# Dayligh Driving lights



## PurpleRose

Hi there . I would appreciate any advice about finding the most cost effective way to replace one of my daylight driving lights for my 2014 Tracker please . One side works well and the other is very dim and this fault would cause a MOT failure . I have had my local garage take a look and it isn't a Fiat part .TIA


----------



## Mrplodd

Remove the offending light (access from underneath) it will have a makers name on it (Probably Hella) Then it’s Mr Google.

BEFORE you remove it use a test meter to check it’s getting AT LEAST 12 volts, also check that it’s fully earthed to the vehicles metalwork.

Andy


----------



## rayc

PurpleRose said:


> Hi there . I would appreciate any advice about finding the most cost effective way to replace one of my daylight driving lights for my 2014 Tracker please . One side works well and the other is very dim and this fault would cause a MOT failure . I have had my local garage take a look and it isn't a Fiat part .TIA


Remove them for the MOT if they are not part of the road lights as per the genuine Fiat ones built into the headlight unit. Mine for example are dimmed from their DRL brightness when the lights are switched on and become the 'sidelights' so are required. If yours are the after market ones fitted in the 'step' in the front skirt then they are usually driven from a bespoke unit fitted near the engine fusebox possibly supplied by LEDcom.

https://www.ledcom.co.uk/daytime-ru...g_lights_drl_universal_flexible_bullet_lights


----------



## Mrplodd

Sorry to disagree BUT DLR’s were required to be fitted to ALL new model vehicles from 2011 so it depends on how old the OP’s vehicle is.

As of recently thevMOT Regs state that ANY fitted lights must function even if they are an aftermarket option. 

I am greatly in favour of DLR’s especially the more recent versions that use cool white (as opposed to warm white) LED’s as they certainly make vehicles a lot more visible under certain circumstances (dark grey car on a grey road surface in the shade on a sunny day for instance) 

DONT be tempted to remove them, get them fixed.

Andy


----------



## rayc

Mrplodd said:


> Sorry to disagree BUT DLR's were required to be fitted to ALL new model vehicles from 2011 so it depends on how old the OP's vehicle is.
> 
> Andy


The important words in your reply is ' ALL new models'. My 2013 Adria based on the X250 Ducato didn't have any fitted because it was not a new model having been introduced in 2007. I stand to be corrected but I believe that DRL's were only fitted at manufacture when the X290 range was introduced. Of course some motor home manufacturers fitted DRL's to X250 models before that for styling reasons, usually variants of LEDcom sets. If they were required by law then Fiat would have fitted them or in the case of chassis to be built into A classes made provision in the wiring and body computer to control them.


----------



## Mrplodd

Day

You are 100% correct and that is why I used the precise wording I did.

I was _trying _ to encourage the OP to rectify an important safety item rather than finding a way of NOT doing so which is what you have done.

Andy


----------



## rayc

OK back to the original query. It appears that the DLR's fitted to the OP's motor home are an after market set and not part of the original Fiat build but could have been fitted by Autotrail. I think though that Autotrail only did fitted them to the top of the range Frontier models.

The after market kits are normally controlled by a module that is fitted adjacent to the engine fuse box. The main supplier of the kits is LEDcom who supply round ones that fit in the fog lamp cutouts or strip ones fitted in the 'step' recess of the front moulding. Perhaps the OP could post a photo of his lamps? The control module feeds the lamps directly via two separate cables, one to each side. Each cable has two wires in it to feed the LED's i.e they do not utilise the vehicle chassis. I suggest the wiring from the module to the faulty side is checked for breakage etc. If push comes to shove then replacement sets are on ebay or could be fitted by some one such as Roadpro. 
https://www.ledcom.co.uk/daytime-running-lamps


----------



## Mrplodd

Even as an aftermarket fit they must now ALL work to pass an MOT.

For anyone else thinking about aftermarket DLR’s it’s NOT just a case of wiring them to a switched feed. They need a sensing relay so that they ONLY illuminate if the engine is running. The same principle as your fridge on 12v, the relay senses the alternator output voltage and when it exceeds (I think) 14v it closes and supplies current to requisite item.

Andy


----------



## rogerblack

From the latest MOT manual - Section 4 Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment:

"Daytime running lamps
You only need to inspect daytime running lamps (DRLs) if they're fitted as original equipment to vehicles first used on or after 1 March 2018."

Full info here:
https://www.mot-testing.service.gov...ors-and-electrical-equipment.html#section_4.2


----------



## Mrplodd

Just checked on the link provided and the 1st March 2018 rule also applies to front fog lights!

Andy


----------



## Pudsey_Bear

I hate LED lights on any vehicle, they are too bright and often badly aimed, cyclist are particularly bad, but I have a injury to my right eye which normally isn't a problem, but LEDs coming towards me just blind me in one eye and also make it tear up, and as nature will have it eyes tear up in pairs, LED headlights make it impossible to see, it is so bad nowadays that I dread having to drive at night, especially on unlit B roads, and if it's raining the glare is terrible.

Why do they have to be a so bright, is it to see or be seen?


----------



## Drew

Another OPW, hasn't been back since day 1.

I agree 100% Kev, when I come off my CPAP machine my eyes stream for quite a while and if I have a fishing trip these LED's do my eyes in first thing in the morning.


----------



## Pudsey_Bear

Hmm, the only side effect when I was on CPAP, was I couldn't breathe through my hooter.


----------

