Hi all,

thinking of experimenting with some DRLs, I’m looking for a switched live in the engine bay of my 96 TT. (I know I could use a DRL controller board connected to the battery but I’ve had bad experiences of weird behaviour of these on my daily driver so would prefer a simple switched live supply that’s cut out by a relay when lights are on).

There is a 10A fuse for the Shift Lock in the junction box that seems to fit the bill, and as my car is a manual I can’t see that it serves any useful purpose. Wiring diagrams seem to concur, but can anyone out there confirm that I won’t generate any unintended nastiness if I tap into that supply for DRLs? I’d rather avoid having to get through the bulkhead and back to the ignition switch.

Thanks in advance!

Hi mate,

I thought along the same lines as you - and even asked the very same question a few years back.....

...But in the end, I went for the simple DRL control relay, connected to the battery. It took me much less time to install and it works perfectly - a solution also recommended to me by JeffTT at the time. The kits are pennies on Ebay, they will save you a lot of unnecessary messing around with 30 year old electrics (which may reveal other latent issues) and you can add an inline switch to the live feed if you want to shut them off for any reason. 

Keep It Simple ? 

Hi Richard,

thanks for the advice. My only issue with the control boxes is I had all sorts of problems on my Land Rover as the control box for the kit didn’t always recognise when the alternator was running, despite everything checking out, so eventually I hard-wired to a switched live and used a relay to the lights. That also avoided them coming on when it was on a battery conditioner. 

I see most of the kits include a controller anyway, so I might as well give it a try! Just need to find a set of lights that will fit and won’t look out of place on a Z now. What did you go for in the end?

Thanks,

Chris

11 hours ago, Scarecrow said:

Hi Richard,

thanks for the advice. My only issue with the control boxes is I had all sorts of problems on my Land Rover as the control box for the kit didn’t always recognise when the alternator was running, despite everything checking out, so eventually I hard-wired to a switched live and used a relay to the lights. That also avoided them coming on when it was on a battery conditioner. 

I see most of the kits include a controller anyway, so I might as well give it a try! Just need to find a set of lights that will fit and won’t look out of place on a Z now. What did you go for in the end?

Thanks,

Chris

Having a UK-spec Zed, I replaced my blank corner units with a modified set (thanks Andy ? ) in which I installed some powerful LEDs......

...Any excuse to post some Zed pics ? 

 

That looks spot on, nice work!