Upgraded DRL's on a Vantage.
Discussion
A few of you know we tinker with electrickery and lighting. As a personal project, I decided to replace mine when the white LED's on one side went U/S.
At first I was just going to take it in under warranty and get it replaced but because it's not uncommon, how long till it goes again or the other one goes off?! Also, it has been mentioned that the DRL's are not visible in bad weather or spray. Useless I think was the comment.
So, maybe I can do it better.
Taking out the lights isn't a difficult job if you get the car up in the air. Once the arch liners are out, you will be wise to remove the airboxes to make the job easier.
Then its off with three fixings and they are out.
Bake them at 115 degrees C for 15 mins and they come apart easily. You only need to remove the top lens. I went a bit further but there is no need.
This is the offending article. A bit over complicated for LED driver with no other function. It all gets binned.
Weirdly, they have put the LED's in series and parallel. The first LED pcb at the top of the stack has extra wires and resistors to facilitate this.
I milled off the Osram Golden dragon LED's and desoldered the little white LED's. I then epoxied the new LED's on the same pcb centred in the parabolic mirrors.
Then its just a case of wiring it all up.
The new DRL's will be just as bright as the indicators and really work well. The parabolic mirrors angle the light beam down and forward but still have a large amount of scattered light to be seen from other angles without dazzle. One problem you will find is that the AML lighting circuit is a bit.... err... simple. The DRL is not paused when indicating. Probably because the DRL LED's are dual 20mA white LED's no more powerful than a little 5mm one. The yellow indicator LED overpowers it by such a degree that there is no point turning it off. With the upgraded LED, it becomes necessary so a switchback module is required. They are only $10 each so no big deal.
Video demo on the bench. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc76iAoxsxo&fe...
I'll update this with a video of them installed when I can be arsed.
The LED's are rated for 350mA but if the drivers are set at 5.6v output, with the 10ohm resistors, the LED's draw (white) 240mA and (yellow) 280mA.
This keeps heat right down and the LED's are well in spec so will last for the full life and maybe more.
Parts list below.
Quantities are per headlight, so you will need to buy 2X the amount for two headlights.
2 off – Constant current drivers. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UK-EG-BA-5A-CONSTANT-CU...
f:0
These are the LED’s. You need 1W Yellow/White with heatsink. Choose either 2 packs of 10 yellow/white or one pack of 50. Then choose 1W with heatsink.
packs - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2-3W-Bicolor-Led-Y...
Resistors for the LED’s. Each LED requires two, one for the yellow and one for the white element. 28 are required and they come in bags of 5.
3 off packs - https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/through-hole-fixed-...
To ensure the DRL goes off when indicating, you will need a switchback controller. These come in packs of two so youll only need one set.
1 off - https://www.diodedynamics.com/s1-switchback-module...
To reseal the headlights, you need this, one pack will do both I reckon.
1 off - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Retr.../dp/B07G65SPJX/ref...
Some 0.5/075mm wire, some heatshrink and some epoxy resin like Araldite and you’re set.
At first I was just going to take it in under warranty and get it replaced but because it's not uncommon, how long till it goes again or the other one goes off?! Also, it has been mentioned that the DRL's are not visible in bad weather or spray. Useless I think was the comment.
So, maybe I can do it better.
Taking out the lights isn't a difficult job if you get the car up in the air. Once the arch liners are out, you will be wise to remove the airboxes to make the job easier.
Then its off with three fixings and they are out.
Bake them at 115 degrees C for 15 mins and they come apart easily. You only need to remove the top lens. I went a bit further but there is no need.
This is the offending article. A bit over complicated for LED driver with no other function. It all gets binned.
Weirdly, they have put the LED's in series and parallel. The first LED pcb at the top of the stack has extra wires and resistors to facilitate this.
I milled off the Osram Golden dragon LED's and desoldered the little white LED's. I then epoxied the new LED's on the same pcb centred in the parabolic mirrors.
Then its just a case of wiring it all up.
The new DRL's will be just as bright as the indicators and really work well. The parabolic mirrors angle the light beam down and forward but still have a large amount of scattered light to be seen from other angles without dazzle. One problem you will find is that the AML lighting circuit is a bit.... err... simple. The DRL is not paused when indicating. Probably because the DRL LED's are dual 20mA white LED's no more powerful than a little 5mm one. The yellow indicator LED overpowers it by such a degree that there is no point turning it off. With the upgraded LED, it becomes necessary so a switchback module is required. They are only $10 each so no big deal.
Video demo on the bench. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc76iAoxsxo&fe...
I'll update this with a video of them installed when I can be arsed.
The LED's are rated for 350mA but if the drivers are set at 5.6v output, with the 10ohm resistors, the LED's draw (white) 240mA and (yellow) 280mA.
This keeps heat right down and the LED's are well in spec so will last for the full life and maybe more.
Parts list below.
Quantities are per headlight, so you will need to buy 2X the amount for two headlights.
2 off – Constant current drivers. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UK-EG-BA-5A-CONSTANT-CU...
f:0These are the LED’s. You need 1W Yellow/White with heatsink. Choose either 2 packs of 10 yellow/white or one pack of 50. Then choose 1W with heatsink.
packs - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2-3W-Bicolor-Led-Y...
Resistors for the LED’s. Each LED requires two, one for the yellow and one for the white element. 28 are required and they come in bags of 5.
3 off packs - https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/through-hole-fixed-...
To ensure the DRL goes off when indicating, you will need a switchback controller. These come in packs of two so youll only need one set.
1 off - https://www.diodedynamics.com/s1-switchback-module...
To reseal the headlights, you need this, one pack will do both I reckon.
1 off - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Retr.../dp/B07G65SPJX/ref...
Some 0.5/075mm wire, some heatshrink and some epoxy resin like Araldite and you’re set.
Edited by divetheworld on Monday 31st December 16:01
Edited by divetheworld on Monday 31st December 16:03
Edited by divetheworld on Monday 31st December 16:05
Handyman2009 said:
Looks great... some of your links above are broken.
Ah!! Appreciated. I've fixed them now.Update - they're fitted!!!
Vid - https://youtu.be/Ty1VkIchPzg
Edited by divetheworld on Monday 31st December 16:22
Shinjuku79 said:
Why are the headlights cycling? I thought the switching module would simply turn off the drl when the indicator activated?
I added demon eyes to the projectors. I didn't go into any detail on those.... Basically they are strips of RGB LED's epoxied inside the projector housings and plugged into an adafruit controller with a bluetooth interface. It can be programmed with upto about a dozen different sequences. They are linked to the indicators and DRL's with a slight animation upon activation.
You can see them inside the projectors in the first bench test video.
Good to know. For my personal taste I'd not want to install the angel eyes but for those who like these it looks a good installation.
How long would you anticipate the drl change process to take?
Am i correct that on the earlier vantages these lights are not drls but sidelights activated by a switch?
How long would you anticipate the drl change process to take?
Am i correct that on the earlier vantages these lights are not drls but sidelights activated by a switch?
Shinjuku79 said:
Good to know. For my personal taste I'd not want to install the angel eyes but for those who like these it looks a good installation.
How long would you anticipate the drl change process to take?
Am i correct that on the earlier vantages these lights are not drls but sidelights activated by a switch?
Pretty much all Vantages are sidelights.How long would you anticipate the drl change process to take?
Am i correct that on the earlier vantages these lights are not drls but sidelights activated by a switch?
If you have a lift then the lights can both be out in 1.5-2hrs.
Opening them up with heat, take your time, about an hour.
Dismantle, about 15 mins each.
Remove the OEM LED's with pliers, file and soldering iron, 2 hrs. I used an end mill so was a lot faster.
Soldering, wiring and testing, about 4 hrs if you know what you're doing and a little bit paranoid and OCD...
Reassembly, 1hr. Most of the time will be taken to ensure they are dust and smudge free. I used lint free white gloves handling anything reflective or glass.
You'll still need to clean everything within an inch of its life. Once their sealed, that onerous fingerprint could drive you insane.
Resealing, 30mins.
Add in cups of tea, chin scratching time and general dithering coz you're a bit nervous that you'll b
ks it up. Probably another 2hrs of that as a cumulative figure.Once they are back in and tested working, add about 10mins of fist bumping and general yeehawing.
I was looking at your video closely and noticed that you had led in the side stark and possibly deleted the little round light on the side of the fender?? Do you have a better angle of the side of your Vantage? The mods looks great, it is hard to have a good video of light output, here in Canada AM made changes to our cars and all the lights go on as soon as the car start so the switch inside the car.
Handyman2009 said:
I was looking at your video closely and noticed that you had led in the side strake and possibly deleted the little round light on the side of the fender?? Do you have a better angle of the side of your Vantage? The mods looks great, it is hard to have a good video of light output, here in Canada AM made changes to our cars and all the lights go on as soon as the car start so the switch inside the car.
You are absolutely correct and have eyes like a sh t house rat!! Well done spotting that.Your wish - command!
Video - https://youtu.be/wmDK9AP3t-g
close up on bench testing - https://youtu.be/aObQZqCXcbU
Edited by divetheworld on Tuesday 1st January 20:52
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