I understand that the parking lamps are not supposed to come on with the headlight switch in the off position. I have an issue where no matter what I do i cannot turn the parking lamps off. They only turn off when the car is off. Any help with some advise will be appreciated! I have tried going through the forums and come up empty.
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Parking lamp on with switch off.
- Thread starter driftinsx
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Just the front parking lamps or are the side marker lights and tail lights on also? Did it start doing this recently or has it done it since you got it? Is your car a Canadian market car or US market car that has been retrofitted with DRLs.
My car was a US market car and it was retrofitted with DRls by connecting into the parking light circuits which was the cheap way to do the conversion (and would probably no longer pass inspection) about 12 years ago. Same thing - parking lights are on all the time. If your car is a proper Canadian market car with separate DRLs, then there may be a problem with the taillight relay.
My car was a US market car and it was retrofitted with DRls by connecting into the parking light circuits which was the cheap way to do the conversion (and would probably no longer pass inspection) about 12 years ago. Same thing - parking lights are on all the time. If your car is a proper Canadian market car with separate DRLs, then there may be a problem with the taillight relay.
I just did a friends DRLs this way. (I have done many). Still passes inspection in Alberta.
I would bet it is a Canadian DRL install. What is the car history?
If there is a fuse in position #3 in the drivers kick panel fuse box. Pull it. The lights will go out but you then need to pull the front park lamps and check for wiring changes. It can be done a couple of different ways. Diodes or new bulb sockets.
I may have done it, or someone used my write up from NSXPrime.
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Hey guys, here is some back ground info. Its a 92 US vehicle. It hasnt had the drl mod done. Infact last year it worked as intended. The parking lamp would only go on when switch was turned on. I just noticed it today that my park lamp was on while i was sitting in traffic and saw the reflection. I tried turning it off but it wasnt turning off.
have you checked the wiring? possible the PO had rewired things using a relay and now that the relay failed, the lights are on all the time.
That is pretty bizarre. The parking lights are supplied via the #38 fuse which is supplied by the taillight relay and the taillight relay is switched on by the headlight switch. The #38 fuse also supplies all those other lights, so if the parking lights are getting power from the #38 fuse those other lights pretty much have to be on.
Pull the #38 fuse and then turn the key to the on position and (with the headlight switch off - although with the fuse out it shouldn't matter) see if the parking lights go out. If the parking lights do not go out, then you have an alternate circuit keeping the parking lights powered up. This could be some kind of bizarre sneak circuit (unlikely if the other lights are not lighting up) or somebody has wired in a constant illumination circuit for the parking lights.
Did you import the vehicle or was it imported by somebody else? As an observation, when the vehicle goes through the RIV process I believe it is a Federal (not provincial) requirement for the car to be retrofitted with DRLs. The details of the process are now a bit fuzzy for me; but, as I recall the vehicle has to be inspected and somebody has to sign off that it has been brought into compliance with federal standards before you get the RIV sticker which is supposed to be attached to the vehicle. I am not going to tell you about your vehicle; but, if it went through the RIV process (pretty hard not to if you want to register it) then it should have a DRL install. What might have happened is that if the DRL wiring was done poorly, it may have stopped working which would cause it to revert to the way all US models worked. Perhaps if you hit a bump a bad connection was re established and you are back to having functioning DRLs. The only way to confirm this is to inspect the wiring to the parking lights and see if there is some non Honda wiring down there.
Pull the #38 fuse and then turn the key to the on position and (with the headlight switch off - although with the fuse out it shouldn't matter) see if the parking lights go out. If the parking lights do not go out, then you have an alternate circuit keeping the parking lights powered up. This could be some kind of bizarre sneak circuit (unlikely if the other lights are not lighting up) or somebody has wired in a constant illumination circuit for the parking lights.
Did you import the vehicle or was it imported by somebody else? As an observation, when the vehicle goes through the RIV process I believe it is a Federal (not provincial) requirement for the car to be retrofitted with DRLs. The details of the process are now a bit fuzzy for me; but, as I recall the vehicle has to be inspected and somebody has to sign off that it has been brought into compliance with federal standards before you get the RIV sticker which is supposed to be attached to the vehicle. I am not going to tell you about your vehicle; but, if it went through the RIV process (pretty hard not to if you want to register it) then it should have a DRL install. What might have happened is that if the DRL wiring was done poorly, it may have stopped working which would cause it to revert to the way all US models worked. Perhaps if you hit a bump a bad connection was re established and you are back to having functioning DRLs. The only way to confirm this is to inspect the wiring to the parking lights and see if there is some non Honda wiring down there.
Hey Man,
That honestly sounds very reasonable. Thanks for the tip, I will take them out and have a look at the wiring today and update what I find.
That honestly sounds very reasonable. Thanks for the tip, I will take them out and have a look at the wiring today and update what I find.
Some years ago, the standards were changed to make the DRL light a completely separate light. It must have been after 2003 because my 2003 Pilot uses the headlights on reduced voltage as the DRLs. In 2011 the EU axed reduced voltage headlights as a DRL option. In Canada, initially separate DRLs, headlights on reduced voltage as well as using the turn signals (never the parking lights) with a DRL controller were all at one time acceptable options (depending on what year).
Yes, your installation probably continues to pass inspection! Since inspections have been outsourced to the private sector, the good folks at Canadian Tire and the like are authorized to do the inspections. I am sure the wrenches at CT are keeping up with the latest changes in the motor vehicle standards :wink:. If some kind of light on the front end of the car comes on when the vehicle is running that is probably good enough for them to tick off the box that says it has a functioning DRL.
My 2009 Tacoma uses the park lamps as well must dodge products do as well
I am curious what the exact rule is?
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I am curious what the exact rule is?
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They may be able to use the parking lamp lens assembly as the DRL if the light bulb meets the required brightness (I don't think the parking light bulb can be that bright). They can probably do it if they have a dual filament bulb in the parking light (one filament parking the other DRL) or do it like the headlight arrangement where they run the bulb at reduced voltage (except reverse). I think some years of Volvos had that kind of arrangement. The exact rule depends on the year of the car or the year that it was imported and brought into spec. Vehicle safety regulations generally get grandfathered (seatbelts being an exception in some provinces). So, if 'bright parking lights' were an acceptable option in the year that the car was imported and that was the solution used then that would be OK. If the regulation changed, the owner of that car would still be OK; but, anybody importing a car after the reg changed would technically have to comply with the new reg.
However, its probably academic since the guys at Canadian Tire don't have a means of measuring the brightness of the parking light to confirm that it is an acceptable DRL and probably aren't aware of the regulation details. Pretty much operate in the "is that a Phillips head or an Allen head" world.
However, its probably academic since the guys at Canadian Tire don't have a means of measuring the brightness of the parking light to confirm that it is an acceptable DRL and probably aren't aware of the regulation details. Pretty much operate in the "is that a Phillips head or an Allen head" world.
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