drl relay

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Ardtullaich
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drl relay

Post by Ardtullaich »

hi can any one tell me where the drl relay is in a 2008 c5?
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Re: drl relay

Post by GiveMeABreak »

The DRLs are on separate circuits and controlled by the engine fuse box and the BSI. Relays are probably integrated in the BSI.

See my post here

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=61552

Can I ask what the problem is if any?
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Re: drl relay

Post by wheeler »

I’ve not gone properly looking yet but going by that diagram i would guess it is separate from the BSI as it shows that it has a 5 way black connector. According to the diagram it looks like it is located right next to the BSI. I had a quick look through the fusebox cover & couldn’t see much, I suspect the glovebox will need to be removed to locate it.
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Re: drl relay

Post by GiveMeABreak »

There is a command wire that goes from the DRL control unit / relay (2404) to the BSI (wire 240 on pin 1).

There is a fuse (G37) for the DRLs that is in the passenger compartment supplementary fusebox (so that will be above or to the side of the BSI unit) in case you need to check the fuse.

As for location, if you look at my last diagram, the line showing the location of the 2404 unit terminates back to 'A', and 'A' is on, in or near the BSI.
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Re: drl relay

Post by Ardtullaich »

super thanks for your help ill dive in this evening
Ardtullaich
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Re: drl relay

Post by Ardtullaich »

already checked the fuses and the bulbs all ok. live to far from citroen dealer to have the drl activated so i'm going to have a go at hard wiring them . Will the command signal be 12v?
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Re: drl relay

Post by GiveMeABreak »

I really would advise against this as legally the DRLs have to switch off at night / with activation of the other lighting, so how will you achieve that? The BSI command signal does all this in conjunction with the status of the other lights and the rain / brightness system.

The DRLs are protected by fuse G37 and by Maxi Fuse 2 int he engine fuse box.

The DRL is activated in 2 places - one in the BSI to start with which was defaulted to off for the UK prior to the legal requirement date and secondly in the car's menu system activated on the steering wheel controls.

I really would advise against hard wiring or bypassing the control systems as you could easily create more problems with the other systems. Have you checked other members in Scotland who may be able to do this for you? Also if you have a Peugeot dealer nearer, they can do this too using the same software.

Lexia owners (map link towards the end):

Lexia Owners Link
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Re: drl relay

Post by Ardtullaich »

Advice taken will look out for members in scotland . I did activate daytime running lights with my mates cost a fortune snapon diagnostics pc/tablet . It says they were activated but the choice wasn.t there in the display.
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Re: drl relay

Post by GiveMeABreak »

The DRLs have several options IIRC, and this needs to be set right, then the DRL option will be available under the lighting Menu.

Non proprietary systems can only do so much to be honest.
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Re: drl relay

Post by sparksie »

Another early X7 C5 with lighting issues?
If there's enough interest, I might just have a go at making something that will work properly.
It's fairly complex in that the front DRLs need to turn off when any other lighting is in use, including dimming, or extinguishing one light when the indicators are in use, but it seems Citroen have made a bit of a mess of these, so it might be worthwhile wrestling with it.
If I were to do it, it would probably be readily adapted for other makes/models, though I don't expect there'd be much demand, except perhaps as a retro-fit for cars that don't already have DRLs
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Re: drl relay

Post by GiveMeABreak »

There are no issues Sparksie.

It is a feature that was not enabled by default in the UK at its launch in 2008, as DRLs were not required, but were in Europe. So they supplied the X7 with the bulbs and lights installed, but disabled at the BSI.

For those that wanted it enabled, they either had to use Diagbox to enable it in the BSI first (or get a dealer to do it). Then the option would become available in the car's options via the dashboard menus and could easily be switched on or off.

The system itself works perfectly as it is designed to do - coming on in the daytime and going off with the activation of sidelights/ headlights.

It does not need any modifications. [-(

As for those aftermarket DRLs, they all look totally awful to me in my opinion, completely out of character of the car they are fitted to and do look ridiculous. However, looks are not all and I understand why some people would want to retrofit them for safety reasons.
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Re: drl relay

Post by wheeler »

sparksie wrote: 05 Jan 2019, 23:03 Another early X7 C5 with lighting issues?
If there's enough interest, I might just have a go at making something that will work properly.
It's fairly complex in that the front DRLs need to turn off when any other lighting is in use, including dimming, or extinguishing one light when the indicators are in use, but it seems Citroen have made a bit of a mess of these, so it might be worthwhile wrestling with it.
If I were to do it, it would probably be readily adapted for other makes/models, though I don't expect there'd be much demand, except perhaps as a retro-fit for cars that don't already have DRLs

There are plenty of aftermarket DRL relays on ebay that can do auto dimming etc.
I bought one a few years back when i was retro fitting DRL’s to my campervan. Its voltage sensing so detects engine running by seeing the alternator charging voltage, there are also inputs on it for sidelight & indicator feeds to make them dim when they were switched on. I never used them as i didnt want them dimming or switching off when other lights were in use. Was only around a fiver if I remember right.
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Re: drl relay

Post by sparksie »

Ah, for crying out loud!
I suppose, I should have known. Anything I can think of is bound to have been thought of already!
I suppose the dummy load, to fool the BSI into thinking everything is bog standard is also catered for..?
Yes, using Chinese child labor, it should be relatively easy to mass produce what I had in mind for that sort of price.
Oh well, onwards and upwards
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Re: drl relay

Post by GiveMeABreak »

sparksie wrote: 07 Jan 2019, 00:04I suppose the dummy load, to fool the BSI into thinking everything is bog standard is also catered for..?

Not sure what you're getting at Sparksie -

If your talking about the standard DRLs and not a set of aftermarket ones, then the BSI does all the work switching these on and off according to all the other conditions and input from the other ECUs / sensors.

If you're talking about the aftermarket ones, then they will have nothing to do with the BSI at all.

They will simply work off a switched 12V supply to come on at startup and probably some connection to the main light circuit and a switching unit to turn them off when there is power to the lighting circuit. But like I mentioned - no need to on the X7 as they are already there and functional across all models, just not activated in all cases.
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Re: drl relay

Post by sparksie »

Hi Marc
But, as we're learning, the BSI on the X7 can't be trusted to do this job correctly.
As previously discussed, all 3 X7s that I've had any personal experience of were driving around in the dark, with headlights working and no rear lighting, unless the driver braked, or turned on the rear fogs.
Now we have a query from another member, concerning DRLs on an X7, which are presumably not doing what they should either.
That may be statistically quite a small sample on which to base an assumption about the breed, but it certainly hints that all is not well with the design.
As you yourself pointed out, interfering with BSI controlled systems cannot be done willy nilly, so measures have to be taken to "fool" the BSI into carrying on as normal, without fault codes, or other anomalies, before making more reliable systems to operate the lights, in this instance.
In the case of a lighting circuit, this will be a dummy load, consuming the same current as the light, so the BSI "thinks" the bulb is present and unblown, though in reality it's not connected to the BSI at all.
Again, as previously discussed, I was planning to devise a strap-on system to ensure these safety critical lights were illuminated when they should be, even if the BSI was ignoring the driver's instructions, or the car's operating conditions (ie Engine running), but Wheeler informs us that something very like what I had in mind already exists. Bubble officially burst!
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