Am I the only one who wants to turn them off? I drive onto base everyday and I need to be able to turn off the lights so I don't blind the poor security guy. Plus if I want my lights on, I will turn them on.

 

Its a safety feature. It is mandated in Canada, the Eurpean Union, and many countries throughout the World. Yes, it would be nice to have a button to turn them off temporarily for military bases, but NHTSA has not decided to require that feature. Thus, manufacturers don't offer it.

 

Fortunately for me, I live in USA, and I don't care what Canada requires. I may take a look at the wiring diagram, the DRLs run at half volatage, so there must either be a seperate wire, or a relay which would be even better. As soon as I get to be in port for more than a week or two... This is starting to remind me of the TPMS, I spent the last month trying to get mine to work right, turns out, about 43lbs is the magic number to get it to reset.

 

You need to read the previous posts in this thread. There are no wire to cut, fuses to remove and etc. You need to have the dealer alter the software in the body computer in order to turn the DRL off or on. I have the official Ford shop manual set; there are no easy fixes that owners can do for themselves. You must have the dealer do it.

 

Hey Rich-

So can you confirm that every 2008 Expedition has daytime running lights as an available option. My dealer was clueless. If you could give me a section number from the service manual for the programming, that would be great.

Thanks,

 

Sure, but if thats the case, why doesn't every Expedition come with it if it's a software thing? Somewhere there is a relay that steps the 13 volts down to some lower voltage to give you a less brilliant DRL, there absolutely has to be one. I keep seeing in the posts that people keep asking if the dealership will do it, someone go to a dealership and ask!!!!!!! If they can turn it on, they can turn it off.

 

It is not a relay, but a pulse-width modulator that does it. It is a transistor in the body control module that is turned on and off at about 20 KHz, with a duty cycle of about 90%. That achieves a low beam intensity that is about 75%. The body computer has an instruction in its software to either turn it on when the lights are off and the ignition is on, or to never turn it on. It is that instruction that needs to be changed.

I know this because I was NHTSA's lighting chief for 17 years and because I have read the Ford shop manual.

So, when I go for my 10,000 mile service, and to get warantee work done in about two or three weeks, I will ask what the cost is and report it if someone else hasn't done it yet. So, hold your seahorses, or you can't, go to the dealer and ask when you get back to port. Then tell us.

 

Great. I will wait to hear your results. My wife likes to run with her lights on. All of them. I am hoping this will reduce my bulb changes. I would have ordered the DRL option, but we got our Expy from the lot.

Thanks,

 

Thanks for the detailed info, that makes more sense, with the exception of why doesn't every Expy come with it turned on? If its this great safety feature, and its built into all of the trucks, wouldn't be easier/cheaper to program them all the same. By the way, I didn't pay for my DRL, nor are they listed as an option on my sticker. But low and behold, I have DRL, wonder if the dealer here automatically programs their vehicles with it by default?

 

Maybe illegal in some states? I though in CA it used to be, not sure.

 

Ford has a general policy not to supply DRLs unless it is requested by a purchaser. Lots of commercial fleets that buy Ford vehicles want DRLs, so it is available. Dealers may also request DRLs on the vehicles that they buy for the lot. It is possible that your vehicle was ordered that way by the dealer, or your vehicle may have been destined for a fleet, but was not purchased.

 

It is not illegal in any state. There is a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard that for which I was responsible that permitted them in various forms, but which did not mandate them. As such, the federal law preempts any state law that is not identical in text or meaning.

NHTSA does intend to mandate them, its just that it does take a lot of data collection to show that they are of greater value to the public than they cost to purchase and operate. Canada and 40 or more countries thoughout the World have done that; NHTSA intends to do that.

 

I agree about the law, but in CA awhile back, friends with Chevys that had DRL were getting pulled over and they had to prove they could not turn them off. Federal law is great, but if the local cops are not aware and only following local penal codes, it is still a hassle. But like I said, the code must have changed by now.

 

It can be done. I was informed by my local Ford Service Manager that there is no "code" yet to deactivate the DLR's on 2008's. As someone has already mentioned, if your vehicle was manufactured in Canada it's going to cause a problem if you want them de-activated. A 'file' , that does not exist yet, has to be written to slove this problem. It's quite simple, yet expensive, for the first one who wants this done. I guess all the rest of us will benefit from this eventually. This would be a great idea for fleet purchases, except if it's for a police department

 

Now I am confused. If the vehicles come with it off, and it must be programmed to turn them on, why not erase the program that was added and reset it to stock? A special file doesn't make sense, excpet maybe Canada?