DRLs

[Jeff53]

My DRLs were not working when I purchased my Yukon a couple of months ago. I went to change the bulbs and saw that both sockets were burnt. I ordered new sockets and installed them. The odd thing to me was that the wire on the new sockets was 16 gauge and the old DRL wire on the car was only 20 gauge. Anyway after installing the sockets and new bulbs, they still didn't work. So, I checked the fuse and even though it looked good, I replaced it anyway. Still no joy with the DRLs (I checked them with the car running, in neutral with the parking brake released). So, then I thought it might be the relay and replaced that. Still no DRLs. Is there another fuse or relay other than the ones in the underhood fuse box? Is there something else that could be wrong with them? The bulbs I used were new Sylvania ZEVO 4114s that are supposed to be non-polarity, so it shouldn't be the bulbs.

 

[corvette744]

Doesnt the vehicle have to be in gear running?

 

[Jeff53]

Doesnt the vehicle have to be in gear running?

I believe it just has to be out of Park.

 

[Doubeleive]

Could still maybe be the bulbs, easy to check for voltage at the socket with bulb out

 

[Jeff53]

Could still maybe be the bulbs, easy to check for voltage at the socket with bulb out

I thought about that, but thought it would be unusual for both of them to be bad. I guess it could still be the wiring. I'll check with the multi-meter tomorrow when it's above 35 degrees. I'm old and don't enjoy the cold as much as I used to.

 

[Doubeleive]

I thought about that, but thought it would be unusual for both of them to be bad. I guess it could still be the wiring. I'll check with the multi-meter tomorrow when it's above 35 degrees. I'm old and don't enjoy the cold as much as I used to.

Usually drl's run under 12v so if the LED's do not support lower voltage (like dimming) then they may not light up and even if they say "no polarity" that should be taken with a grain of salt not many LEDs are really non polarity even if they say they are

 

[MassHoe04]

I was just curious, so I took a look back at when I did my DRL conversion to LED.

Sylvania seems to have designed the contacts on their bulbs in a way that ensures the contacts are in the right spot no matter which way the bulb goes in, to make it non-polarity...

In the pic, you can see the top row of contacts is offset to the right. The left contact is inside the position of the one below it and the right contact is outside the position of the one below it. If flipped over, everything is exactly the same.

I put Sylvania LED in my DRLs and had no issue and did not have to flip them around to make them work. Plug and play. No polarity issue when I did it.

 

[RST Dana]

I was just curious, so I took a look back at when I did my DRL conversion to LED.

Sylvania seems to have designed the contacts on their bulbs in a way that ensures the contacts are in the right spot no matter which way the bulb goes in, to make it non-polarity...

In the pic, you can see the top row of contacts is offset to the right. The left contact is inside the position of the one below it and the right contact is outside the position of the one below it. If flipped over, everything is exactly the same.

I put Sylvania LED in my DRLs and had no issue and did not have to flip them around to make them work. Plug and play. No polarity issue when I did it.

View attachment 393595

If you flip this one, I bet it does not work.

 

[Jeff53]

Usually drl's run under 12v so if the LED's do not support lower voltage (like dimming) then they may not light up and even if they say "no polarity" that should be taken with a grain of salt not many LEDs are really non polarity even if they say they are

Bingo. I tried the easiest thing first. I flipped one of the bulbs around and lo and behold, it came on. Flipped the other one and it came on. So, you are correct, apparently, even with a brand name company, if they say non-polarity, don't believe them.