Headlight swap to DRL version 2016 Focus Estate

[Furio101]

HI

Has anyone done this swap? I have a 2016 Focus estate and wanted to upgrade the headlights to the version with the DRL integrated into them, is the wiring harness already in the car or do i need to mod the wiring?

Attached link to the headlight with the DRL

http://www.fordpartsuk.com/shop/ford_focus_headlamp_and_flasher_lamp_assy_lh_2014-_f_2060628_c_1473.htm

 

[DJ_Andy_M]

You'd probably need a new loom to accommodate the DRLs as the car's central computer will need to be configured to tell it you have LED running lights. Normally when running lights are installed, you have the LED rear lights to go with them.

[Furio101]

Thanks for the info

[biff55]

so your car has no drl's at all ?

thought they were mandatory on all EU cars since 2013

[DJ_Andy_M]

4 hours ago, biff55 said:

so your car has no drl's at all ?

thought they were mandatory on all EU cars since 2013

Ford's design was type approved before 2012 so no requirement. The next generation of Focus will have them as standard using the main beams if not LED.

[Furio101]

Yes was disappointed to find it didn't have any. These may be an alternative ?

[DJ_Andy_M]

They are an alternative, however will rely on you finding a switched 12V live, and connecting another wire to the sidelight loom so that they dim. Whether the canbus system agrees with the sidelight connection I don't know.

[Furio101]

i'd better wait until the car is out of warranty i guess!

[Phil21185]

I have a 2014 and have been looking at drls too. To be honest I'm not sure I'm keen on in-headlight drls for both the mk3 or 3.5 but that's personal taste.

I've gone for a cheapo chinese set for mine (as I can't afford oem!) and will be getting round to fitting hopefully this weekend. They also tap into a switched 12v (which I'll find in the bonnet fuse box with a fusetap) and into the main or side light to dim the drl to half, though this is optional. I would imagine that the dimming is operated by a simple transistor circuit with the sidelight tap running to its base so resistance increase should be minimal and not annoy canbus.

There are some really nice fog type sets for the 3.5 on eBay much like the first one you have pictured but with 3 downward slopes. Looks nice =)

[mjt]

12 hours ago, Phil21185 said:

I would imagine that the dimming is operated by a simple transistor circuit

I think it's rather more complex than that. I have to admit that I don't know the technology so this is just supposition but I think the DRLs are pulsed at high frequency. The reason I think this is that when watching Top Gear I've noticed that the DRLs strobe with the cameras. If they are pulsed I would guess that the dimming is done by changing the pulse width.

Another reason I think they're pulsed is that doing so would allow them to be driven at higher power and hence higher intensity. If you look at LED datasheets you can see they are usually specified to be driven at higher power for a short period.

[Phil21185]

Thats a good point actually.  Ever looked in a rear view mirror at a car with drls on?  The LED's seem to 'wobble' at a different speed to the image of the rest of the car - could that be due to this pulsing you speak of, or the wavelength of the light from the LEDs?

[biff55]

there is no pulsing with leds , the drivers have a constant current output.

the wobble is merely optical effect as the eye or camera refocuses on a moving intense light source

[biff55]

anyways im liking the fog grill with 3 led bars , looks smart.

probably an easier install as well , keep the standard headlights and just put in your own wiring loom with the switch wire tapped off the side lights.

[Phil21185]

I meant these ones:

on ebay

Also, these have switchback for indicators, though I'm in two minds about that...

Off Topic:  Does anyone know which wire in the MK3 headlight looms is for dipped beam?  I want to tap into this for my dimming signal, not the sidelights - I want full intensity DRL with my sidelights as the sides are weeny =]

[Phil21185]

3 hours ago, biff55 said:

the wobble is merely optical effect as the eye or camera refocuses on a moving intense light source

I am not so sure you know because fuel station price signs which are LED do the same.  I thought it was because the LED light travels at a slightly different speed to ambient light?

[biff55]

18 hours ago, Phil21185 said:

  I thought it was because the LED light travels at a slightly different speed to ambient light?

speed of light is constant regardless of its source unless the laws of physics operate differently in Lincolnshire ;-)

[Phil21185]

Well the people are pretty slow here, kinetically and mentally so why should light be any different?!

I didn't mean to put speed of light, I meant wavelength as I said before. 

As bright white led light is towards the bluer (violet) end of the visible spectrum than boring old daylight I thought it may react slightly differently when reflected or refracted. Otherwise the same effect would occur when you look directly at them, but I've only noticed it when looking in rear view mirrors.

Ever wonder why you can see ESV lights from friggin miles away in bright sunshine and through the tiniest gaps in trees?

[DJ_Andy_M]

On 29/07/2017 at 3:39 PM, biff55 said:

there is no pulsing with leds , the drivers have a constant current output.

the wobble is merely optical effect as the eye or camera refocuses on a moving intense light source

The built in ones are pulsed as far as I am aware. When the intensity drops to side light you can notice it more. I'll see if my 120 fps slow motion feature on my phone is able to prove this.

[biff55]

8 hours ago, DJ_Andy_M said:

The built in ones are pulsed as far as I am aware. When the intensity drops to side light you can notice it more. I'll see if my 120 fps slow motion feature on my phone is able to prove this.

What do you mean by "pulsed" exactly ?

and why would a led powered from a direct current source need to be "pulsed" ?

 

[Guzzilazz]

LED's unless they have posh circuitry are only on/off.  The only way to "fool" the eye into thinking they are dimmer is to rapidly switch them... so if you have a constant on 400 lumen bulb, and you then put a 500 Hz on/off pulse they would be off for half the time and on for half the time, so it would look like a 200 lumen bulb on constantly

[mjt]

5 minutes ago, biff55 said:

why would a led powered from a direct current source need to be "pulsed" ?

I thought I'd made that clear in my earlier post. You will find that datasheets for LEDs, amongst other devices, specify that they can be driven at higher power for short periods. Pulse-driving them allows them to produce a higher luminance and providing the frequency is high enough the eye will just see this as a bright continuous light. Also, as I pointed out and Larry has reiterated, their apparent brightness can then be varied by adjusting the on-off ratio of the pulse train. This is a much more efficient way of controlling them as the transistors driving them are always switched fully on or fully off, minimising their power dissipation and allowing smaller transistors to be used.

[biff55]

5 minutes ago, Guzzilazz said:

LED's unless they have posh circuitry are only on/off.   The only way to "fool" the eye into thinking they are dimmer is to rapidly switch them... so if you have a constant on 400 lumen bulb, and you then put a 500 Hz on/off pulse they would be off for half the time and on for half the time, so it would look like a 200 lumen bulb on constantly

dimming a led is just a matter of cutting voltage in simplest terms , theres no need to alter its frequency which operates at around the 500 terra hertz for white , and on / off oscillation  can only be practically achieved with an AC power source.

its highly unlikely that ford are going to use complex electronics to control  a few lights stuck on a car bumper

[alexp999]

1 minute ago, biff55 said:

dimming a led is just a matter of cutting voltage in simplest terms , theres no need to alter its frequency which operates at around the 500 terra hertz for white , and on / off oscillation  can only be practically achieved with an AC power source.

its highly unlikely that ford are going to use complex electronics to control  a few lights stuck on a car bumper

LEDs on most cars, including Fords use PWM to control their brightness.

Ford LED DRLs do flicker when dim sometimes, you can see it if you video them,

[biff55]

7 minutes ago, mjt said:

I thought I'd made that clear in my earlier post. You will find that datasheets for LEDs, amongst other devices, specify that they can be driven at higher power for short periods. Pulse-driving them allows them to produce a higher luminance and providing the frequency is high enough the eye will just see this as a bright continuous light. Also, as I pointed out and Larry has reiterated, their apparent brightness can then be varied by adjusting the on-off ratio of the pulse train. This is a much more efficient way of controlling them as the transistors driving them are always switched fully on or fully off, minimising their power dissipation and allowing smaller transistors to be used.

clear as mud tbh.

lets agree to disagree :-)

[mjt]

4 minutes ago, biff55 said:

dimming a led is just a matter of cutting voltage in simplest terms

Actually it's the current that needs to be controlled. LED's are diodes and their curve of forward voltage vs current is almost constant for a wide current range. This is most simply done by adding a resistor in series, then the current can be varied either by varying the value of the resistor, as I think you mentioned earlier, or by keeping the resistor constant and varying the voltage. Is this what you meant?