Apologies for yet another post on LED headlights but having been an early convert to Day-Light Running Lights (DRLs) I have been keen to fit them to my MY2011 Freelander SD4 HSE. There are as many opinions on DRLs as there are Land Rover drivers. My own experience is that having fitted the excellent Ring Apollo lights to my Smart ForTwo cabriolet, I have seen a dramatic difference in other driver's attitude to the Smart and in particular, a sea change in those who would have pulled out from a junction in front of me previously.

This post will come in several bits as I don’t seem to be able to embed the pictures where I need them so please bear with me……………..

Having bitten the bullet and decided to fit DRLs to the Freelander, the first question was what type/style. I initially dismissed retro- fitting the MY2013 lights given the differences in wiring. Equally, I was determined not to drill big holes in the front to fit them. I toyed with fitting the Hella DR4 lights in the gaps between the front radiator grill but then came across the lights on EBay which replace the front bumper fog light surrounds and have a LED light bar across the top. If you too are tempted, DON'T!




Last edited by wytonpjs on 27th Aug 2013 1:39 am. Edited 3 times in total

Firstly, the supplied controller did not work - I had fully installed it by the time I discovered this important fact. In the seller's defence, when I contacted him, he agreed to reimburse me the cost of purchasing a Gen Labs DRL2 control unit and a 5-way waterproof connector from EBay. I hasten to add, that I did not pay the original asking price for the item but had secured a reasonable discount by bartering!

Having got them working with a bit of simple rewiring, I discovered to my horror that one light was full of condensation and the other showed signs of the internal reflectors melting! Not good.

Back to square one. Having trawled EBay I found an extremely helpful seller (profuse apologies as Ebay has deleted my message) who was offering adaptor looms for Discoverys. I dropped him a line to see whether he could make up a Freelander loom. Sadly, the answer was no but he did give me the following links to Simtek UK who can supply the16-way LR connectors necessary to make up some adapters. You could choose just to cut and crip your existing looms but I wanted to make this reversible. You need both plugs and sockets to make up the adapters.

http://www.simtekuk.co.uk/product.php/16_w...:::1596934

http://www.simtekuk.co.uk/product.php/land...:::5803435

They are not cheap but they are the OEM connectors. Having found the plugs, I decided to bite the bullet and to buy some MY2013 LED Halogen Projector lights off EBay - not cheap but genuine items at not much more that I paid for the useless fog light DRLs I first bought.

After some very helpful discussions with Simtek (Rochdale 01706 854857), my plugs were delivered the next day by first-class post - excellent service. Don't forget that you will need some wire of the appropriate gauge to suit the cable's power and importantly, wire seals appropriate to the gauge being used to fit around the cable where it enters the plug/socket to make it waterproof. I also decided to upgrade the controller and went for GenLabs DRLR3 controller (see link below) which dims the DRL in the headlamp when the indicator flashes having read this informative reply from the DOT on the legal whys and wherefore's associated with fitting aftermarket DRLs.

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/pla..._for_retro

I am also aware that some cars such as Audi either dim or turn off the DRL when the indicator is flashing if it is mounted in the same headlamp as the indicator. The DRLR3 does this perfectly but it does require you to run another wire from each headlamp loom in addition to the sidelight/ headlight wire used to dim the DRLs at night. So for each adaptor, you need to bring out 2 wires, one to feed in the DRL power and the other to feed the indicator to the control unit. Again, I used standard 2-way auto plugs and sockets to provide quick disconnects and to keep it waterproof. You can find the wiring details for the DRLR3 controller here:

http://www.genlabs.co.uk/products/drlr/drlr3.html

Having got the headlights (thanks Nish12), I had to satisfy my curiosity and investigate the DRL inside the headlight. I discovered to my horror that each headlight contains a PCB with a hell of a lot of connectors and components. However, there are only 3 wires in the wiring diagram which show that they are sidelight, DRL and earth. A quick bit of experimentation with a twin 12v power supply followed to determine how to get a bright or dim DRL.

For MY2013 Headlight units without signature strips:

12v on Pin 4 = Bright
12v on Pin 16 = Dim
12v on Pins 4 and 16 = Bright

Internally, you need to wire up the adaptor as shown in the following JPEG. The diodes ensure that if you have the lights with signature strips, they come on without the headlights being on when the engine is running and that no reverse feed occurs.

Click image to enlarge

It was just then a "simple" matter of sitting down and making up the necessary cable links, fitting the wire seals, fitting the male and female pins at either ends and adding the extra wires for the indicator and sidelight feeds back to the DRLR3 control unit. The following pictures show some of the process.







I initially made the mistake of not getting enough large wire seals but I had also ordered from EBay some waterproof cable connectors to make the fly lead connections so these were robbed. To ensure the correct function of the DRL and to prevent reverse feed, I also fitted a 1N4001 Zener diode between the DRL and side light cables inside the adaptor to give the “bright” condition and to prevent reverse flow when only sidelights were switched on. I then sleeved and taped up each adaptor “a la Visteon” who seem to have made most of the cables for LR.

Finally, I sourced the ignition controlled power supply via a piggy-back fuse connector from an unused fuse location in the engine bay fuse box.



Moment of truth - I would like to say see the video in my gallery together with pictures of the adaptor build but I cannot work out how to upload video.



Suffice to say that it worked well but it did have the disadvantage of turning on the DRLs whenever you inserted the key as all of the fuse connections in the engine bay fuse-box go live “early” and continue to stay live after you remove the key for about 30 seconds. Whilst only a niggle, it was not something that I was prepared to live with!

More follows..................

Final part.................

The law says that DRLs should only be on in daylight with the engine running. This got me thinking back to my caravan exploits and split charge relays. These detect when the alternator is charging the battery and only then automatically feed power to caravan fridges, batteries, etc, in order not to drain the car’s battery.

You can find a typical one here (or off that well known auction site):

http://www.towsure.com/product/SelfSwitching_Combination_Relay

I decided to place this behind the battery cover and to feed the wire out the side of the battery box via the conduit that leads to the engine bay fusebox. Here it is made up into a loom ready to install.



You can also see my Anderson plug neatly sits behind this cover for quick jump starts (of other vehicles) and for my external portable Warn winch.



One final point about headlight brightness. I was a bit concerned originally that in changing over the headlights, the visibility at night would be reduced given the loss of the dedicated high beam lights. Having fitted Osraam Night Breakers to the new units, I'm very pleased (and relieved) to report that I am very happy with the light when driving at night - my wife cannot detect a difference. It would be nice to have the HID headlights with DRLs but the active levelling system is a legal must and definitely is not such a simple job as fitting the halogens to practically achieve.

Hope this helps others…………………….

BTW - Having started with a set of base halogen projector DRLs, I managed to get a set with signature strips. No further changes to the wiring necessary. The original LED headlights shown in the pictures are now on sale for the price I paid on a well known auction site:

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They are in the same condition as supplied and I reckon they did less than 500 miles before I swapped them out. All mountings are intact and there is absolutely no damage. If you fancy having a go, I'll include my printed instructions with the lights and be happy to answer any questions.

Hi again.

To help those considering having a go, I've quickly knocked up both a schematic diagram to show the principle I followed and a suggested parts list.

Firstly the schematic - had to screenshot to incorporate it as its a ppt document.




Secondly, the parts list. Its a Word document so was similarly screenshot.

Click image to enlarge

Does GenLabs DRLR3 controller turns off DRL for the time while indicator light is blinking on the same side and the other side is still with DRL on. If not when how does it work? Does it turn off DRL left and right when low beams are on?

Apologies for not getting back to you sooner but my life has turned upside down a bit as I was informed I had cancer - life deals some interesting cards!

The DRLR3 controller turns off the DRL on the side where the indicator is flashing whilst the indicator bulb is illuminated. Difficult to put in words but when the amber light is lit during an indication "session" the DLR is off and when the indicator is not lit, the DRL is on. When you are indicating, the indicator light and the DRL alternately flash whilst the indicator "command" is being given.

When my headlamps are on and an indicator is selected, the DRL (now acting as the side light) on the indication side does not turn off.

I believe this is exactly what the MY2013 arrangement does from reading this post:

http://www.freel2.com/forum/topic14894.html

Last week, the wife was driving the Freelander having returned from her 6-month out-of-area deployment and had occasion to flash another driver to let him out into the traffic stream - very considerate she is! However, I'm not sure how she realised but when the headlamps are not on, the adaptor as I have detailed it in the early posts does not actually flash the headlights! You can hear the shutter motor moving but unless the headlights are on, you don't get a main beam flash.

Back to the drawing board.......

To get around this, I have now added a diode into each adaptor between the high beam wire (post MY2013 only moves the shutter) and the dipped beam wire orientated such that current can flow from the high beam line to the dipped line but not vice-versa otherwise you would have permanent high beam.

The following schematic shows the additional diodes and hopefully makes my explanation of the adapters a little clearer.

Click image to enlarge

Thanks for the guide needless to say I am confused , I am sorry to hear about your illness I wish you all the best and hope you get better soon. Let us know how you are! ? When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car

Hi,

i have a question,
I am a french owner so drving a left handed car, can I still get the english one, right handed?

Anyway, you did a great job!

I've made a further refinement for anyone thinking of doing something similar.

In the form currently described, the round DRLs dim when the headlights are on. This is not as per MY2013 vehicles so I have added a Genlabs DRLR1 into the power feed taken for the DRLR3. What this does is to effectively use the DRLR3 only for those conditions when the headlights are off. When the headlights are on, the DRLR1 turns off the supply to the DRLR3 so that the 7 LED circular DRL is not lit when the headlights are on. To recap, with this combination you get:

Lights off: Round DRL and Signature lights on.


Lights off and indicating: Round DRL and Signature lights on side indicating alternate with indicator light.
Lights on: DRL off and signature lights on plus headlight.


Lights on and indicating: Signature light remains on the side indicating.
Sidelights only: Only the signature strips lit.

Two other bits of news. For those wanting to upgrade to MY2013 rear LED lights, having refused to pay Powerful's prices and being outbid at silly prices on Ebay for pairs of rear lights, I recent won individual bids for LH and RH rear LED lights for only £33 and £38

I also managed to source the old style light plugs from Simtek UK (see earlier posts) for £5 each so I did not have to cut them off my clear rear lights (shortly to be listed on EBay). Well done again Simtek Now fitted and very happy

Second piece of news: If you have followed the thread you will have seen that I have gone from upgrading to the standard DRLs, then to Halogen's with signature strips and finally to Xenon's with signature strips as per the new HSE Lux. My car has just had its first MOT and passed at the main LR dealership in Bristol exactly as Steve D has repeatedly advised in other posts WITHOUT the auto-levelling system being fitted. I discussed this prior to the MOT with the tester and he concurred Steve's interpretation of the VOSA rules: you can only be failed if the device is fitted and it does not work

I'm now rather happy and pleased - bring on Christmas

Just a note for anybody skim reading this post and thinking about the package. If you want HID Xenon then only buy OE Xenon lights with OE Xenon bulbs. Please don't think of fitting aftermarket HID kits, the point of 'burn' on the aftermarket Xenon bulb is not compatible with the OE halogen parabolic reflector module and leads to a horrible streaky pencil beam light. --at least that's what I found out to my cost.
.
Kind regards from Fred
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