US style signal

[fane87]

Hello. I want to make my signal lights stay on like american cars. The light stay on at 30% of intensity and when are needed, they turn on and off at 100% of intensity. Did anyone do something like this on they M2 ?
Here is a link to show you what i want:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTJajVWF854

 

[BigBlueDart]

I'm not sure if anyone has done a mod like this, but the US version of the Mazda 2 does not do this. We simply have the amber side-marker lights the operate independently of the turn signal lights.

 

[jasyatz]

I'm working on something like this right now. Ever since my brother in his 7,000 lb Yukon flipped his truck after getting cut off by an idiot who said she never saw him, I've been trying to figure out a way to add Daytime Running Lights to mine.

I'd like to keep it stock looking. The idea that I have is to cut the harness to the front blinkers, wire them up to an ignition hot relay so they stay on. This relay would have a ground circuit interrupt to cut constant power with a turn signal input from the harness. It will require 2 relays as one relay will be the power circuit and the other to cut the ground circuit on a power input from the harness.

OR

take the easier way out and just put brighter LED 194 bulbs in front the marker lights and wire them up ignition hot.

Unless anyone else has an easier way to accomplish this. Opinions welcome..

 

[ScorpioGTX1]

I'm working on something like this right now. Ever since my brother in his 7,000 lb Yukon flipped his truck after getting cut off by an idiot who said she never saw him, I've been trying to figure out a way to add Daytime Running Lights to mine.

I'd like to keep it stock looking. The idea that I have is to cut the harness to the front blinkers, wire them up to an ignition hot relay so they stay on. This relay would have a ground circuit interrupt to cut constant power with a turn signal input from the harness. It will require 2 relays as one relay will be the power circuit and the other to cut the ground circuit on a power input from the harness.

OR

take the easier way out and just put brighter LED 194 bulbs in front the marker lights and wire them up ignition hot.

Unless anyone else has an easier way to accomplish this. Opinions welcome..

All Canadian cars come with DRLs as they're mandated by law. I imagine there should be off-the-shelf parts to get it set up easily. The DRLs activate the headlights though and not the turn signals.

 

[jasyatz]

You would think so, but either Mazda NA doesn't want you to have them, or its near impossible to retrofit them. They gave been zero help in this process. I placed a call to a Toronto area dealership and they basically told me they'd install an aftermarket set of LED lights and a relay. Not what I'm looking for.

The easy button is to install the fog lights on my sport and wire them up as DRLs. It's a $90 kit shipped from the Philippines and would take a couple weeks to arrive. I know I can do this with a couple relays. If I have some time this weekend, I going to bench test my concept.

 

[jasyatz]

So I finished it up today. Found a work around for DRLs using the front marker lights. Not sure the long term reliability of this, but ill monitor it and check the heat on the connector and see how it goes.

Parts list was 1mini fuse add a circuit (don't get the Low Profile one, it doesn't fit) 2 5 pin relays, 2 relay harnesses (to make wiring a tad bit easier but not essential; I had them laying around) 6ft of 18g wire and 2 50A/6k ohm LED resistors (if you don't want the hyper flash). With the hazards on, they flash normally but with the binker, the relays don't have enough resistance to flash properly, so hence the resistors are needed.

Here's what they looked like before the resistors. https://vimeo.com/129845218

I hated the hyper flash so I installed the resistors. Bonus is that you get a wig wag blinker with the side marker and the "DRL" https://vimeo.com/129845310

Ill do the complete write up in my build thread whence I get a chance to snap some more pictures. All in all took 60 minutes to figure out, wire and shut the hood.

 

[jasyatz]

Nope, no write up.. Project was a bust. Resistors overheated and caused lights to stay on running battery low.

Back to stock, looks like factory foglights might be only stock appearing option and then wire them to ignition hot.

 

[BigBlueDart]

I'll have to take some twilight video of my setup. LED rings inside headlight housing wired up as DRL's. The rings I got aren't quite as bright as I'd like, but the setup has been working pretty well for me so far. Only issue is some of the small blue LED's going out, but those are ones I put together myself. Probably need to go ask one of my electronics friends for assistance fixing them the next time I open up the housings.

 

[jasyatz]

Where did you get the ignition hot from? Under hood or inside?

 

[BigBlueDart]

Mine I got under the hood. If I remember correctly, it was the FAN1 circuit that I tapped into. I actually opened up my fuse box to try and put it all together neat on the underside out of view. I did end up having to add a fuse on the top, though, and not in a stock-looking way. I can't remember exactly what the problem was. I can try to take some pictures later and post, though I don't know that I want to pull apart the fuse box to show you the underside. That was a big pain in the neck.

 

[jasyatz]

Thanks. Any pictures would help. I'm at a standstill with ideas right now.