Hello all, this is my first post and I love my prius. I was minding my business when a driver cut a corner and hit me head on at low speed. I took my 2010 Prius to my preffered body shop who has my back and I asked them to swap in the '12 front for my troubles. They did it all under supplementals, no cost out of pocket as it should be. Just picked it up today but there is one small glitch. My DRL's don't function, only the turning signals work properly. From what I read, the harness is different for the standard '10 signals to the '12 DRL's. What gives? What is needed to make the DRL's function while operating the vehicle? The shop ate up a minor hit on DRL's and brackets, plus additional labor for making the mod since they quoted standard labor hours. If this is something I can easily do myself I'd like to. Any help is welcome. Mods: I selected the wrong forum, if this can be moved to the appropriate forum it would be gladly appreciated.
any car audio shop worth their salt should be able to easily wire up the DRLs for you. I had my custom audio guy install my HID kit and wire my fog light DRLs to ALWAYS on (day and night...they come on whenever the car starts and turn off when the car is off).
The 2012 front end you now have likely did not come with all the components for a DRL system since there are usually (always?) components, cabling and connections for DRL under the dash of Toyota vehicles that come factory equipped with DRL. Do you have separate wires going to the "new" DRL modules below the turn signals on your car? If you do, it should be possible to hack into (i.e. cut) those wires and power the DRL from a fuse in the engine compartment fuse box that is "hot" only when the engine is in run mode. I don't know which fuse could be used on a Prius sedan but the one I used on our Prius v wagon was fuse #28 (PCU, Inverter & Converter). Look in your owners manual for fuse information. A PDF in the following thread has a photo showing how I tapped into the engine compartment fuse box with a Bussman ATM fuse adapter: WebElectric DRL-2P installation into 2012 Prius v | PriusChat How are DRL on a 2012 Prius sedan supposed to work? Do one or both of the DRL turn off when the parking lights and/or headlights are on? Do either or both DRL turn off when signaling to make the front turn signal more visible? To make the DRL turn off when the headlights are on, you will need to run the power source wire from the fuse box through a relay of the type that can be used to interrupt the current flow to the DRL by attaching one pin of the relay to either a parking light or side marker light positive wire with other pins of the relay going to the positive wires of the DRL. If you want to make both DRL turn off when signaling you will need an additional relay of the type that can interrupt the current to both DRL when signaling by attaching one pin of that relay to a turn signal positive wire. If you want just the DRL on the signaling side to turn off when signaling and the DRL on the other side to stay lit then you will need an additional separate relay for each side. So, in this scenario you would probably need three separate relays. This was how I was going to wire up DRL on our Prius wagon if I had obtained the Prius+ turn signal/DRL modules used in Europe instead of converting the turn signals to DRL with the WebElectric kit. I would recommend that you research how automotive relays work and/or visit a good auto parts store and explain what you want to do. You will probably want to diagram the circuits you want to create including how each pin of each relay will be used. Whichever way you do it, it would be good to mount all the additional relays together in the engine compartment in an easy to reach location (protected from the elements) rather than scatter them around in case one of the relays fails in the future. A competent automotive mechanic/electrician could wire this up for you but I suspect the labor charge would be for several hours. The indie repair shop I use charges about $100/hour so the cost of a project like this could mount up quickly.
An SPDT and a DPDT relay could be used for a cleaner install. Two relays instead of 3. The DPDT relay would replace the 2 SPDT relays that send a signal current to the SPDT relay to interrupt power to both DRLs when either turn signal is activated. Or interrupt power to the DRL on the side the turn signal is activated, depending on how you wire it. It's all a trade-off, less relays, cleaner looking install, may be able to get two SPDT relays for less money than one DPDT relay. Radio Shack sells DPDT relay 275-0218 for $12 where I live, probably around $10 for the lower 48 states. Bosch type 30 or 40 amp SPDT automotive relays go for $3 - 10 each depending on the source. EDIT: Offline was correct in stating that you would need 3 SPDT relays for the individual turn signal cancelling of the same side DRL. One SPDT relay would be needed if all you want is for turn signal activation to turn off both DRLs.
Could someone maybe draw up a quick generic wiring diagram to help me get my head around it. I was using the WebElectrics module with my original bumper but now that I have a 2013 with the separate DRL's I'm not sure I can really use it being they are individual lights now.
Just buy a DRL relay and wire it in, thats what I did with my 2010 when I fitted the Reiver ones. I connected to the same one mentioned above so only live when on button hit. Since then have wired in and added a Toyota DRL switch next to the electric mirror switch so can override and turn off if required.
You can use the webelectrics module, but you won't have any dimming functionality. There are some eBay DRL modules available that seem to have the functionality of dimming the DRLs when the parking/low beams are on, as well as turning off the DRL on the side of a turn signal. SCH-I535
I don't need them to dim as they will be off once the parking/headlights will be on. I ordered a DRL relay on ebay for $15 so I'll see how it goes. Looks like it will do what I need it to. Thanks guys. Hope it works well.
I saw that module and it looks like it will work out ok for you. I like the fact that it delays turning on the DRLs for 30 seconds when power is first applied.