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2002 Full Time DRLs - Instructions for UnderHood Mod

ohiobellboy said:
not if you move the drl feed to the middle of the plug instead of the outside pin in the plug.
There's a recent thread here showing how this is done.
Yes. Great fix for the burned out DRL sockets:
author=HenryJ said:
Like every other GM truck on the road, I have fought the battle of the burned DRL sockets. Lower candle power bulbs and dielectric silicone help the situation, but I don't think they are the whole answer. My DRL bulbs have been replaced with amber. I have added a diode to have them on all the time and I have also added a relay so that the wig-wag with the turn signals. I have noticed that since they use the high side element , the bulbs are cooking the amber, and I suspect the socket as well. I am sure that being on night and day has not helped the lifespan of the amber coating, or the socket.
Today I took a step to reduce the intensity. I replaced the inner socket with one from a turn signal lamp. This has both terminals so that the low power element of the bulb can be used.

lowa2.JPG


The center pin is the low element for the bulb. This is blanked off in the outer part of the stock DRL socket. Pretty simple to drill it out and up size the inner channel for the terminal.

lowa3.JPG


Once that was done , I moved the blue wire to the center position.
The brown inner socket donated from a turn signal socket needed a channel trimmed/ground into it to match the outer socket for the DRL. An abrasive cut off wheel on the grinder made quick work of that.

lowa.JPG
lowa4.JPG


Snap it all together and now my DRL use the low power element of the 3157A amber bulb. That should help the yellow coating of the bulb last longer and keep the socket from burning too.

Mine are set up to be on all the time and wig wag with the turn signals. This makes them a better match to the park lamps. Basically, I just turned them into an extended park light and turn signal.

lowa5.JPG

More here: BLT Offroad Avalanche






 
Flint4x4 said:
That sounds like the circuit rather than the lens or bulb, the LL or NALL wouldn't be brighter installed in the OEM signal socket ?
3157 and 4157 bulbs have two filaments in them.  One is low intensity and the other is higher intensity.  You can see them inside the bulb.  The leads for each filamet are on the outside of the bulb in different places.  DRL sockets connect voltage across the high intensity leads only.  Running lights have both leads in their sockets (at least on cladded AVs), where the running lights use the low voltage, and the turn signals use the higher intensity filament.
 
Trey said:
3157 and 4157 bulbs have two filaments in them.  One is low intensity and the other is higher intensity.  You can see them inside the bulb.  The leads for each filamet are on the outside of the bulb in different places.  DRL sockets connect voltage across the high intensity leads only.  Running lights have both leads in their sockets (at least on cladded AVs), where the running lights use the low voltage, and the turn signals use the higher intensity filament.
WBH are the same Trey, I just did mine the other day using HenryJ's pix. Looks a lot better. (y)
 
3157/4157 are for DRL's, and 3757/4757 are for running lights/turn signals.

They are notched differently, one in the middle of the edge connector (not the edges where the bulb contacts are, the other two sides), and the other bulb is on the side of the edges where the contacts are not located.

I found this out the hard way, although it was fairly easy to just cut the nub off to get them to fit.  I also had to flip one of the bulbs 180* to make it light up.

Short answer - just make sure to get 3157 or 4157 bulbs...  :)
 
Troublemaker said:
3157/4157 are for DRL's, and 3757/4757 are for running lights/turn signals.

They are notched differently, one in the middle of the edge connector (not the edges where the bulb contacts are, the other two sides), and the other bulb is on the side of the edges where the contacts are not located.

I found this out the hard way, although it was fairly easy to just cut the nub off to get them to fit.  I also had to flip one of the bulbs 180* to make it light up.

Short answer - just make sure to get 3157 or 4157 bulbs...  :)
My 2004 cladded AV uses 3157 for both.
 
3057, 3157 and 4157 all are the same socket. The bulbs have increasing levels of candle power. The higher number is the brightest and draws the most power. This also creates the most heat. I tried dropping the candle power down to the 3057 bulbs and still suffered the burned sockets.
 
I'm thinking this should work with those switchback LED bulbs.
 
Really....Really!!!! was it just that easy?

So i started with just putting amber lights in :love: LOVED IT!!!but didn't like that i don't get to show case them off much so i went
ahead and said screw it.... gonna try the Full time. not being the most car inclined person i took a whack at it 30 MINS LATER!!!!!!

5a52289c-ee93-429d-966a-8b8509ea5453_zps73aa0c8e.jpg


i know its a old thread but hey 2013.....and it kicks BUTT!!
 
2013 UPDATE !!

For anyone that is interested, the N914 by Radio Shack, was discontinued about 3 years ago, it is replaced with:

                                IN 4148 Diode
this is the same amperage and voltage as the old number. Should be available at any Electronic Supply store.
Additionally, you guys in the states have much easier rules, here in Canada, we are restricted to a maximum of only two axillary lights, you legally can not have all the lights on at the same time. This then falls under enforcement, which varies from province to province and from municipality to the next door neighbor.
I am hooking up my DRL's (amber) to the Low beam, I already have the HID Fog lights, they are great.
 
I just did mine. I only went with the FTDRLs very easy very quick thanks for the excellent write up  (y)
 

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Did my DRL's today. I'm thinking about doing the all 4's on high tomorrow. Still on the fence if I want to do that one or not.
My Diodes in clear heat shrink.
IMAG0320_zpsa2ac6da4.jpg

DRL'S with low beam.
IMAG0325_zps0018b9a5.jpg

DRL'S with high beam
IMAG0326_zpscb25f087.jpg
 
HenryJ said:
Looks good. Now Wigwag the DRL with a couple relays. I really like that on mine.
That's my next project is to wig wag them. Today I finished them up and did the all on high and the 5th diode fogs on low.
IMAG0327_zps8324d369.jpg
 
New Member Digital J here,

This was my first mod, got scared because while doing it I lost power and had to wait an entire day for a jump. But thanks to vertabatt I am now running FTDRLS and ALL on high without any knowledge of cars or electronics. Thanks!!!  (y)


 
Looks great Digital J.  Nice work.  Lots more mods on this site that you might like.  Welcome to the A/V Fan Club
 
Funnyabout Digital J saying his Av went completely dead for a day. One of the problems I've had over the past 6 years has been my '06 Av has gone completely stone dead (and I mean DEAD), on 3 different occasions. So dead that I couldn't even click the doors open. It was as if the battery had been removed from vehicle. I tried boosting it to no avail. It took a call to AAA to give it a kick in the ass and it started. Had the battery checked and it was fine. NO dead cells at all. I'm still using the same battery for all these years. But about every 2 years or so it happens again. No rhyme or reason. Anyone else experience this? I considered a new battery but I'm not sure it would cure the problem, especially since the problem disappears for years at a time. And yes, I checked for all sources of low level discharge like a courtesy light or a cell phone charger, but nothing. I've left things like that on for 2 days without discharging, but when these random problems have happened overnight from only 6-8 hours since last use. Gremlins?
Any ideas? :help:



















 
Thanks Dads04Z71 I plan on doing every mod possible especially if they are laid out and explained in grate detail like this one was (y). Jayben I would buy a new battery just for the hell of it, cant hurt and its a good start to trouble shooting your Avy.
 
+3000 thx for the great write up!

As a Canadian member I was having a hard time finding the diodes locally (disposable society). I discovered a great depot for electrical parts in the GTA called Sayal (http://www.sayal.com/zinc/index.asp) Picked up 10 diodes and clear heat shrink tubing for under $3 after taxes!

Good Luck, happy modding!
 
DigitalJNSA said:
Thanks Dads04Z71 I plan on doing every mod possible especially if they are laid out and explained in grate detail like this one was (y). Jayben I would buy a new battery just for the hell of it, cant hurt and its a good start to trouble shooting your Avy.

It's easy to say "buy a new battery ....can't hurt..."but that's only going to create a sense of false security. I need to find the source of the problem.
 
I just did the 4-on-high and fogs-on-with-headlights mods on my '04. I mainly did so in preparation for an HID conversion for the lows - turning HID's on and off is very hard on them, so I wanted them to stay lit with the high beams (much like the factory ones do in my 2011 Sonata). Wish I'd read this thread, I did my mod at the BCM under the dash. A few diodes in the fuse box definitely would have been easier...

I used to make wig-wag modules for 2002 and 2003-2006 Avalanches, long before I even owned one (2002's were my standard wigwag module with an added relay for ground output, 2003-2006 were ground-switched). I got out of it a few years ago when the Canadian dollar went way up and I couldn't make money at it anymore. I must make one up for my '04 some day...
 
Ok fellow Avy lovers I need help / advice plz. I followed the directions for changing over to FTDRL's to the letter, everything was going great and exactly as described in the instructions, got the fuse block out and flipped over with no issues; then boom! I was trying to remove the screw that holds down the "green" section of the fuse block, and it won't come out, I can turn it either way (clockwise, or counter) and the screw will not completely come out, I can feel it get loose as if it's dis-engaged, but as I continue to turn in either direction it starts to get tight again. Am I doing something wrong, has anyone else had this issue? 2002 W/Cladding... :help:
 
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