In case any Canadian members are interested, Princess Auto is having a sale on 1156 LED lamps that just may be the cat's meow for DRL incandescent lamp replacement for our vehicles. At first glance they even appear to be the same shape as the OEM lamp. And just like a cat, they may have 9 lives compared to an incandescent. (That's the propaganda, anyway.)
12V #1156 White LED Automotive Bulb | Princess Auto
I'm considering trying out a pair, but I'm a tightwad when it comes to paying $7.50 for a lamp. I'll post my impressions if I decide to splurge.

 

I bought two of the lamps. Pictures are worth thousands of words.


[/URL]





After I installed the LED I started the car and upon releasing the starter switch I looked at the wall in front of the vehicle (5 or 6 feet away) and I could see the incandescent beam on the wall, but I could not see the same in front of the LED.

At first I thought that the LED had not turned on, but when I stood in front of the vehicle I could see that it had in fact turned on.

In short, this 0.65-watt lamp is dim compared to the incandescent. Because the LEDs point directly forward, the reflector surrounding the lamp doesn't capture and reflect much light forward. The incandescent, OTOH, broadcasts its light in a sphere, so the reflector surrounding it reflects a lot of light forward. The difference is not quite night and day, but the incandescent is much much brighter than the LED.

As a result of this, I'm probably going to return both lamps to Princess Auto. Too bad. I was looking forward to perhaps never buying a DRL again. (AFAIK, the LED should last about 25 times as long as the incandescent.)

But before I return them, does anyone know if there is a regulation stipulating how bright a DRL has to be, or is it that they just have to be there, and on.

 

There are regs, and that's why it's a pain trying to find any LED DRL (or other) replacement stuff; it has to be certified, and basically every cheap or DIY option doesn't comply (or isn't proven to comply).
From the Australian Design Rules (pretty-much the same as most of the EU / US):
There are well and truly LED emitters that could fit the bill, but finding a tested certified assembly is nigh-on impossible at present. Frustrating, but you don't want to get rejected on an insurance claim 'cause the opposing party says they were blinded by your illegal LED DRLs

 

In the case of the Princess Auto LEDs, nobody's going to be blinded. The problem with them would be not being noticed.

But your logic probably also applies to any non-certified LED fog lamp replacement, too. There is another thread that is discussing such a replacement right now, and by my eye those babies look very bright -- maybe brighter than the OEM -- although I'm not sure if a testing instrument would "see" it that way.

But, again, your point is well taken. Right now I'm using a very inexpensive long-life 1156 incandescent lamp as a replacement for the Mit OEM lamp, which cost me $19.50 for a single lamp. Now, if I get in an accident that is not my fault, even though the non-OEM unit's output is identical to that of the OEM lamp, is the at-fault party's eager-beaver lawyer going to notice that our vehicle's DRL lamp is not OEM -- possibly providing his client with a reason why I am actually the at-fault driver?

It's defiinitely something to consider when buying a replacement lamp.

 

I don't particularly like the point, in fact I'm very much pro-conversion and have done so in the past in parkers and blinkers, but when you do start reading the regs you start getting a bit paranoid.

This thread, combined with the "what's the inner bulb for" thread, have piqued my interest though; I've got the AFS system but no DRL, would be very interesting to see if they are the same system, and as such legally classified, ie. whether an AFS-equipped Outlander can be converted to also be used as legal DRL.
Of course my wife has again taken the Outlander today, so I can't check it out. AFAIK the AFS only works when your headlights are on, and DRL are supposed to turn off in that situation, so might even work in stock format.

 

Now that I think more about it, AFAIK there is no law that says that you can't have your headlights on during the day and I know some people who have older vehicles that keep their headlights on during the day.

Nowadays there are some pretty bright headlights, including the ones that are on our XLS. So I think it would be very difficult, if not impossible, for someone to argue that DRLs blinded enough during the day to cause an accident.

(Frankly, I've never bothered to check to see if our DRLs turn off when we turn on the headlights. If they do, then the point is moot at night ...... unless you're running around at night with DRLs only.)

 

I've always used my headlights when driving long distances etc. (usually involves going through shady forested sections etc), no there is no law against it and in fact it is encouraged, however HID projectors aren't as conspicuous at daytime.
The point of DRLs is that they are supposed to be there for other people to see you, not for you to see with, which is the purpose of headlights; designing for one way doesn't mean it is fit for purpose for the other. Other arguments for independent DRL is that your tail lights aren't lit during daytime with DRL, so it's easier to distinguish when you hit the brakes.
Here in Aus DRL's aren't a requirement, so should be able to have them there but only enabled when desired, as long as they turn off when the headlights go on.

Will see if I can check out the physical housing etc over the weekend, it may be E-stamped with an R number showing which regs it meets.

PS. If you check out DRL's on Wiki, it seems that Canada's DRL regs are significantly different, allowing up to 7000 axial candela. Lighting regs really are a minefield, no wonder most people seem to just ignore them

 

If you really want an LED retrofit for your #1156 bulb, look around for these: Philips LED Retrofit Lighting. Philips is the ONLY company currently producing legitimate (ie, SAE and ECE compliant) LED replacements for common automotive incandescent bulbs.

I'd still recommend putting #3497's in the DRLs -- they're more intense than any compliant #1156 (LED or incandescent) is legally allowed to be -- but to each his own. Personally, I'm waiting to get a pair of #7440NA's for the rear indicators to match the tail lights.

 

Let's revive this thread, shall we?

Just bought a 2010 Outlander XLS and so far so good.

I want to upgrade the DRL to LED Projectors. They're pretty cheap but I haven't seen any pics yet. Here's the units I'm going to order:

Amazon.com : NEEWERŽ 2pcs Bright White 15W 27SMD LED Smd Bulbs Reverse Backup Light Projector 1156 : Vehicle Electronics : Car Electronics

Question for anyone that knows: Do the LEDs require a resistor/error corrector adapter?

 

Only for turn bulbs.

DRLs can tolerate anything from crappy LEDs to 35W halogens (handle with care).