ordered these ,
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can any one tell / show me how they should wire up correctly pleaseĀ
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i want the drlās to dim when the side lights are turned onĀ
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maybe better pic,
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thanks guysĀ
OK, with what you have at the moment you would wire them up as follows.
Remove indicator bulbs from holders in the light units
Unplug the bulb and insert the plug on the new wiring into the existing socket where you just removed the indicator bulb from
Wet the rubber around the new bulb and twist/wriggle it into the headlight unit - note make sure it is all the way home. Use āmagic spitā 
Feed the long white wire across to the other side of the car to connect to the other DRL (with spade terminal on)
Connect the red wire into the sidelight circuit. You will have to turn your sidelights on to operate the DRLās
I donāt see a wire to dim the DRLās from the photos you posted. See below.
As you have it at the moment, the DRLās will only come on if you turn the sidelights on.
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You can add another unit that monitors if the engine is running and will turn the DRLās on after a few seconds. They will turn off automatically 15 seconds after the engine is turned off.
I have a write-up on another site here . . .Ā http://www.mx5driver.com/thread/8742/nc-drl-sortĀ
Ignore my comment about removing the sidelight bulb in my write-up, I replaced it with an LED one to match the colour of the DRLās.
I fitted a relay so that the DRLās come on with the ignition (engine running) and go off 15 seconds after the engine stops.Ā This works by monitoring the voltage of the battery and, āat restā the voltage is low enough to stop the relay switching the lights on.Ā With the engine running and the battery above the trigger point the DRLās come on.Ā This takes about 7 seconds on my fitting to come on, and, as above, about 15 seconds to switch off.Ā
Relay was dirt-cheap.Ā Benefit - no-thought required.Ā Donāt have to remember to switch side-lights on etc.Ā There is a yellow wire which I did not connect.Ā This goes to the dipped beam and would DIM the DRLās when the headlights are on.Ā As the DRL bulbs are not the type you can do laser eye surgery with, I left the yellow wire unconnected.
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hi jeffā¦i have got drlās already fitted with this controller , see belowā¦
( my yellow wire is connected , thats what detects the power drop to put drlās to 1/2 brightness )
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i have fitted some drlās to my 5 , behind the grill , all wired up to controller to make them dim when side lights are onĀ
like this ,
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but adding the switchbacks , can i tap into this voltage controller i already have ?? or better to get a second controller ???
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Hi,
Sorry, I thought you wanted a more detailed answer, hence my response above.
As LEDās are low amperage, I would think that the controller may well be able to handle the extra load - If it was me, I would try and connect them and see what happens - the worst that happens is (a) the fuse blows (unlikely, or (b) the relay fails.Ā At a few Ā£Ā£Ā£ to replace if anything goes wrong it may be worth the test.
If you fitted another controller, they may not work completely in sync and one may power down slightly differently than the other so your lights may come on / go off with a small time difference.Ā Ā
Post the results!
hi folks.Ā
i bit more detail , if poorly drawn,
this is my current wiring set up ,with the 2 DRLās behind the grill
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i want to add the switchback indicators , this the wiring as i see it ,
but where does the fused wire go toā¦ ( i would like to use just the 1 controller if possible ) ā¦to integrate the two circuits .
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iām wanting ALL drlās to come on when engine starts and ALL drlās to dim when side lights are turned onĀ
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The new red wire on the switchbacks goes to the RED wire coming out of the existing control box (on the right) in the top drawing.
thanks jeff.
i like how your pic is all smart and mine is hand drawn , your a gent .
but I bet your drawing was quicker than my use of Paintbrush on the Mac!
Interested to hear how it goes . . .
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fitted the switchback indicators today, easy access from under the wheel arch , wheels removed ,
poppers removed and plastic shield pulled back and secured with quick tie,
the new switchback indicator is a soft rubber so is just a simple push fit in to headlamp housing ( you feel it just clip in ),
then the end of the wire/bulb switchback assembly just clips into original bulb holder .
the resistor was fitted to bodywork with self tappers ,
the wires tidied up with cable ties ā¦
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the single red power cable was connected to the positive wire from my controller already fitted for my other DRLās .
testedā¦all good .
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these really do make a big difference to the front of the 5Ā
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Glad it all worked out as hoped for. Looking good!
You just want a white LED ropelight along the bottom of the grill and it will have a nice smile . . . .
Perhaps not!
I have a question/problem that i canāt seem to resolve in my mind.
I have these switchbacks installed at the moment but i havenāt got round to ordering the drl controller.
My switchbacks are tapped straight to an ignition feed and come on, go off with the key switch, what i need to do is install one of these controllers. 
These controllers are wired DIRECT to the battery and are switched when the battery voltage reaches 13vā¦as my car lives on a conditioning charger which levels out at 13.7v, is this going to turn the ledās on? or am i just over thinking this, should i wire it to an ignition switched live as it is now?
Has anybody used a charger/conditioner with this controller wired in?
Dave.
I would suspect that having the battery fed at 13.7v may confuse the controller - as you have the switchbacks wired direct via the ignition then you donāt really need the controller, but, I suspect, that yours do not go out with the headlights on which is why you would like the controller in-line?
If you are competent with a bit of wiring, you could add a relay in-line with your existing connection with the relay triggering the switchbacks off when it gets a feed from the headlights being on?
Can I ask why you have it on a battery conditioner all the time? I may not drive the ND for a week or more (the NA needs a treat sometimes!) and I have never experienced an issue with the battery / starting etc. When I had the NC, the only time the battery went flat was when I was installing mods and opened and closed the PRHT too often - that WAS a battery hog!
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Thanks for the reply Jeff.
I want/need the facility to have the drlās turn off or dim when night driving as they are now they are very bright, if it tapped into the dip lights via the controller it would give me that function.
As for the conditioner, my car is my toy and can literally sit on the conditioner over winter for six months at a time, i know some people say a car should be usedā¦having said that my āoriginalā battery is now over twelve years old.
Example, i had the car out of the garage Saturday morning (i have a volt meter wired into the car, at the flick of a switch i know exactly how much charge it has) and it was left overnight off charge and the battery showed 13.1v Sunday morning.
I think i am over thinking my quandary and all i need to do is tap into a switched ignition live via the controller as it is now.
Once again thankyou for replying.
Dave.
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I think your best bet would be a relay as Jeff has said.Ā
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Simple to do with a standard 5 pin relay. Pin 30 directly to your ignition feed that you are already using. Pin 85 to the side lights. Pin 86 to negative/ground/earth/common whatever you want to call it. Pin 87a (the middle one) to the positive side of your DRL. When the sidelights are switched on the relay will operate and switch off the power to pin 87a. When the side lights are off the relay will remain in itās default state which is straight through from pin 30 to 87a
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HTH
Thankyou to both Jeff and BBBirdy for the replies and very useful information.
Next time i can get a dry weekend iāll get it sorted.
Dave.
P.S. i am still curios as to whether any one has direct to battery wired one of these controllers and has put the car on a charger, worth checking!
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dave ,
there is an in-line fuse on the positive wire to the battery from controller , if i needed to put mine on the trickle charger i would simply remove the said fuse ā¦
Thatās a good solution - I was thinking about it and thought maybe a small toggle switch inline so when the charger was connected, then a simple flick and itās isolated. Removing the fuse is a much cheaper solution though! Nice one!
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All sorted, waited a week for the controller to arrive (Yesterday), wired the controller to an ignition switched live and piggyback fused into the dip fuse then tapped my other drls together with the switchbacks and job done.
My switchbacks and other drls now come on/off with the key switch and dim when the dip lights are selected.
Just need to wait and see how long they last as i havenāt had much longevity with previous leds.
Dave.
great news dave ,
they really do make a big improvement to the looks of the 5 and better visibility to other road users