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TheWizard

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Everything posted by TheWizard

  1. TheWizard
    I think the forum software converts text all in CAPS into Proper Case so it doesn't look like shouting (although the proper case is almost as annoying).
  2. TheWizard
    I'm confused... GAP insurance and extended warranty are two completely different things. GAP insurance covers the difference between the value of the vehicle if it gets totaled and the outstanding loan amount. Extended warranty is just that - a repair warranty for mechanical problems. Most warranties don't cover things like water damage (just as home insurance doesn't cover flood damage) but they are really reaching by using that as an excuse in this case. Your problem really isn't any different than if you had a windshield leak (a warrantied repair) that caused water damage to the radio - any damage resulting from an item covered under warranty should also be covered. Unless they're saying that the drain tube blockage was not covered because it was a maintenance item?
  3. TheWizard
    I don't think anybody is talking about having both colors on all the time - just one or the other. It is not possible to have both the amber and white LEDs in the new DRLs on at the same time. As soon as you apply power to the black (turn signal) wire, the amber LEDs go on and the white ones go off. When you remove power from the black wire, the amber LEDs go off and the white ones turn back on. That's why the turn signals flash alternately amber and white.
  4. TheWizard
    Very true. You'd have to have the transitions material outside the headlamp assembly with some sort of UV blocking in the lamp's face so that the transitions material would only be affected by outside UV.
  5. TheWizard
    Wouldn't it be easier to just drive over to the dealer with a bunch of golf clubs and try it? I'm sure any reasonable dealer who wanted to make a sale would be more than happy to accommodate you.
  6. TheWizard
    You should never apologize for asking a question... we're all here to help each other out and it's not a dumb question if you don't know the answer. But I do have a whole bunch of dumb blonde jokes I could tell if you want.
  7. TheWizard
    In order to have 100% white LEDs when the lights are off, you need an ignition switched power source going to the lower socket on the Edge 2 lamp (the socket where the factory harness plugs in). You could modify the factory harness so that the yellow/blue wire that is powered by the parking/running lights is instead powered by an ignition switched source. Then you could connect the white wire to a source powered by the parking/running lights to get the Edge 2 lights to dim when other lights are on and retain the "courtesy" functions. That would accomplish what you're looking for... but why do it? You end up modifying factory wiring when you have a perfectly functional replacement harness supplied with the Edge 2 lights that does the same thing. I have no qualms about modifying factory configurations but I never do it if there is a way to accomplish the same thing without modifications.
  8. TheWizard
    Yes, you can use the stock harness but if you do, you get lights that function basically the same as the factory lights except much brighter. They won't work as DRLs unless you provide ignition switched power to turn them on without the other lights (headlights and/or parking/running lights). Alternatively, you could use the factory harness and also connect the white wire to an ignition switched source. This would give you all the factory functions plus DRLs but only at 70% brightness.
  9. TheWizard
    As I have previously stated, I do not recommend installing these lights (or any kind of accessory for that matter) in any way other than the manufacturer's recommendation. My description of the various wires and their function was merely for information to answer questions from other members. My temperature testing was related to my intended use of the amber LEDs for strobes running for long periods of time and had been related to Dan prior to being posted here. However, I am starting to find it troublesome that the members of this forum and I have been making discoveries about how these things work that appear to surprise the manufacturer. One would expect that a product like this would undergo extensive testing. Things like the fact that the lights can be powered by the loose white and black wires without requiring the ignition switched red wire should have been known before the first one shipped. It took me less than ten minutes to discover that on the set I received. The case temperature of 104 degrees implies that the internal temperature is well below the 130 degree maximum sustained temperature usually specified for integrated circuits - especially since I've been told that the amber LEDs are mounted to a heat sink. My other concern is the fact that important opportunities were missed in the design. For example, merely swapping the position on the internal circuit board where the white and red wires are attached would have made most of the replacement harness unnecessary - the lamps could have been plugged into the factory harness. I won't go into a detailed description here as I have already done so by email with Dan. I think these lights are an excellent "beta" of a product that could be outstanding with some more work.
  10. TheWizard
    Russ is correct... the configuration in the installation instructions result in the loss of the "courtesy" lock/unlock function. There are four wires connecting to the new DRL lamps. The replacement harness has red and black wires (for power and ground respectively) and there are two additional wires (white and black) through a rubber grommet above the harness plug. The black wire in the harness must be connected to ground in order for any of the light functions to work. Applying power to the white wire will light the white LEDs at 70% regardless of other connections (except the ground previously mentioned). This is why changing the installation so that the white wire connects to the original vertical light connector retains the courtesy lock/unlock function. Applying power to the loose black wire (the one from the rubber grommet) lights the amber LEDs at full power and turns off the white LEDs if they were on regardless of other connections. Given constant power, the amber LEDs will stay on and the white LEDs will stay off. With the on/off flashing power from the turn signal circuit, the amber LEDs will flash together with the other turn signals. If the white LEDs were on, they will flash alternately with the amber LEDs. Applying power to the red wire lights the white LEDs - at full power if nothing else is powered or at 70% if the white wire also has power. To make the lamps work as DRLs, the module must be connected to ignition controlled power either with the red wire (100%) or the white wire (70%).
  11. TheWizard
    No, I won't be able to work on it this weekend. It is at the dealer once again to have yet another steering rack installed under warranty. We probably won't get it back until at least Wednesday.
  12. TheWizard
    No, I agree with you - headlights and tail lights should not be tinted. But my primary objection is to the reduction in light caused by the tint so spitballing about an automated tint/clear solution is kinda fun.
  13. TheWizard
    Depends on what you mean by "act as DRLs". Wired as the instructions show, the lights will be on whenever the ignition is on. They will dim to 70% brightness when the headlights are on but they will stay on. They will alternately flash amber and white with the turn signals and then return to solid white when the signals are off. If they aren't dimming with the headlights on then the white wire is not properly connected... chances are the ScotchLock crimp-on connector didn't make good contact. If they aren't flashing amber with the turn signals then the loose black wire is not connected properly... probably for the same reason.
  14. TheWizard
    Yes, that's what you'll get. And the question isn't dumb but the answer is "never". The only way to have parking/running lights without headlights is to select P on the headlight switch (not including the flashes that the car does automatically when unlocking, etc.)
  15. TheWizard
    I certainly don't want to step on anyone's toes and I certainly would never advise doing something against a manufacturer's directions... but I did some extensive bench testing (with Dan's approval) last weekend. That included running the amber lights as strobes for 2.5 hours and then as DRLs for an additional 4 hours. The ambient temperature was 86.4 and the highest temperature recorded on the back of the light module was 104.1 - warm but not even uncomfortable to the touch. The front was even lower, never exceeding 94.8 degrees. So I don't personally think there is any danger to the circuits from running them full time but I will defer to the manufacturer (in other words, don't hook them up that way and ever expect warranty replacements).
  16. TheWizard
    Unfortunately, you can't really do that unless you want the white LEDs to do exactly the same things as your current DRL/turn signal/running lights. That includes not only the DRL function but also flashing when you use your turn signals. If that is what you want, you would modify the included harness to eliminate the relay (and everything above it such as the fuse tap) and then splice the harness red wire that originally went from the relay to the lamp into the DRL/turn signal power wire and then splice the harness black wire into the turn signal ground wire. You would want to connect the loose white wire to your running lights power so that the white LEDs would be on at 70% with the running lights/headlights. Otherwise, they would turn off completely when the factory DRLs were not on (except for flashing with the turn signals). To me, this is not a good option because it creates upper amber turn signals with lower white turn signals. On the other hand, you could use the new built-in amber LEDs instead of the white ones for DRLs. If you connect the loose black wire (not the one in the harness) to the factory DRL/turn signal wire, the white wire to the headlight power wire, and plug in the factory harness instead of the supplied harness you will get the following combinations: - with running lights (including headlights) off... the new Edge lights will be amber DRLs and turn signals matching the function of the factory ones. - with only running lights on... the new Edge lights will be white 100% brightness and will flash alternating white/amber for the turn signals. - with headlights on... the new Edge lights will be white 70% brightness and flash alternating white/amber for the turn signals. Actually, that's not the problem. The new Edge lights will dim whenever power is applied to the white wire so you could connect the white wire to the headlight power so that they would run at 70% when the headlights are on.
  17. TheWizard
    The factory parking/running lights (tail lights, side marker lights, etc.) are always on when the headlights are on so I will refer only to the running lights in this explanation unless I need to reference the headlights specifically. It does not matter whether the lights go on because you manually turned the switch or because you have the switch set to "auto" and it gets dark outside - the thing that matters is whether the lights are on, not what caused them to go on. If you plug the factory harness into the new Edge DRL lights without connecting the extra white or black wires, you will have no lights when the running lights are off. You will have white LEDs at full brightness when the running lights are on. If you plug the factory harness into the new Edge DRL lights and also splice the white wire into the same harness (connect it to the yellow/blue power wire), you will still have no lights when the running lights are off. You will have white LEDs at 70% brightness when the running lights are on. If you plug the factory harness into the new Edge DRL lights and also splice the white wire into the headlight harness (connect it to the brown/blue power wire on the left and the blue/green power wire on the right), you will still have no lights when the running lights are off. You will have white LEDs at full brightness when just the running lights are on and white LEDs at 70% brightness when the headlights are on. The ONLY way to make the lamps function as DRLs (be on at full power during the day when no other lights are on) is to connect ignition controlled power to the lamps using the harness provided with them.
  18. TheWizard
    Good point! Maybe they could be designed to be sensitive to only certain wavelengths but sunlight contains most wavelengths so it might not be practical. A less expensive version of the electrically controlled tinting would probably be a better solution.
  19. TheWizard
    Actually no, I misspoke about the 70%. If you plug in the factory connector instead of the one that comes with the lights, the vertical lights will be full power whenever the parking lights or headlights are on. In essence, the parking light power feed in the factory harness substitutes for the ignition switched power in the replacement harness. If that is too bright, you could splice the white wire into the factory connector as well to limit the LEDs to only 70% output. Or you could splice the white wire into the headlight power wire so that the vertical lights would be full power with parking lights on but 70% with headlights on.
  20. TheWizard
    I did some testing and found that you can indeed just plug in the factory harness and the lights will work just like the factory ones except brighter (at 70% of their full DRL brightness).
  21. TheWizard
    Well, the great thing about advancing technology is that things always end up coming down in price, so maybe someday such a thing will be available. Another thought... what about something that's the reverse of those auto-tint eyeglasses? The glasses darken with light but if you could make them lighten with light then there would be no need for power connections and they could be made of plastic. Just turning on the headlights would provide enough light to make the lens lighten. BTW, I want royalties if anyone actually makes these things.
  22. TheWizard
    I've often wondered why nobody has come up with some kind of electronic tint for headlights (or tail lights). Something like that material that is normally clear but will change to smoke or opaque black when a current is applied. You could have it cover the headlights, apply power when the ignition is on to black out the lights and then turn off the power when the headlights go on to make the cover clear again. Even better would be a material that is normally dark and goes clear when power is applied - that way they would be dark even with the car off and only go clear when the headlights are on. Best of both worlds - blackout look during the day with no loss of lighting at night.
  23. TheWizard
    I would be amazed if there is a Ford programming option to turn on the bumper lights as DRLs since the factory lights are much too dim to meet legal requirements where DRLs are required. The headlight and turn signal options make sense because the lights are much brighter.
  24. TheWizard
    When you burn an audio CD, you have the option of including CD-text on the disc - that's what gives you artist and title information. Most major distributors don't do that on their retail discs so that information has to come from someplace else or you only see track numbers. Many CD ripping programs do online lookups of track metadata to create the file tags when saving to MP3 files. The other option is having a player that does those lookups from a music database. My Mustang has a Gracenote database installed with the navigation system so it will generally show title and artist information for CDs that were in the database when I bought the car (I haven't paid Ford's exorbitant price for updates). I don't know if the Edge includes a similar database.
  25. TheWizard
    To be honest, I haven't installed it yet. I had the front end off last weekend to install a remote radar detector, front camera, and strobe lights. I'm going to try to install the inside stuff (including the LockPick) this weekend if I can.
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