Adding DRL control to left instrument cluster - Canadian Edge

[ONEDGE16]

After a few days of research and thanks to an excellent write up from the G2 fusion forum, I was able to add Daytime Lights option to the left instrument cluster. I used OBDLink MX and Forscan (Windows 10)

 

Link to G2 Fusion Info:

 

http://www.2gfusions.net/showthread.php?tid=4573

 

Here are the pics:

 

Before

 

and after:

 

 

 

At the same time added Climate to the right instrument cluster

Edited July 8, 2017 by ONEDGE16

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

Sweet!

[blitz118]

What model Edge do you have? That option has been standard on the 2015 Edge Sports.

[ONEDGE16]

What model Edge do you have? That option has been standard on the 2015 Edge Sports.

2016 MY- not standard on Canadian Edge as DRL is mandatory

[TheWizard]

Yes, so why would you want to be able to turn off lights that are required by law where you live?

[ONEDGE16]

Yes, so why would you want to be able to turn off lights that are required by law where you live?

"The Motor Vehicle Safety Act dictates all vehicles sold or imported into Canada after Dec. 1, 1989, must have automatic daytime running lights (DRLs). However, Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act doesn’t require the use of DRLs. Full lights must be on in darkness or poor visibility under S. 62 HTA."

Currenlty only Nova Scotia Province have DRL or Low beam (for older cars) as mandatory.

Thus, i would like to have the options to turn them on or off as I wish.

[cv27]

Out of curiosity, when would you prefer to have them off?

[ONEDGE16]

Out of curiosity, when would you prefer to have them off?

I'd rather have them off all the time. Why? I can think of a few reasons:

 

1- Signature LED lights are already on all the time. No real need for the DRL on top of it.

2- If i ever decide to do an HID retrofit (not an HID PnP kit)

3- DRL is mainly North American thing. Most of the world don't even have DRL or consider it as a safety requirement. Spent years leaving in Europe and drove in all kinds of weather. No DRLs; mainly good Fog lights (including rear fog lights) in fog, heavy rain and snowy conditions and overall good lights on the car.

[TheWizard]

1 - those signature LED lights are nowhere near bright enough to provide the same visibility as DRLs.

2 - the fact that you would only consider an HID retrofit rather than a plug-and-play kit indicates that you are concerned about safety and proper lighting yet you want to disable a feature designed specifically to increase safety by making vehicles easier to distinguish from background objects.

3 - European Union regulations require all cars made since 2011 to have DRLs. Nordic countries and Canada have required them since the '90s. GM has been installing them since 1995 and estimates that they have prevented about 100,000 accidents since then compared to competitor's vehicles not equipped with them.

 

So basically your list is designed to validate the fact that you just don't like the looks of them. The only really valid reason I have heard for having a defeat capability applies to automatic headlights and vehicles using headlights as DRLs for those who must enter military bases. The bases restrict bright lights on vehicles approaching the gates so the ability to shut them off is useful in that limited case.

 

I admit that as a motorcycle rider I was not pleased by the Canadian option to use headlights as DRLs because it made motorcycles (which must run headlights at all times) less distinctive. I liked the way GM used amber turn signal lamps for DRLs on many of their models and have since adapted that idea (using very bright LED bulbs to reduce heat buildup) to my Mustang which didn't come with DRLs from the factory.

[akirby]

The NHTSA looked at the data and decided it was not statistically significant enough to prove a correlation with reduced accidents.

 

My personal theory is that if you're turning into a lane with an oncoming vehicle close enough to hit you and you actually look, you'll see it with or without DRLs. Most accidents come from people not looking at all in which case DRLs won't help. The exception would be dusk if someone forgot to turn on their lights but the solution to that is to mandate automatic headlamps that come on before it gets too dark. What happens with DRLs is that people see the headlamps on and think they have their lights on but they don't and they have no taillights which could be even more dangerous.

 

Motorcycles are different because of their size and the fact that people are typically looking for a car.

[ben senise]

At the same time added Climate to the right instrument cluster

 

 

if you have a chance, could you post a pic of the climate controls on the right cluster? i was thinking about getting the forscan setup and I think this might actually get to do it.

[ONEDGE16]

The NHTSA looked at the data and decided it was not statistically significant enough to prove a correlation with reduced accidents.

 

My personal theory is that if you're turning into a lane with an oncoming vehicle close enough to hit you and you actually look, you'll see it with or without DRLs. Most accidents come from people not looking at all in which case DRLs won't help. The exception would be dusk if someone forgot to turn on their lights but the solution to that is to mandate automatic headlamps that come on before it gets too dark. What happens with DRLs is that people see the headlamps on and think they have their lights on but they don't and they have no taillights which could be even more dangerous.

 

Motorcycles are different because of their size and the fact that people are typically looking for a car.

Couldn't agree more. Low intensity DRLs with no tailights are not much of a safety feature. just today on the way to work came across a car on the road with jut DRLs on (no headlamps/tailights). I would be more in favor of mandatory auto headlamps and fog lights (both front and rear fog lights)

Edited July 10, 2017 by ONEDGE16

[ONEDGE16]

 

 

if you have a chance, could you post a pic of the climate controls on the right cluster? i was thinking about getting the forscan setup and I think this might actually get to do it.

Here are the pics:

 

 

 

 

here's the section that was changed:

 

IPC 720-05-01 xxXx xxxx xxxx

 

Change xxXx to xxBx (all other values remain unchanged)

Edited July 10, 2017 by ONEDGE16

[TheWizard]

The NHTSA looked at the data and decided it was not statistically significant enough to prove a correlation with reduced accidents.

 

My personal theory is that if you're turning into a lane with an oncoming vehicle close enough to hit you and you actually look, you'll see it with or without DRLs. Most accidents come from people not looking at all in which case DRLs won't help. The exception would be dusk if someone forgot to turn on their lights but the solution to that is to mandate automatic headlamps that come on before it gets too dark. What happens with DRLs is that people see the headlamps on and think they have their lights on but they don't and they have no taillights which could be even more dangerous.

 

Motorcycles are different because of their size and the fact that people are typically looking for a car.

 

Yes, the NHTSA concluded that DRLs don't offer "statistically significant" safety benefits. They did so by changing the calculations. Instead of using simple odds they used ratio of odds which, by their own admission, is much more conservative. And they arbitrarily decided that anything less than 5% was not statistically significant. I don't know about you but with over 35,000 fatalities in 2015 (NHTSA statistics), a 5% reduction seems to be significant... 1,750 lives potentially saved.

 

Other studies, even in the US, have shown higher numbers than that. Aside from the Nordic countries which have lower light levels and therefore benefit more from additional lighting, Canada, Australia and European countries have seen 6% - 11% reductions in daytime crashes due to DRLs. But oh no, we are all so sure that the NHTSA would mandate any technology that saves lives on the road - like side airbags or anti-lock brakes (neither of which are currently mandatory).

[akirby]

There are too many variables in crashes to isolate the contribution of DRLs.

 

How do you reconcile the notion of someone looking in the direction of an oncoming vehicle that is close enough that they can't avoid hitting you if you pull out and not seeing them without DRLs and then saying that if they had DRLs they would have seen them. Doesn't make sense to me. I can see it in low light but the solution to that is automatic headlamps that come on sooner.

[TheWizard]

Actually, I find that the usefulness of DRLs has nothing to do with "oh crap" last moment visibility situations. Here in Florida (and in many other parts of the country), a lot of roads have tree cover on both sides creating a mottled background of light and shade on the road. This is most noticeable in bright daylight when cars tend to disappear into the background and movement is hard to see because of the "camouflage" - in darker conditions the lighting is more even so it doesn't produce the camouflage effect as much. I have noticed many times when I'm in an intersection waiting to make a left turn that it is much easier to see an approaching vehicle under tree cover when it has DRLs compared to vehicles that don't. These situations don't happen all the time but certainly often enough to be grateful for the added visibility.

 

We're not talking about a magic bullet that will prevent all crashes but if something so simple and inexpensive can prevent even 5% of accidents due to visibility then it seems worthwhile. I can understand people not doing anything to add DRLs if they don't feel that the effectiveness justifies the effort (although a lot of people - including me - spent quite a bit on DBL's aftermarket DRLs). But I don't understand why someone would go out of their way to disable them when they already came on the vehicle. One may not believe that they are particularly effective but it certainly doesn't hurt anything to leave them there.

[akirby]

For that particular situation I can see where it would be beneficial especially at longer distances. However, at longer distances there is no imminent danger of a collision. Even at 60 mph you'd have to be pretty close to not be able to stop or avoid a collision.

 

I'm not advocating removing them or turning them off once they're there.

[bhamraS97]

Hi @ONEDGE16

 

I tried the Ford Focus excel sheet to enable DRL option https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1yax6zfhZYj2joBczEeruqKh9X5Qhee3C0ngilqwTA7E/pubhtml?gid=0&single=true

 

I changed 

 

But the DRL option still did not show up. Am I missing something?

 

Please advise

 

Update: Found my mistake (missed to update on value)

Edited April 7 by bhamraS97