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They have led's that have an app now? This is getting out of control! All I want is a good led solution for High/lo and Fog lamps to all be the same color. No flickering and the DRL to work.
Will do, thanks for your help and information. Do I need to get a set of LED DRL Decoders to get them to work ?
No. The DRL circuit uses relays to put the highs into a series configuration, thus each high bulb gets 1/2 of the voltage and the look dim compared to when used as high beams. When you activate the highs the relays switch the highs into a parallel configuration and each gets the full voltage.
The DRL use the high bulb and not this side marker.
They have led's that have an app now? This is getting out of control! All I want is a good led solution for High/lo and Fog lamps to all be the same color. No flickering and the DRL to work.
Flickering in our case is usually caused by the driver needing a little under 9V at a minimum, while the DRL gives about 7. If you see a bulb that can work at 6V then it should be fine, but most LED aftermarket bulbs for headlamps don't go that low.
You could wire in a relay or you could move the DRLs to the fogs and disable the DRL, and the highs will still work when you disable the DRL either from the monitor area or with techstream.
Easiest for now could be to disable the DRL and connect the fogs to the ignition power in the fuse box (after converting to LEDs so you don't blow fuses).
I had thought about developing a plug and play device but never went past the design stage.
They have led's that have an app now? This is getting out of control! All I want is a good led solution for High/lo and Fog lamps to all be the same color. No flickering and the DRL to work.
If you want simple and quality for the highs, and the DRL to work properly and the highs to work properly, and more light than halogens, maybe try the Morimoto 2Stroke bulbs. From what I've read, they have dual voltage logic, meaning they work dimmed at low voltage and then at high voltage they go to full brightness. If you have the standard DRL circuit that splits the voltage between the two bulbs with relays this will work fine. If you have PWM that uses switching then you would add a capacitor (the anti-flicker box). Either way, you should be able to get LEDs in the highs and still use the DRL.
2.0 has the Philips, which I prefer. The older CREE with lens might give out more light.
based on bulbfacts.com, I decided to check out the techmax in the GX. I also wanted to try out a fanless design since I have had fan issues (about 10% of the time compared to 90% something else).
design
techmax is small, dr auto has smaller height if you push the braids out of the way. not much difference, tie for me, i have space.
the techmax has an endcap, the dr auto doesnt. this means the dr auto will have more intensity straight on without help from the reflector. for me, dr auto wins, i like the extra sizzle.
the techmax has an integrated driver, this usually means more heat in the one location. the dr auto puts some heat at the driver and some at the bulb. for me, dr auto wins, heat over more area results in lower concentrated temps usually. installation should be taken into consideration with drivers for fitment.
the techmax has a fan, and a small vaned heatsink with many nice small fins. the dr auto has what seems to be a solid chunk of metal with 4 braids to move the heat away. for me dr auto wins. ive had bugs get in the fans, stop the fan, then bulb fries. dr auto wins for me.
the dr auto braids are silent the techfans make noise which may be important to some. tie for me
both require 9vdc, this is most common because of the LED itself. Lower than that usually requires a boost section to be added to the driver, more $ for the manufacturer. tie, both work at 9v, i didnt check lower voltage operation, i should have but i dont use the original DRL thus i forgot. tie for me no measurement
I did not measure the distance between sides (heatpipe + boards). smaller means better reproduction of original pattern in housings. they were both similar, and neither as small as the Hikari ultraleds Philips Lumileds which I use for highs. no measurement, so tie for me.
performance
I turned them on at the bench, waited about 10 minutes or so. the techmax was about 125C at the hotspot and the dr auto was about 112C. 125C is about average for LED bulbs. Lower temp usually means longer life, assuming the same chemistry in the heatsink paste/glue. dr auto wins. i also touched the bases. techmax was hotter.
Looking directly at the LEDS through a standard welding type filter. (this is how you check for a bad COB section on COB type). Same angle, although the dr auto is a bit higher because of the braids. The dr auto was clearly brighter on the bench. in a housing can be different based on many factors.
This testing was for fogs, in original 2012 GX housings.
left is 3 sided COB, right is techmax
I like 3 sided in fogs for the pattern. It gives more light spread higher, and the scatter is nice on signs and for moving people out of your way. Have to watch it though to not be excessively annoying. The cheap thermal glue bit the dust, so i got the techmax and dr auto for replacement. I knew I would have a shorter wider pattern based on the LED placement of the contenders.
left dr auto right techmax
the paper marks are where I want the fog hotspot, the GX is on ramps so its a bit high.
the dr auto is more white than the techmax. for me dr auto wins
the patterns are similar. the dr auto has a little more even height and more witdth, will lighten a larger, wider area. since getting the Hikari highs, i dont need as much in front, and i like to see the critters in the ditches and fields. for me dr auto wins
the techmax hotspot may look brighter but i believe thats because theres somewhat less scatter around the cutoff and the color. for me the dr auto seemed brighter in person. for me dr auto wins. side note, both could be 6k LEDs and the brighter, more current drawing dr auto will appear less blue. the 6k spec is at a certain current, increasing current drops color temp.
I dont have any affiliation with techmax, dr auto, bulbfacts, any other bulb sellers/manufacturers or amazon. some things are use dependent. for my use the dr auto won, i currently have dr auto in my fogs.
One thing I forgot to mention was the design of the cutoff control. the techmax has an obvious shape design to create a sharper cutoff. one side of the metal on say the left is larger than the right to create the lower cutoff. the dr auto didnt really have this. in a fog it might not be necessary. for me dr auto wins because i dont want it in the application
in a low beam, this shaped metal like the techmax allows you to get more light on the road without hitting oncomers in the face.
If you want simple and quality for the highs, and the DRL to work properly and the highs to work properly, and more light than halogens, maybe try the Morimoto 2Stroke bulbs. From what I've read, they have dual voltage logic, meaning they work dimmed at low voltage and then at high voltage they go to full brightness. If you have the standard DRL circuit that splits the voltage between the two bulbs with relays this will work fine. If you have PWM that uses switching then you would add a capacitor (the anti-flicker box). Either way, you should be able to get LEDs in the highs and still use the DRL.
2.0 has the Philips, which I prefer. The older CREE with lens might give out more light.
Thanks for the info, but can you please expand on this?
If you have the standard DRL circuit that splits the voltage between the two bulbs with relays this will work fine. If you have PWM that uses switching then you would add a capacitor (the anti-flicker box)
I doubt that that decoder box will get you the results you want with that light even though I'm not 100% sure what's in that box. My guess is that its a capacitor, resistor, or some combination. It's unlikely that a bulb will function the same as the DRLs and the seller not claim this, it takes extra circuitry and cost to make it work properly.
First decide what you want from the bulb. Do you want the highs on full brightness whenever the DRLs would be on? Some 9V drivers do function OK at 6V, but most do not. If it did work OK at 6V you would get full brightness (or very close) unless there was another circuit in there to reduce the current. There's ways to get this but no one has wanted their highs on all the time.
I've seen Lexus and Toyota use relays for parallel/series switching, FJ cruisers have a resistor, and some vehicles (not sure about Lexus/Toyota) use PWM for the DRL. A decoder box could potentially work when PWM is used, it could get you >9V from the switched 12V (switching quickly thus acting as ~6V). The decoder won't help for relay parallel/series switching.
Another issue is the polarity. On the Lexus/Toyota vehicles I've dealt with, the polarity reverses from series (DRL) to parallel (highs). Not a problem for halogens, but LEDs need another circuit to overcome.
I've still not found the proper wiring diagram set for a 2012GX.
more application specific PWM info. I don't know that Lexus uses this. I've only seen the relay parallel/series switching used, but 2012 is the newest I've worked on.
technical difficulties with posted links https://www.theretrofitsource.com/wi...itor-link.html capacitor in a box, sealed, with connectors
heres some caps
I was looking for something similar to this DRL NO 2 on by itself puts highs in series, each gets ~6V for 1/2 brightness as DRL. 2 and 4 on puts highs in parallel, each gets ~12V for full brightness. NOTE: ABOVE IS NOT FROM A GX
What I found was this
Which seems to go for a GX with a separate LED DRL circuit and NOT for something using the high beam halogens at 1/2 voltage. My 12GX used the high beam halogens.
So I went to look at mine
Its cold so I took pics to review inside
Shock and disbelief when I did not see DRL relays that I assumed I would.
I did not have original LED DRLs. The H-LP HI relay has a different shape (just south of the added circuit). I know that some of the 2012 used different fusebox lid drawings, but mine seems to match in this area.
In the second wiring diagram, the one which seems to match my fusebox lid, I don't see any series/parallel switch relays, usually called DRL NO 2-4, as was on my ES and LS. It could be that I can't find the correct drawing, maybe this is the same issue I've been having with other areas of my electronics not matching diagrams. I don't see a good place for PWM implementation in that diagram. Maybe somethings going on inside the strange shape relay itself? Electronically (maybe not physically), that would be a place to put in a resistor (similar to the FJ Cruiser) since the highs are wired in parallel. FJ cruiser shows the resistor, this diagram does not, so I'm thinking this diagram is for separate LED DRLs.
I know there's things under that first layer of fuses and relays, but I doubt its a set of DRL relays or a resistor.
I'm still questioning if I have the correct diagram, or if I'm missing something.
With a scope the signal can be checked, I don't have one. I've been looking at some el-cheapos on Amazon and a few are a great deal at about $40, just haven't had a real need lately.
PWM or DRL relays or resistor, any solution that doesn't specify that the LED will work at reduced brightness at reduced voltage will either flicker, not turn on, or turn on full brightness with the DRL setup we have. None of those are what we want. Remember this all assumes that you have the high beam halogens for your DRLs.
OK maybe some are wondering, what to do? Easiest seems to be the Morimotos posted earlier. They specify reduced brightness at reduced voltage. The series/parallel switching diagram above doesn't reverse polarity (that's from a RAV4 BTW). The PWM shouldnt switch polarity either, so may be its not an issue; either way the Morimotos claim to work with DRL with dual brightness DRL/HIGH. Easiest is get those and be done.
Those weren't available when I got my 12GX, and if you're wondering here's what's in the pic of my fuses. Theres a fuse tap from WIP RR (powered with IGN) that goes through the fuse tap added fuse into a remote relay circuit. The circuit default is ON. This circuit output then goes to the DRLs in the turn signals (not stock) and also to the fogs. This means the default for DRLs and fogs is on until remote switched off, regardless of any other light setting, or any other setting besides IGN powered. This seems second easiest. Unless the fusebox lid is removed there's no way to see any of the mod by lifting the hood.
Other solutions either aren't satisfactory or are more work than value for a single vehicle (for me).
Are these attached headlight diagrams any closer to being accurate?
Interesting. The first two pages of the larger file show a DRL relay which isn't the standard 4 or 5 pin configuration. It also shows there won't be any series/parallel switching, choices would be either PWM or a resistor. It looks to me that theres PWM from the main body ecu, and the DRL relay switches based on either DRL or DIM from that ecu. I also notice there's no H-LP HI shown. Based on the weird shape of my relay, I'm wondering if this is one of those '12GX areas where there was a change and they used the old fusebox lids. My fusebox lid listed H-LP HI could be the DRL relay in the diagram you posted. Notice my relay shape doesnt match the lid outline the way the H-LP LO does (and should). If what you attached is the diagram for my '12GX, then I think I have PWM.
ADD: maybe that's what the double box around that relay represents. The different shape or an option.
12-03-18, 06:36 AM
