interesting DRL behavior

**VeNoMS4** · 10-26-2016 10:06 AM

So i dont know if this is relevant but I not too long ago got a GIAC stage 1 ecu flash and this issue has been happening since. it's only happened twice so far.

so the issue, the first time, the driver side DRL LED strip turned off while i was on road and the passenger side worked. I thought the strip had died or some kind of faulty wiring. So i turned the light switch from auto to just ambers (idk if that's what you call it, it's right before turning headlights) and i saw both the LED strips turned on but dimmed. i turned off DRL in MMI and left it on auto and both LED strip and headlights turned on while in tunnel. after several minutes of driving as part of my 1 hour commute, i went into MMI and turned DRL on and they both worked just fine at full brightness.

Fast forward several weeks, the same thing happened except now it was the passenger side DRL. Did the same things as last time, same results, and it started working again after several minutes.

what could be the issue here?

**whiped** · 10-26-2016 10:19 AM

Local guy is having similar issues after we pulled the headlights apart and blacked them out.

Top parts of the DRLs don't turn on.

DRLs sometimes turn off with the headlights but turn on without them on.

Clearing codes and readapting them turns the bottom parts of the DRLs off.

At first it was just one side, now it is both sides.

We are meeting up tonight to play around and hopefully get it fixed. I will let you know if we figure anything out.

-------------------------------------------

We both have B8.5s so it may be unrelated.

**VeNoMS4** · 10-26-2016 10:49 AM

Originally Posted by whiped

Local guy is having similar issues after we pulled the headlights apart and blacked them out.

Top parts of the DRLs don't turn on.

DRLs sometimes turn off with the headlights but turn on without them on.

Clearing codes and readapting them turns the bottom parts of the DRLs off.

At first it was just one side, now it is both sides.

We are meeting up tonight to play around and hopefully get it fixed. I will let you know if we figure anything out.

-------------------------------------------

We both have B8.5s so it may be unrelated.

wow so when you mean top and bottom, you literally mean the top and bottom section of the LED strip? i didnt think that was possible. Yea, let me know if you find anything. quite annoying especially when you are driving on a busy street and you notice from the reflection from the car in front of you, and see you only have 1 DRL running.

**whiped** · 10-26-2016 11:03 AM

The B8.5s use two LEDs one on the top, one on the bottom and they shine through a clear plastic tube creating the DRLs.

His top one for whatever reason turns super dim and almost makes his headlights look like a C7 A6/S6.

Are you throwing any codes? He throws some over-voltage codes as well as DRL malfunctions.

Have you tweaked the brightness in VCDS? His has been set to 100 for a few months, not sure if it is related.

**SwankP3RF3ct10n** · 10-26-2016 12:37 PM

If you're saying this is happening to you now because you just recently went GIAC Stage 1, then I'd suggest you first do a full DTC Scan and then a Clear regardless of if it found any DTCs or not. This should reset all modules and if there was some wackiness due to voltage or programming during the flash, this should clear up those small gremlins.

**VeNoMS4** · 10-26-2016 02:09 PM

Originally Posted by whiped

The B8.5s use two LEDs one on the top, one on the bottom and they shine through a clear plastic tube creating the DRLs.

His top one for whatever reason turns super dim and almost makes his headlights look like a C7 A6/S6.

Are you throwing any codes? He throws some over-voltage codes as well as DRL malfunctions.

Have you tweaked the brightness in VCDS? His has been set to 100 for a few months, not sure if it is related.

i havent scanned for codes, i have the carista app which i can use. I have not touched anything with the VCDS.. i dont know much about this so i can only imagine the only time my car was adjusted with VCDS was during the tune?

Originally Posted by SwankP3RF3ct10n

If you're saying this is happening to you now because you just recently went GIAC Stage 1, then I'd suggest you first do a full DTC Scan and then a Clear regardless of if it found any DTCs or not. This should reset all modules and if there was some wackiness due to voltage or programming during the flash, this should clear up those small gremlins.

can i clear codes with carista app and OBDII adapter? i dont know much about this

**evanb** · 10-26-2016 03:43 PM

Originally Posted by VeNoMS4

i havent scanned for codes, i have the carista app which i can use. I have not touched anything with the VCDS.. i dont know much about this so i can only imagine the only time my car was adjusted with VCDS was during the tune?

can i clear codes with carista app and OBDII adapter? i dont know much about this

Yes

**AvusPdx** · 10-27-2016 12:47 AM

The guy Whiped is talking about is me. I blacked out the inside about a month ago, and all DRL worked immediately after install. A few days later, I got an error code stating that my DRL bulb was out when my head lights were turned on. When I put the parking lights on, the DRL's come on, but the top strip got very dim, and the bottom strip only turns on, thus the C7 A6/S6 look.

I maybe the only one in the world that has the top strip off and only the bottom lol. I kinda like the unique look, but it will be helpful if anyone out there has similar issues or possibly know what is going on? We were able to clear the code and the DRL/Headlights do turn on together now.

**VeNoMS4** · 10-27-2016 09:30 AM

Originally Posted by AvusPdx

The guy Whiped is talking about is me. I blacked out the inside about a month ago, and all DRL worked immediately after install. A few days later, I got an error code stating that my DRL bulb was out when my head lights were turned on. When I put the parking lights on, the DRL's come on, but the top strip got very dim, and the bottom strip only turns on, thus the C7 A6/S6 look.

I maybe the only one in the world that has the top strip off and only the bottom lol. I kinda like the unique look, but it will be helpful if anyone out there has similar issues or possibly know what is going on? We were able to clear the code and the DRL/Headlights do turn on together now.

so i guess it's simple as clearing the codes huh? whenever mine goes off, it all starts working again after like 10 mins of driving with the DRL shut off from MMI. what did you use to clear the codes? asking out of curiosity.

**whiped** · 10-27-2016 09:34 AM

Originally Posted by VeNoMS4

so i guess it's simple as clearing the codes huh? whenever mine goes off, it all starts working again after like 10 mins of driving with the DRL shut off from MMI. what did you use to clear the codes? asking out of curiosity.

Cleared codes with VCDS, then adjusting the DRL intensity turned them back on.

We had no luck playing around last night. Next time we get together we are going to try swapping headlights with my car to see what happens.

That should tell us if it is the headlight itself or if we need to look elsewhere.

**yjypm** · 10-27-2016 09:42 AM

Originally Posted by AvusPdx

The guy Whiped is talking about is me. I blacked out the inside about a month ago, and all DRL worked immediately after install. A few days later, I got an error code stating that my DRL bulb was out when my head lights were turned on. When I put the parking lights on, the DRL's come on, but the top strip got very dim, and the bottom strip only turns on, thus the C7 A6/S6 look.

I maybe the only one in the world that has the top strip off and only the bottom lol. I kinda like the unique look, but it will be helpful if anyone out there has similar issues or possibly know what is going on? We were able to clear the code and the DRL/Headlights do turn on together now.

Actually looks pretty good.
To me it's more like Ford Fusion than c7 a6.