Keep LED Parking Lights On

[noahmb2005]

Is it possible (by FORSCAN or otherwise) to keep the lower LED light strips turned on while driving? I like the look of them on and it would be nice if I can keep them on during the day with my headlights in the auto position. Any input would be appreciated! TIA

 

[kryptto]

nothing I am aware of my Drive Bright lights stay on. though they are not factory, check my SIG.

 

[SHOrod]

If you want effectively all of the parking lights, front and rear, to come on when the car is running, the easy thing to do would be to pull the parking lamp relay and repurpose it to be triggered by a "hot in Run" circuit. But, if you only want the front lower LEDs to come on, then you would need to disconnect both lights from the rest of the parking lamp circuit (yellow/blue wire at both light assemblies) and power them via a relay from a "hot in Run" circuit. I don't imagine those LEDs draw much current so they should not require a really large or expensive relay.

-Rod

 

[Junkyard_Mad-Scientist]

I enabled DRL in forscan and used the W/HID option, it runs my turn signal lamps any time the car is in gear and I think the bumper strips come on too, I would have to double check and get back to you but there is a menu in forscan to play with the lights a bit.

 

[SHOrod]

it runs my turn signal lamps any time the car is in gear and I think the bumper strips come on too, I would have to double check and get back to you

It would pretty much have to since the wiring diagram shows the bumper strips spliced into the same circuit as the parking lights, and all parking lights controlled via the parking lamp relay.

It's nice to know that function can be enabled via Forscan. That's just one more good excuse for Noahmb2025 to get Forscan....

-Rod

 

[Junkyard_Mad-Scientist]

Thats cool to know theyre tied together, the setting turns on the bright ambers (as if the turn signal was stuck on) so I would assume the same circuit is still live, Ill check anyway when I get home. I enabled it for good reason, I got into an accident at a young age, rear ended at a dead stop by an off duty deputy doing 45 without any attempt of braking. They blamed her for distracted driving since she immediately apologized to me and said she was looking at her phone. I blame the dark tinted tail lights I had on my car but they were shattered so no one could attempt to say that was the reason. Blessing in disguise for a lot of reasons but more to the point, I like to be visible so I have headlights or parking lights on at all times, When I learned of the forscan feature it allowed me to run parking lights instead of headlights to not burn down the HID bulbs, and it also enabled me to turn on the rear lights as well.

 

[Junkyard_Mad-Scientist]

Was able to confirm the parking light DRL setting does turn on the bumper LEDs

 

[kryptto]

Was able to confirm the parking light DRL setting does turn on the bumper LEDs

get those cabin lights on led.... teehee

 

[Junkyard_Mad-Scientist]

get those cabin lights on led.... teehee

its on the to do list, Just picked up some LED headlights that use the factory ballast, going to go ahead and do LEDs for the other bulbs while im at it since the bumper has to come off again. then cabin lights and reverse bulbs are the only ones left

 

[rickoshay]

Thats cool to know theyre tied together, the setting turns on the bright ambers (as if the turn signal was stuck on) so I would assume the same circuit is still live, Ill check anyway when I get home. I enabled it for good reason, I got into an accident at a young age, rear ended at a dead stop by an off duty deputy doing 45 without any attempt of braking. They blamed her for distracted driving since she immediately apologized to me and said she was looking at her phone. I blame the dark tinted tail lights I had on my car but they were shattered so no one could attempt to say that was the reason. Blessing in disguise for a lot of reasons but more to the point, I like to be visible so I have headlights or parking lights on at all times, When I learned of the forscan feature it allowed me to run parking lights instead of headlights to not burn down the HID bulbs, and it also enabled me to turn on the rear lights as well.

Do you know if that would work for a 2011 with HID lights? I have to manually turn the lights on, they don't come on during the day in the auto position.

 

[rickoshay]

Thats cool to know theyre tied together, the setting turns on the bright ambers (as if the turn signal was stuck on) so I would assume the same circuit is still live, Ill check anyway when I get home. I enabled it for good reason, I got into an accident at a young age, rear ended at a dead stop by an off duty deputy doing 45 without any attempt of braking. They blamed her for distracted driving since she immediately apologized to me and said she was looking at her phone. I blame the dark tinted tail lights I had on my car but they were shattered so no one could attempt to say that was the reason. Blessing in disguise for a lot of reasons but more to the point, I like to be visible so I have headlights or parking lights on at all times, When I learned of the forscan feature it allowed me to run parking lights instead of headlights to not burn down the HID bulbs, and it also enabled me to turn on the rear lights as well.

Do you know if that would work for a 2011 with HID lights? I have to manually turn the lights on, they don't come on during the day in the auto position.

 

[Junkyard_Mad-Scientist]

Do you know if that would work for a 2011 with HID lights? I have to manually turn the lights on, they don't come on during the day in the auto position.

Hard to say, I found the setting in forscan just browsing. I'd suggest either doing the same or maybe one of the 10-12 guys can comment here. @Joshw0000 any idea?

 

[Joshw0000]

I can't say for sure. I've never used Forscan. If this were something I was working on, I'd install a switch to activate it manually. That way you can turn it on and off as needed and it wouldn't interfere with normal driving.

I.e. I installed an aftermarket stereo and backup camera in my 05 F150 by tapping into the reverse circuit. I also installed a switch in the glovebox to turn the backup camera at any time (for towing and tailgaters). I installed an inline diode and connected directly to the camera so that when I sent power to the camera it didn't back feed and power everything else that comes on when you switch to reverse (i.e. the backup light). So now, when I switch to reverse, the camera and light comes on. And when I turn on my switch, the camera turns on with no backup lights.

I would do something similar for whatever lights you're trying to power. It may take some testing of each one to see what exactly is powered if you send power to a specific line. If you have back feed issues, you may need to install diodes to prevent it. Tap a fuse under the dash (one that is only powered when the car is on), and run that to a hidden switch. That switch would send power to your desired lights.

Sent from my Pixel 8 Pro using Tapatalk

 

[rickoshay]

I can't say for sure. I've never used Forscan. If this were something I was working on, I'd install a switch to activate it manually. That way you can turn it on and off as needed and it wouldn't interfere with normal driving.

I.e. I installed an aftermarket stereo and backup camera in my 05 F150 by tapping into the reverse circuit. I also installed a switch in the glovebox to turn the backup camera at any time (for towing and tailgaters). I installed an inline diode and connected directly to the camera so that when I sent power to the camera it didn't back feed and power everything else that comes on when you switch to reverse (i.e. the backup light). So now, when I switch to reverse, the camera and light comes on. And when I turn on my switch, the camera turns on with no backup lights.

I would do something similar for whatever lights you're trying to power. It may take some testing of each one to see what exactly is powered if you send power to a specific line. If you have back feed issues, you may need to install diodes to prevent it. Tap a fuse under the dash (one that is only powered when the car is on), and run that to a hidden switch. That switch would send power to your desired lights.

Sent from my Pixel 8 Pro using Tapatalk

That's basically what I'm doing, just turning the headlights on via the switch. I just loaded Forscan on my PC but haven't used it yet, I'll poke around with it and see what I can figure out.

 

[kryptto]

That's basically what I'm doing, just turning the headlights on via the switch. I just loaded Forscan on my PC but haven't used it yet, I'll poke around with it and see what I can figure out.

just always backup your settings before committing any changes.