The movement of vehicles with their headlights on during the daytime became the norm after the approval of amendments to the Russian Traffic Regulations of 2010. However, the lack of standard daytime running lights (DRLs) forces drivers to use other legally permitted car lights as backlight. These could be low beam headlights or fog lights (PTF).
What shortcomings have been identified among the permitted types of headlights over the past 6 years of the law? How to get rid of them without violating the provisions of the current traffic regulations?
Why is it undesirable to use low beam?
The name “Low Beam” indicates its intended purpose – illuminating the roadway in the dark directly in front of the car, without dazzling oncoming traffic. The decision to use it as navigation lights was a necessary measure that did not require redesign of the structure or additional capital investments. The result: we wanted the best (to increase the level of safety on the roads), but it turned out as always (the load on the car increased).
Unlike standard DRLs, which begin to glow when the engine is started, low beam headlights (FBS) must be remembered to be turned on and off. Forgot to turn it on - fine, forgot to turn it off - dead battery. In both cases, the consequences are not rosy. The luminous flux emitted by low beam headlights is mainly directed downwards, so as not to miss imperfections in the asphalt. At a relatively large distance between oncoming cars, the effect of such a glow is practically absent. It turns out that when driving at a speed of about 100 km/h, it is difficult for drivers to react in a timely manner to vehicles that are moving or overtaking in the oncoming lane and creating a potential emergency threat. This is perhaps the main disadvantage of using low beams instead of DRLs, requiring increased concentration from drivers.
In some brands of cars, not only the FBS, but also other lighting devices, for example, dashboard lighting, are powered from one switch. There is no benefit from this during the daytime, but additional energy and fuel consumption is provided. Traveling around the city with frequent downtime in traffic jams and traffic lights also has a negative impact. In such cases, the generator does not have time to replenish the battery with energy.
Regular use of low beam headlights during the daytime has a negative impact on the reliability of all elements of the electrical circuit: the service life of the lamps and battery is reduced. As a result, at night, when you simply cannot do without FBS, one of the lamps may simply fail.
We invite installation centers to cooperate
04 Oct 2017
Andrey November 29, 2022 Car: MMC DELICA
Dmitry, good evening, you can order the DRL relay for the dal.svet
Dmitry K.
Well, yes, right on this page there is a link to the store. https://kuzmin.pro/shop/accessories-and-parts/rho-23
Maxim November 26, 2022 Car: Toyota Corolla
Hello Dmitry. The car has RHO-23 installed. A question of this nature, is it possible to somehow set it up or make it so that when the car starts up, the high-speed heater does not light up? In general, everything is fine, but this moment is a little annoying, because the car in the yard is parked on a hill facing the house, and on the first floor there are already people who are dissatisfied with the fact that these incandescent lights of mine are shining into their windows.
Dmitry K.
Yes, of course you can. Your signaling system most likely has an “ignition support” relay output, which turns on the relay when autostarting. Take this signal in positive polarity and feed it through a diode to the TAIL input of the relay. Plus, due to the dimensions, you will also have to drive it through a diode. Then RXO-23 will operate in normal mode when the ignition is turned on with the key, but when autostarting, the DRL mode will not be activated.
Egor September 07, 2022 Car: Lancer 1.6 station wagon, automatic transmission, 2004
Hello. I would like to put RHO in the car, can you help me figure out where to solder it, I want to put this relay in the fuse box under the hood. Maybe you already had such an experience? Indeed, it would be a pity to throw away light bulbs with an entire spiral of high beams.
Dmitry K.
This is for an electrician. I do not provide such consultations.
Anisimov Oleg June 29, 2022 Car: Kia Mojave 3.0 diesel 2016. dorestayl
Interested in “PXO-23 LIGHT WAY LIGHTS RELAY (LONG LONG CBET IN FULL OFF)”. I understand automotive electrics, but there are several “BUTs”: 1. I don’t understand radio electronics. 2. I solder the wires in the car, but I don’t solder anything on your RXO-23 board (I’ve never tried to solder anything on boards), but rather I’ll ruin the board. 3. Computer writing for programming (described by you, and any other entry in the language of computer scientists) for me is like Chinese writing and programming RHO-23 will not be available to me. 4. “PWM” is not at all clear what it is and for what purpose to program it. What does changing PWM do physically? 5. “OUT positive output to high beam lamps.” — That is, in my understanding, the standard wire (wires - if there are two of them) supplying plus to the high beam lamps is cut and this “OUT” will be connected to that part of the standard wire that goes to the lamps. 6. “The second contacts of the lamps must be grounded.” What are these “Second” lamp contacts? The standard second contacts of the lamps go to ground anyway. Or are there cars where the plus is always on the lamp, and the switching on is controlled by the minus? 7. “GND mass” - as I understand it, the “GND” contact should be connected to ground. Or am I wrong? 8. “IGN plus ignition. It is convenient to solder to the contacts of some relay inside the installation box, for example, turning on the engine cooling fan. Or find the adsorber valve inside the engine compartment - a plus appears on it when you turn on the ignition...” Until this moment, everything is clear. But what is this - “... all loads of the engine control unit are activated by minus.”? 9. “HI-, HI+ input for turning on high beams (Toyota Avensis, Ipsum, Gaia, Mazda CX-7, Subaru Legacy). Connects to the original chip, removed from the high beam lamps, observing the polarity. For all relays sold from January 2022, these inputs are combined using the “AND” scheme, i.e. The high beam at the relay output turns on only when there is supply voltage at the HI+ input and the HI- input is drawn to ground. *"What is the “I” diagram and where can I see it? 10. “TAIL connects to the plus dimensions. This is the input for deactivating the running lights.” In fact, when a plus is applied to this “TAIL”, the running lights turn off. Right? 11. “+12/24V through an additional 10A fuse, this input is connected to the battery positive. It is more convenient not to pull the snot directly onto the battery, but to connect to the same wire from the other end inside the installation box. There is a terminal with a nut for 10, the battery is connected to it.” Surely and most likely not everyone has “on the other “end” inside the installation box” any nuts with a positive connection from the battery. What is the “other end” and how to determine it? How many ends does the mounting box have and what are the designations for these ends? What is “the same wire” and where was it previously mentioned in your description? 12. In short, you will need to receive from you the RHO-23 already programmed and packaged (as you recommend) in heat-shrink and filled with hot-melt adhesive with wires soldered to the board and marked (input plus, ground, plus for high beam lamps, etc.) and a regular diagram in the format of regular car diagrams. So as not to engage in self-education in terms of radio-electronic and computer terms, install your development into the electrical wiring of the car. Is it possible?
Dmitry K.
It is assumed that the installer has basic knowledge of radio electronics. If you don't understand anything from the description, please DO NOT buy this product! There is a 100% chance that you will destroy it during installation, and given the circuits it is connected to, there is a chance that you will also burn some of the car’s on-board electronics.
Maxim June 25, 2022 Car: Hyundai Tucson JM
Good afternoon, will the RHO 23 relay fit the 2008 Hyundai Tucson JM?
Dmitry K.
The relay is suitable for any car with a separate high beam thread, incl. with H4 lamps. Even a 24V network is suitable.
Eduard May 07, 2022 Car: Pajero sport
Greetings! I would like to know if there is any time delay after applying +12V to IGN and the appearance of voltage at the OUT output? I would like to supply +12V voltage to the IGN input only when the automatic transmission selector is in Drive mode, so a long time delay when turning on would be highly undesirable. Thank you!
Dmitry K.
The new version of RHO-23 will have the ability to program all these delays, brightness, PWM frequency and even reassign inputs from a computer. Will be available for sale from mid-May.
Stanislav January 02, 2022 Car: Mitsubishi Grandis 2007
Good afternoon I installed the Grandis rho22 for a long time, but just recently something started to happen, I get out of the car, I set it to the signal or I don’t set it, it doesn’t have any effect, of course there is no key in the car, the running lights (high beam) after about a minute starts to turn on for a few seconds and this cycle continues. Please tell me where to dig. Thank you!
Dmitry K.
Change it to RHO-23. It's a bad idea to rely on battery voltage at all. RHO-23, unlike its predecessor, does not consume anything at all in standby mode, just 0 µA. The 22nd uses the wrong block - it is only for use inside dry heated rooms, and not in cars.
Sergey May 26, 2022 Car: Honda Pilot 2, 2014.
Dmitry, good afternoon. My high beam control goes through the MICU in the fuse block, that is, there is no separate high beam relay. The switching on goes through the positive wire to a separate circuit of the left and right sides (they are already protected by fuses. Question, can you install your DRL relay next to the main fuse block under the dashboard? And one more question regarding the high beam indicator light, the resistor you wrote about is included in the kit? If installation on my car is possible, I am ready to purchase your device from you. I am in Moscow, like you, I prefer the SDEK transport service. I am waiting for an answer and thank you in advance. Best regards, Sergey.
Dmitry K.
What kind of resistor? I installed the RHO-23 on the Pilot, it is actually installed under the torpedo. Everything attaches to fuses with a tap; there are some on sale (not here).
Maxim April 07, 2022 Car: Subaru Outback
How to disable DRLs based on a signal from the side lights and handbrake?
Dmitry K.
Elementary - through two diodes forming an OR circuit. Those. their cathodes are combined and connected to the TAIL input, the anode of one is on the plus dimensions, the anode of the second is on the plus, which should appear when the automatic transmission selector is in position P or when the handbrake is raised. The polarity inverter is implemented on a microrelay or transistor. I basically didn’t do this crap, because... pulling wires from the passenger compartment to the engine compartment is another “pleasure”. RHO-23 is designed for installation in the engine compartment without snot leading to the passenger compartment. It has a mode for forced shutdown of the DRLs - you need to blink the dimensions three times.
Nikolay March 13, 2022 Car: KIA RIO 3 produced in 2013
Hello. Is it possible to install a relay on a 2013 Kia Rio 3? If yes, then how to organize it. Thank you.
Dmitry K.
No problem. Costs 5000 rubles, call and make an appointment.
What's wrong with custom LED DRLs?
Despite the wide range of advantages, LED running lights (LED-DRL) are not without their disadvantages. For obvious reasons, Chinese manufacturers carefully hide the “other side of the coin”, trying to impose an advertised product on an inexperienced buyer for little money. Practice sometimes proves the complete lack of efficiency from cheap DRLs installed by yourself, which manifests itself as follows:
- the luminous intensity is significantly less than the minimum value established by the rules of 400 cd;
- the angle of propagation of the luminous flux does not meet the standards;
- poor build quality leads to failures and rapid failure of the DRLs.
Of course, you can buy high-quality DRLs with LEDs, pay for their connection and installation according to all the rules, and then enjoy the ride. However, the cost of a branded kit with installation services will amount to approximately 7 thousand rubles.
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These are two more methods worth considering. A 4-pin relay, a generator and an oil pressure sensor will be used here. But not in a single chain.
Both schemes assume that the DRLs will turn on only when the engine starts. The system is powered by a generator and is based on switching a 4-pin switch and a reed switch.
The connection of the relay contacts looks like this:
- Pin 30 goes to the plus of the LED module;
- Contact 85 goes to the plus of the wire to the dimensions;
- Contact 86 is required for any output from the reed switch;
- 87 contact to the positive terminal from the battery;
- Also, the second terminal from the reed switch goes to the battery plus.
After connection, configuration must be carried out. Here you need to start the engine and start moving the reed switch near the generator in order to get the movement and stable operation of the movers. Then the reed switch should be removed into a special thermal tube and fixed.
If there is no reed switch, then power for the DRL can be supplied through the oil pressure sensor. Then contact 86 goes to the pressure lamp, but otherwise the circuit remains in its original form.
The schemes are excellent in many ways. But they cannot be used in situations where the dimensions are based on LEDs. This is the only significant drawback.
High beam at full intensity instead of DRL
There is another way to implement navigation lights that does not have the above disadvantages. Its essence lies in the use of high beam headlights, turned on at full intensity and used instead of DRLs. This method of inclusion has long been proposed by the Americans. However, this option has not become widespread in the European car market.
The essence of the method is to turn on two high-beam lamps in series, which leads to a twofold decrease in the voltage on them. Since the light bulb coil is a resistive load, the current decreases in proportion to the voltage. As a result, power consumption and light output are reduced by 4 times. Oddly enough, the effect from such DRLs is higher than from the low beam on. The light from them is softer and is directed at oncoming drivers.
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To get rid of the disadvantages of previous schemes, a connection option via a 5-pin relay is used.
The relay is connected as follows:
- Contact 87 is not connected and is simply isolated;
- 87a goes to plus to the ignition switch;
- Pin 86 is needed to connect to the housing;
- 85 goes to the positive wire from the side lights;
- Pin 30 is output to the plus of the DRL LED module.
By turning the key in the lock, 12V begins to flow to the DRL, which allows the running lamps to light. When turning on the headlights or headlights, the relay opens contact 87a and closes contact 87. Thus, the running gears turn off and the other lights turn on. This scheme is good because it complies with GOST and traffic regulations. Plus you can use diode dimensions.
Here it is recommended to use a voltage stabilizer. The only drawback of the scheme is that when you turn the key without starting the engine, the DRLs will light up.
This is how the RHO-23 relay turned out:
The dimensions of the printed circuit board are only 20x38x8mm, which allows, after installation, to be sealed with hot-melt adhesive, packaged in heat-shrinkable tubing and secured to any wiring harness in the engine compartment with a cable tie.
What's new compared to its predecessor:
- Two in one: running lights relay and high beam headlight relay with smooth ignition in all modes
- Operating voltage range 10-32V. That is, you can easily install it on trucks with a 24V on-board network
- Two inputs for turning on the high beam at full brightness (active minus and active plus). RHO-23 can work as a high beam decoupling relay. On some cars, parallel connection of the radio control lights causes the high beam warning lamp on the dashboard to light up, which irritates most drivers. With RHO-23, this problem is solved easily and elegantly without additional snot.
- Full sleep mode when the ignition is turned off.
That is, when the ignition is turned off, it really does not consume anything - just 0 microamps. And it will never drain the battery when parked for a long time! We simply power the microprocessor from the ignition input, and the power part through the fuse from the battery positive. Those. Under no circumstances can it “accidentally” turn on when the ignition is turned off. - Like our predecessor, we have a mode for deactivating the running lights - to do this you need to blink the dimensions three times within two seconds. But unlike RHO-22, we DO NOT remember this state, and when the engine is stopped and then started, the DRL will turn on again. We have installed more than two hundred RHO-22 sets, and these clients periodically call me with complaints that “everything is broken.” But it turns out they simply deactivated the DRL mode, and in order to “fix” everything you need to blink the lights three times again.
- There are no adjustments in RHO-23; the optimal brightness is set at 40% from the factory. Less is difficult to see from afar, more is blinding even during the day.
The small dimensions of the board allow it to be placed directly in the mounting block. This is how elegantly we managed to install it into the electronics unit on the Pajero4 - it’s a gray box the size of a couple of packs of cigarettes installed inside the mounting block.
Assignment of contacts (pinout) RHO-23:
* - On Subaru Legacy and some other cars, it is necessary to connect (instead of one of the high beam lamps disconnected from the standard wiring) a 330-470 ohm resistor with a power of at least 0.5 W in order to remove the parasitic glow of the LED (high beam control) on the dashboard. The resistor will bypass the LED, which without it, due to some interference, glows barely noticeably, which misleads the car owner, who instinctively tries to “turn off” the distant one. Only relevant for LED lamps on the dashboard.
By the way, this relay is a good alternative to frequently replacing double-filament H15 lamps.
Usually, owners of cars with such daytime running lights (Skoda, Lada) are horrified to find out how much a seemingly simple lamp costs. But the main mental discomfort comes from the realization that you have to throw away the lamp despite the fact that its main thread is practically new.
By installing the RHO-23 relay, you can forget about replacing expensive H15 lamps for many years.
Installation diagram for running lights
Now let's move on to the installation diagram. An important requirement when arranging the circuit is the automatic switching on of the optics when the ignition is activated. According to the diagram, DRLs should be turned on without the use of additional control components - switches. Therefore, you will not need to install an additional control button in the car interior. To install DRLs according to this scheme, the optics must be connected to the ignition.
Photo gallery “Connection diagrams”
1. The most optimal option for connecting optics
2. The same diagram, more clearly
3. Circuit without using a relay
How to obtain permission for reconstruction
Regarding the issuance of permission to install running lights, you will most likely be refused. The man spent 2 years and 8 thousand rubles, and never achieved any results. although he collected all the documents and installed the DRL in a specialized service. And in the end they answered him:
We cannot issue you a permit. You are the first who decided to officially install DRLs. We have never issued such conclusions. This is a pilot project. We are not sure that if we give you permission, then they will not do anything to us for it. Today we will allow you - and tomorrow the crowds will come here with the same thing. Drive like this - you don’t get stopped for them, do you? Well, that’s wonderful! Maybe someday the time will come and you will become a pioneer!…
As a result, it turns out that you can install running lights without permission from the authorities and drive safely. But it is unknown how long this will last. And won’t they issue a decree on the design of DRLs, as was the case with towbars, because we so love to “shod” the already poor Russians.
Characteristics of DRL headlights
Instead of daytime running lights, the driver can use DRL headlights; this development was invented by European specialists. In this case, the reflector uses a 12-watt halogen light source, very similar to an an-distance light. When installing such optics, the light flux will be directed not at the road surface, as with low beam lighting, but into the eyes of other motorists. But at the same time, it will not blind drivers, but will provide better visibility of the car on the road. If you are interested in this method, this function can be implemented using high beams, while the headlights will shine not at half, but only at a third of the power.
Principle of operation
How does high beam work at full intensity? When the driver turns on the high beams, the optics will glow rather dimly, but this is enough to identify their vehicle on the road. At the same time, the light will not blind other road users. Of course, for this you need to install a separate button. When this button is turned off, the optics will switch to high beam mode. It should be noted that this will not in any way affect the implementation of all long-range lighting functions (the author of the video is Vitaly Sussky).
Advantages and disadvantages
If you decide to use high beams at full intensity instead of DRLs, then if you implement the task correctly, you will be able to experience the following advantages:
- Firstly, you don’t have to buy LED optics separately and waste time installing them. Accordingly, if you don’t understand anything about electrics, you also save yourself from having to spend money on installing headlights.
- Secondly, with the correct implementation of the circuit, you can ensure that the load on the battery will be lower. Accordingly, the likelihood that an older battery will discharge faster is minimized. This advantage is especially important for car enthusiasts who use dead batteries in the cold season, when they discharge even faster.
- Thirdly, the service life of low-beam lighting sources becomes longer. So you save yourself from more frequent financial costs for purchasing lamps.
- In addition, when implementing a DRL system, the luminous flux will shine a little higher, accordingly, the vehicle will be more noticeable in the flow of cars.
- When this feature is enabled, the tail lights will not illuminate, so they will not be able to “mask” the brake lights. This not only improves driving safety, but also allows you to increase the service life of the rear lamps.
- Also, you will not encounter the problem of dimming the interior lighting. When the side lights are on and the sun is bright outside, it will be more difficult for the driver to see the radio screen.
- Some car enthusiasts note that with the right approach, you can even achieve a reduction in fuel consumption. This figure is small, only about 0.15 liters per hour. However, this benefit can only be achieved if the engine is running correctly and fuel consumption is not increased beyond normal.
As for the shortcomings, in principle, there are none. The only disadvantages include the installation and implementation of the scheme, which can cause difficulties. But this problem can also be solved by carefully reading the instructions or contacting specialists.
Popular options for organizing daylighting in a car
After reading all of the above, some motorists may be upset. But in vain - there is a way out of this situation, because it is not necessary to use branded LED headlights. Light sources that you can install yourself, taking into account the technical tolerances of a certain car design, are quite suitable. There are many electrical circuits with which the system will be activated, including connection from a generator - everyone chooses their own option.
