VCDS to change the selection of what bulbs are programmed for DRL's? As it comes from the factory, that selection is for the low beam headlights. I previously disabled that. It sounds like I can go back in with VCDS and program DRL's for city lights or fog lights. TB, if I'm understanding you correctly, I can go in with VCDS and make my city lights the DRL's. Is that right? Then, all I have to do is wire my LED DRL's into the city light wires and both the city lights and my new LED's will become my DRL's. What if I don't want the city lights on as DRL's? If it matters, my model has the on-off headlight switch only and no provision for parking lights or fog lights.

FWIW, the instructions for wiring the LED DRL's from TM Tuning call for connection of 3 wires as follows: One to switched ignition, one to ground, and the third to side marker lights. I'm assuming the one to side marker lights is so the LED DRL's will dim when the headlights are turned on. That sure does seem simpler than wiring to city or fog lamps and reprogramming with VCDS. I have located F19 in my engine compartment fuse box which is a 30A fuse for the wipers. I was thinking that could be a good place to tap into for switched ignition. See any problems with that approach?
More realistically, they're relay triggered so they don't try to pull power of that circuit. Last thing you want is to toast a CECM/BCM module because you're trying to pull to much current through a specific circuit. I'd consider adding a circuit to your fuse panel for the LED DRL's rather than tapping into an existing one for power. Should be able to get everything you need over the counter at your local deal parts department.

I'll try to hunt it down tonight, but it's all in module 09, and if I remember correctly, you uncheck the box for low beam permanently on and then turn on use alternate light as DRL. Like I said, I'll look tonight.
 

Hornblower

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I finished the install of the SlimLine LED DRL’s from TM Tuning on my 2010 Jetta and I am totally satisfied with the result. No doubt, there may have been more sophisticated ways to accomplish this, as suggested by others on this thread much smarter than me, but I was looking for only two functions with these lights. I wanted them full-on anytime the ignition was switched on and then, to dim when the headlights were turned on. I found a simple and straightforward way to get that done without reprogramming my ECU with VCDS. Now, I had previously disabled the low beam DRL’s using VCDS and I didn’t want to go there again. After all, the entire reason for installing these SlimLine LED units was to replace the OEM low beams as DRL’s.
The first task was to remove the left and right grills. Only one screw holds these on, along with some tabs, and the left one came off quite easily. The right side took a little more coaxing. Once I had the grills removed, using a Dremel with saw bits and blades, I did some cutting on the grills to get the LED housings to mount like I wanted. To mount the LED housings, I used black silicone adhesive and also used that to fill in some gaps. Speaking of mounting the LED housings, in retrospect, I might do that slightly differently if I were doing it again. I like the general section of the grill I chose but I’m thinking now it might have been a little better to move the LED housings horizontally more away from the center and toward the outside. This would have improved the recommended viewing angle and achieved maximum brightness when viewed from directly from the front. It turned out fine the way I did it but, again, it might have been a small improvement to make that adjustment.
An extension cable came with the SlimLines kit and I decided to use that with the passenger-side LED. Once I connected that cable to the LED and routed it across and behind the center grill, I reinstalled that grill which completed the work to that side. Before reinstalling the driver-side grill, I looked around for a location to mount the SlimLine control box. Luckily, I found an ideal spot back in the left corner. Back in that area you will see a Torx bolt. I removed that and slightly enlarged one of the mounting holes in the control box so the Torx bolt would fit through. I used a ¼” drill bit for that. Then, I mounted the control box, connected the driver-side LED and all of the remaining SlimLine cables. Next, I routed the remaining 3-conductor cable up into the engine compartment and reinstalled the driver-side grill.
For electrical connection to the car, there are only 3 wires; a red wire for switched ignition, a black wire for chassis ground, and a blue wire to connect to the driver-side side marker light. Looking down behind the driver-side headlight, I found a good ground lug to use and also in that area, I found the cable from the side marker light. The side marker wire to connect to is not the brown wire but the other one which was hard to see and may have been either gray or possibly some other dark color. There are only two wires there so don’t use the brown one and you can’t go wrong. I normally solder all my wiring connections but I used a Posi-Tap for that one. The other useful item I bought is something made by Cooper-Bussmann called Add-A-Line (part number BP/HHA) and I found that at Advanced Auto. Instead of using the fuse block that came with the SlimLine kit, I used this to connect to switched ignition in the fuse box. I did use, however, the fuse that came in the SlimLine kit. Not being any kind of auto electronics guru, I did spend quite a bit of time searching under the hood and particularly in the engine compartment fuse box for a switched ignition source. That was not successful. I had wanted to avoid running a wire through the firewall but finally did that to get into the passenger compartment fuse box. Using the Add-A-Line, I connected to fuse location #42 which is for the 12VDC power outlets. The good news is that running the wire through the firewall turned out to be surprisingly easy. I used a straightened-out coat hanger and pushed it through from the inside. You have to move some insulation around just a little to see it clearly, but there is an area sort of in the upper left corner of the foot well and you should see where a bundle of wires go through a rubber grommet of sorts. I simply pushed my coat hanger wire along the right, top side of that bundle of wires and felt a couple of points of slight resistance and then, voila, the coat hanger came out right beside the battery. Wow, that was a nice surprise. Then, it was just a matter of taping my wire to the coat hanger and pulling it through. All that was left to do was to use a few zip ties to secure a few wires and make that a bit neater and the job was finished. Here are a few pictures to show the results:

DRL's full-on


DRL's dim with headlights on



Driver-side DRL full-on
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Driver-side DRL off
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y0bailey

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Awesome install! These are for sure going on my Xmas list. Thanks for the detailed instructions. I now feel like I can handle the install after reading your tutorial.

Can you give me a pic of the fuse box setup and your add a line thingy? I am curious to see how it looks.
 

Hornblower

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Awesome install! These are for sure going on my Xmas list. Thanks for the detailed instructions. I now feel like I can handle the install after reading your tutorial.

Can you give me a pic of the fuse box setup and your add a line thingy? I am curious to see how it looks.
Sure, here you go:

The passenger compartment fuse box (left side of dash) looks like this...


The Add-A-Line looks like this...
 

Hornblower

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I should add a couple of comments about the Add-A-Line in my pictures. As you can see from the picture of the Add-A-Line by itself, there are sockets for 2 fuses. Now, looking at the fuse box picture, the pinkish looking fuse plugged into the top socket is the fuse that came with the SlimLine kit. The bottom fuse is the fuse that was originally located in the fuse box. Of course, the red wire "pigtail" coming off the top fuse connects to the red wire in the SlimLine kit.
 

Fixmy59bug

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ToeBall

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GOOD GOD!!!

They charge $500 euros for those? I could see $500 if it was the whole headlight assembly, but that is just for the LED strips.

I am in the process of building something VERY similar with high quality LED's for about 1/10th the price. (I already have a working prototype)
Um, that was the entire housing.
 

Fixmy59bug

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Um, that was the entire housing.
Umm, No. It's not....

Check your link. Here is a direct quote from their website...

This is NO HEADLIGHT, NO HOUSING and comes for SELF INSTALLATION! Please do not ask us for Installation price! We do not install this item in house for package sending. We do also not accept sendings of Head Light Units for Installation.
 
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