Day Time Running Lights (Amber)

["doctor280" <doctor280@xxxx>]

This question and answer came up on a site, which I was getting some information from. I thought that this would be a nice safety feature for our Deloreans, especially for those of us that drive them on a routine basis. 



I am far from being an electrical guru, but I know that there has to be someone on the list that might just know how or can figure out how to make this work for our cars. Is anyone willing to take on this project and sharing the information on how to do it with the list members.



Robert Starling

Vin#5252



Q: I see some of the new vehicles from GM have super-bright parking / turn

signal lights instead of using the headlights as DRLs. Is there anything

I can do like this on the Impala?



A: 

Those lights actually use 2057 bulbs, which are dimmer both on low and high 

filaments than 2357s. 

The difference is that on the '97 F-cars they wire the turn signals to work 

as DRLs (not the parking lights), which means that the 32 

candlepower bright filament stays on all the time. When you use the turn 

signal, those applications switch the brighter filament OFF rather than ON. 

In other words, if you installed the brighter 2357 bulbs in the F-cars, the 

DRLs would be even brighter, since they would be using a 40 cp filament 

instead of the 32 cp filament they use stock.



You could get the same effect on an Impala if you wire the turn signal/park 

lamps so the brighter filament comes on with the parking lights. Also you 

would have to rewire the relay so that it flashes the filament off rather 

than on when the turn signal is used, just like in the F-cars. Then when you 

turn on the park lamps, you'd have the bright DRL style amber lights lit up 

just like on the '97 F-cars. That would also give you a "switch able" DRL, 

that is by using the parking lights you could turn them on. You 

could also wire it up to come on all the time the car is running.

This would be an excellent use for the top Caprice wagon switch added to the 

LH side of the dash!



If you have to have DRLs, the use of the turn signals would be preferable

to the reduced power high beam headlights. They use less power, run up the 

hours on cheaper bulbs are much less offensive to traffic in

front of you, plus they look better and more distinctive as well.



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