2003 - 2006 FTDRL and All-On-High

[vertabatt]

Ok, I have been getting a lot of questions about this mod and I know the directions are out there, but I wanted to make a very clear step-by-step set of instructions for the electrically challenged people (like me!). Not to mention 2002 directions get mixed in on some older threads and it gets confusing.  Here are the directions for the diode method for 2003-2006 Avalanches to get FTDRLs (Full-Time Daytime Running Lights) and All-On-High (High/Lows/Fogs/DRL come on when switching to high beams or using "flash to pass").  This will NOT work for 2002 or 2007+ models...

A PDF of the walkthrough can be found here: pdf (Courtesy of erickpl)


Materials:
•4 Diodes (I used N914-Type Diodes) pic.1
•Heat shrink (optional, but highly recommended!) pic.2
•Knife or scissors to cut heat shrink tubing
•Lighter or heat gun to use on heat shrink
•Pliers to remove relays (sometimes they can be difficult to remove by hand)

You can find both the diodes and heat shrink at your local radio shack.  My diodes came in a 50 pack (only about $2) and the heat shrink came in a variety pack with multiple sizes (also about $2).  I used the smallest size shrink wrap from the pack).

Estimated time: 20-30 Minutes

pic.1 shows the diodes I used and packaging.  pic.2 shows the diode next to a heat shrink tube I cut to the proper size (more about this below!).

[vertabatt]

Directions

1) First we will need to prepare our diodes for installation.  All you need to do is wrap them in heat shrink.  So take some of your heat shrink and line it up with a diode like I did in the previous picture (yours will be longer as I had already cut mine in that pic).  Cut the heat shrink with a knife or scissors so that just a bit of the tips are sticking out when the diode is inserted into the tube of heat shrink.

2) Now before you heat shrink it look at the diode.  Note the black stripe on the center piece of the diode.  Remember which side this is on before you heat shrink.  Center the diode in the heat shrink tube and hold a lighter up to it.  The heat shrink now forms tightly around the diode!  (see pic.1) Do this with 4 diodes (making a note of which side the black stripe is on for all of them).  You might want to mark the tube with some white out so you don't forget.

3) Now with our 4 nicely heat shrunk diodes we are ready to get into the Avalanche.  You will need to locate the under hood fuse box.  Guess where it is? UNDER THE HOOD.  Pop it open and take a look. (see pic.2).

[vertabatt]

Directions Continued

4) Open up the fuse box by pulling off the cover... it should come off nice and easy.  Now you should see a bunch of pretty colors in there as well as a diagram on the back of the cover telling you where everything is (this will come in handy!)  (see pic.1)

5) You will be removing 4 of the gray boxes in there 2 at a time, these are relays.  I marked these with white rectangles in pic.2.  These relays are marked on your diagram on the lid as "HDLP-HI" (high beams), "DRL" (Daytime Running Lights), "HDLP-LOW" (low beams), and "FOG LP" (fog lights) Note that 3 of these relays are identical while 1 is different (look at the numbers on the top of them).  The one that is different is the fog relay.

[vertabatt]

Directions Continued

6) Now with your hand, or by using the pliers if it is too difficult, pull out the HDLP-HI relay by lifting it straight up.  The bottom of the relay will have 4 prongs sticking downward and you will see the 4 corresponding holes that they came out of.  Place the relay to the side... When I did this I placed the relay on the lid diagram corresponding to where I got it from so I wouldn't goof it up.

7) We are now going to set it up so our fogs come on when we switch on the high beams!  If you don't want this you can skip down ahead.  You will still be able to set up FTDRLs (diodes 3 and 4) and/or All-4-On Hi (diode 2).

Now remove the FOG LP relay.  This is the one that is closest to you and the fender of the truck. Take a look at the first pic.  This is what it will look like with the two relays removed...ignore the fact that I am pulling out a 3rd relay!   

8 ) Now take one of your diodes and insert the exposed end CLOSEST to the black stripe into the HDLP-HI 85 hole.  This is marked on your lid diagram.  Now take the other end (which is FARTHER from the black stripe) and stick it into the FOG LP 85 hole.  If you forgot which side the stripe was on go ahead and install the diode anyway (you have a 50% chance of getting it right and you won't damage your truck if you get it wrong... I went through this myself  haha)  you can see my installed diode in pic.1 as well as another diode that we soon will be installing.

9) Reinstall the FOG LP relay... remember this is the one with the different numbers on it (8567 the 3 other relays are 8866).  The relay should fit snugly and take a little push as it is now sharing the 85 hole with the diode.  Now reinstall the HDLP-HI relay the same way.  Don't worry about the diode running under the relay, it'll be fine under there.

10) CHECK YOUR WORK!  You should now have Fogs-On-Hi done, so go ahead and turn on your high beams... your fogs should be on too!  If you were one of my fellow idiots who forgot which side the black stripe was on after heat shrinking you may need to turn the diode around if it isn't working.  If you did install it properly and its not working make sure the diode is in the relay holes deep enough.  The tips need to make contact down in the hole.

Diode 1 of 4 COMPLETE! see pic.2

[vertabatt]

Directions Continued

11) Now that you have installed one diode successfully we are on easy street! The process is simply repeated for diodes 2-4.  Now we are ready for All-4-On-Hi.  This diode will keep your low beams on when you switch on your high beams (normally your low beams shut off when you turn on your high beams).  Using the same process, remove the HDLP-HI and the HDLP-LOW relays.

12) Now install your diode in the same fashion that you did your last one! Put the black stripe end into HDLP-HI 85 hole and the other end in the HDLP-LOW 85 hole.  Reinstall the relays again... now you have 2 diodes in the HDLP-HI 85 hole.  Check your work!  Now you should see your high beams, low beams, and fog lights on when you switch on your highs! Sweet! You now have All-4-On-Hi and Fogs-On-Hi!

Diode 2 of 4 COMPLETE!

13) Now we are getting to the good stuff: FTDRLs!  Remove the HDLP-HI relay and the DRL relay.  Put the black stripe end of your diode into the HDLP-HI 85 hole (just as the last two) and the other end into the 85 hole of the DRL relay.  Reinstall your relays and lets see if it worked.  Put on your high beams and you should see every light on (Highs, lows, fogs, and now DRL)! 

Diode 3 of 4 COMPLETE!

14) you: sweet vertabatt I have FTDRLs right?
me: NOPE! not yet!

Switch your lights to low beams, DRLs are no longer on! The way it is set up now DRLs only come on when the Highs are on.  So lets install that 4th diode and take care of it!  Remove the HDLP-LOW relay and the DRL relay.  Put the black stripe end of your diode into the HDLP-LOW 85 hole and the other end into the DRL 85 hole.  Replace your relays and check it! You should now have DRLs on when your low beams are engaged (see pic.1)! Switching over to high beams your low/high/fogs/and drl should still come on as before.   Some members call this All-On-Hi.

Diode 4 of 4 COMPLETE!

Your fuse box should now look like mine (see pic.2). 

[vertabatt]

You may not want all of these lighting mods so here is a key to get what you specifically want:

Fogs-On-Hi ONLY: install diode 1

All-4-On-Hi ONLY: install diode 2

FTDRLs ONLY: install diodes 3 and 4

Please note that I have added directions for a 5th diode that will activate fogs simultaneously with the low beams.  See details on the bottom of page 4!

Fogs-On-Low ONLY: install diode 5 (see page 5 of this thread)

You can do each of these individually to get a combination that you want!

Good luck!!!

ps. this walkthrough is dedicated to ShadowAv, the member who finally set me over the edge to make this.   


The final product:

[RENORCR]

Nice Work! 

[TJLydenJr]

One of the most thorough and comprehensive MOD threads I have seen posted...awesome job posting this often MOD.  I know others will appreciate the extra time and effort placed into this post.  Great job!

TJ

[vertabatt]

thanks guys... took me a lot longer to write than up than expected!  The mod itself was easier than that write-up!

Hopefully this will help some people out!  I know I struggled to find good directions when I did mine...

Also, it should be noted that all of this can be completely reversed without a trace by removing the diodes!

 

[RoseCityAV]

How hard is it to get 2 and even 3 wires into the slots without damaging anything?

BTW, nice touch with the shrink wrap, got some yesterday....waiting for some warm weather so I can,

                    LIGHT UP THE NIGHT 

Thanks for the detailed instructions, that helps alot

[vertabatt]

It is easy to get all the diodes in.  The HDLP-HI 85 slot will have 3 diodes in it if all mods are done.  The diodes I listed are thinner than the ones most people have used so it fits fine without any damage and works great.

[RoseCityAV]

Hey vertabatt, got  a chance with some half decent weather to do this mod....
Everything worked fine, checked every step but, and theres always a but, right 
I noticed at the end, my turn signal bulbs stay on and when I use the turn signal, the signal flashes and the other bulb remains on....
also, my fog lights have stopped working completely....I removed the diode between high and fog, still no fog lights....might I have blown the relay?

I double checked everything again and it looks right, getting a little cold out so, I can look again tomorrow.....thought about it, as I was sitting here typing, I should have removed the last diode to see what happens   

Any suggestions would be appreciated, thanks

[RoseCityAV]

Looking at it again, I may have reveresed #4 diode....will check tomorrow

[vertabatt]

Sorry to hear you are having problems!  This should be a pretty much risk free mod... when I did it I put in diodes to the wrong relay slots and put em in backwards with no concequences..  maybe I was just lucky.

I noticed at the end, my turn signal bulbs stay on and when I use the turn signal, the signal flashes and the other bulb remains on....

This is completely normal operation when your headlights are on.  Your truck did this before you installed any diodes. So hopefully your lights were on when you saw this.

also, my fog lights have stopped working completely....I removed the diode between high and fog, still no fog lights....might I have blown the relay?

Sounds like a blown fuse to me, but I'm no expert... someone should chime in and give you a hand with that one.

Looking at it again, I may have reveresed #4 diode....will check tomorrow

Thats the exact reason I set up this walkthrough so that you check your diodes each step... makes it easy to pinpoint the problem.  you COULD just put in all 4 diodes at one time, but it might be more difficult to troubleshoot any problems.

theoretically, reversing diode 4 would cause your low beams to come on when your DRLs are on (ie when your head lights are off). Doesn't sound like you are experiencing this problem, but double check your diodes anyway.

I suggest getting your fogs straighened out and start from the beginning again.  Also, make sure you replaced the fog relay back in the right place.  Remember that this relay is different than the other 3. 

[agfracing]

Hi all. This is my first post. I have been a member here for 1 1/2 yrs. I just installed my amber drls and did the all on high mod. Excellent install info. I also just installed flowmaster american thunders last fri. gotta love that sound. I am an old school hot rodder and just woke up again to realize we can still make mods to the newer generation of trucks. I am like a kid in a candy store. I have an appointment for sat. to get a sub box and amp installed. Also just ordered the good hood ram air hood and air kit. Can't wait. Also bought new tail lights carbon fiber look. I will send pictures when its all done........

[vertabatt]

Hi all. This is my first post. I have been a member here for 1 1/2 yrs. I just installed my amber drls and did the all on high mod. Excellent install info. I also just installed flowmaster american thunders last fri. gotta love that sound. I am an old school hot rodder and just woke up again to realize we can still make mods to the newer generation of trucks. I am like a kid in a candy store. I have an appointment for sat. to get a sub box and amp installed. Also just ordered the good hood ram air hood and air kit. Can't wait. Also bought new tail lights carbon fiber look. I will send pictures when its all done........

Awsome! Make sure you post some pics of your Av as you pimp it... and way to post finally! (took you long enough) 

[Didit]

  ty ty ty , did this mod this evening, all of five bucks, I went for broke and just put the diodes in all at once, took me longer to put the shrink wrap on and melt em than it did to do it, AND I only burnt my finger ONCE< woohoooo drove around the interstate to mail a letter at the post office which is about a mile away, lol.   I love em!!

[vertabatt]

ty ty ty , did this mod this evening, all of five bucks, I went for broke and just put the diodes in all at once, took me longer to put the shrink wrap on and melt em than it did to do it, AND I only burnt my finger ONCE< woohoooo drove around the interstate to mail a letter at the post office which is about a mile away, lol.   I love em!!

Kickass!  Told you guys this is easy! 

[joeynym]

this thread should be stickied....

[naylor99]

All,

One question and one comment on this mod;

Question - Is it necessary or recommended that the battery be disconnected during this mod?

Comment - Use clear heat shrink tubing so there is no confusion about the diode direction. It is harder to find, but anytime you are using diodes it is a good idea.

Really good writeup, thanks!

--BN

[vertabatt]

Question - Is it necessary or recommended that the battery be disconnected during this mod?
--BN

Nope, not nessisary! Might actually be a hassle to disconnect and reconnect constantly to test your work...

Comment - Use clear heat shrink tubing so there is no confusion about the diode direction. It is harder to find, but anytime you are using diodes it is a good idea.

Good tip!  Never seen clear shrink wrap before

[Iceberg]

I left the battery connected when I did mine.  No problem.  I even messed with a diode with the lights on by mistake.(no damage. Lucky!!)

[Jurgen]

Hello,

Ive got a 02 and my fusebox is different then the 03-06.

Is there an easy way to do mine also like this one.

[vertabatt]

Hello,

Ive got a 02 and my fusebox is different then the 03-06.

Is there an easy way to do mine also like this one.

This will help you with FTDRLs:  http://64.91.234.154/cafcna/index.php/topic,14932.0.html

I'm not sure about the directions for All-On-High for the 2002.  Do some searches and you should be able to find what you are looking for.

I was specifically trying to keep 2002 info outta here to avoid confusion for people.

[vertabatt]

Praise for my awesomeness:

Thanks for your detailed help with 4 on hi and fogs. I never would have done this with out your step by step details. Thanks again

-Bryan Mac

But seriously... this is a great mod for club members!  Night ambers = way totally badass! 

Way to go Bryan! Keep the mod comin!