Hid Headlight Delay

sceptre · November 7, 2009

I have a 2006 Sierra 1500 VortecMax and I recently installed HID's for low, high and fog's. I am trying to stop the lights from coming on and various different times. I've stopped them from coming on everywhere, except on startup (at night). They flicker no matter how fast I turn the key. I've also turned the headlight switch to Park and they still come on. Does anyone have any ideas for keeping them off?

I'm thinking about bypassing the auto headlight sensor, but would prefer not to if possible.

sceptre · November 8, 2009

I've been setting the E-Brake when I turn the truck off...seems to be working great so far!

vanspek · November 11, 2009

same problem here i was wondering if you can "disable" your DRL's somehow? gotta be a fuse or something?

sceptre · November 11, 2009

same problem here i was wondering if you can "disable" your DRL's somehow? gotta be a fuse or something?

the DRL's are not the problem (the small bulb beside the park lights)....its when its dark outside and the truck tries to turn on the low beams when starting.

If you disable perimeter lighting then it stops them from coming on when you are unlocking the doors at night. I also set the factory alarm to horn only as opposed to headlights/horn.

If you have any more questions, let me know.

WhiteRabbit · November 11, 2009

same problem here i was wondering if you can "disable" your DRL's somehow? gotta be a fuse or something?

the DRL's are not the problem (the small bulb beside the park lights)....its when its dark outside and the truck tries to turn on the low beams when starting.

If you disable perimeter lighting then it stops them from coming on when you are unlocking the doors at night. I also set the factory alarm to horn only as opposed to headlights/horn.

If you have any more questions, let me know.

So let me ask.. When you get in and turn the key to ACC in preparation of starting the HID's come on and then when you turn the key to actually start they go back off right? Is that the issue? and is this really bad for the HID Ballasts?

Reason I ask is I have a set of HID's that I'm about to install on my 09 and I recently bypassed the DRL's by removing the fuse so I thought I was good to go.

C. Charles Hahn · November 11, 2009

same problem here i was wondering if you can "disable" your DRL's somehow? gotta be a fuse or something?

the DRL's are not the problem (the small bulb beside the park lights)....its when its dark outside and the truck tries to turn on the low beams when starting.

If you disable perimeter lighting then it stops them from coming on when you are unlocking the doors at night. I also set the factory alarm to horn only as opposed to headlights/horn.

If you have any more questions, let me know.

So let me ask.. When you get in and turn the key to ACC in preparation of starting the HID's come on and then when you turn the key to actually start they go back off right? Is that the issue? and is this really bad for the HID Ballasts?

Reason I ask is I have a set of HID's that I'm about to install on my 09 and I recently bypassed the DRL's by removing the fuse so I thought I was good to go.

You're not going to kill the ballasts right away, but over time it will accelerate wear on them. Just turn the key from off to start quickly, try not to pause on "ACC" for long.

Or, you can do what I do at night and always use the remote start.

sceptre · November 12, 2009

So let me ask.. When you get in and turn the key to ACC in preparation of starting the HID's come on and then when you turn the key to actually start they go back off right? Is that the issue? and is this really bad for the HID Ballasts?

Reason I ask is I have a set of HID's that I'm about to install on my 09 and I recently bypassed the DRL's by removing the fuse so I thought I was good to go.

cycling HID's will reduce the life of the ballast, as well as the bulb. When you turn your key to ACC at night, the low beams do come on...as you move ahead to the start position they go off temporarily and then back on when you let go of the key. To stop this, I have been setting my E-brake....this stops them from coming on until you release the brake. I have tried starting the truck as fast as I possibly could, but they still cycled on for a split second. Again, make sure you have perimeter lighting disabled as the low beams turn on at night when you unlock the truck.

as for DRL's, I'm in Canada, so maybe they are different in the US. Here, it used to be that the headlight was run on half voltage for DRL but on my 2006 there is a very small light beside the park light which is used for the DRL and the headlights remain off....I would assume it is the same in the US, but am not sure.

WhiteRabbit · November 12, 2009

Well that's disappointing. Remembering to set the emergency brake a click every time I get out of the truck at night would probably get old . That is if I could remember it every time.

In the U.S. the DRL's are your headlights at reduced power. I liked it before when they used the turn signals for DRL's. I disabled my DRL's because I think it looks ridiculous riding around with dim headlights in the day. Besides. Only motorcycles should have headlights on during the day.

GasHog369 · November 12, 2009

How bout shine a flashlight on the sensor while turning truck on....

It prob would work... but then again it would be easier just using E brake

sceptre · November 12, 2009

How bout shine a flashlight on the sensor while turning truck on....

It prob would work... but then again it would be easier just using E brake

this is my first auto for a while so setting ebrake is nothing new for me

bersh · November 26, 2009

Well that's disappointing. Remembering to set the emergency brake a click every time I get out of the truck at night would probably get old . That is if I could remember it every time.

In the U.S. the DRL's are your headlights at reduced power. I liked it before when they used the turn signals for DRL's. I disabled my DRL's because I think it looks ridiculous riding around with dim headlights in the day. Besides. Only motorcycles should have headlights on during the day.

This isn't true for all vehicles. The older body style trucks (up until the 99.5)ran either the high or low beams at reduced power (depending on vehicle). The old body style (up to 07.5) had a separate bulb it ran as the DRL. The NBS go back to using the low beams as the DRL. This isn't a US thing, it's a manufacturer thing.

izack98 · December 3, 2009

Hey Sceptre, I bought an ELK-960 variable delay timer from 'AAR Tech Canada' in anticipation of buying HID's soon.

It's an electronic delay. You can use it on alot of applications. You can delay the 'power on' from 1-60 seconds or 1-60 minutes. I havent installed it yet but have read the directions and it seems pretty simple.

Here's a link to where I bought mine:

http://www.aartech.ca/elk-960-elk-variable...mer-module.html

Its pretty cheap ($28.95 Cdn). I got the info from a guy in the Chevy Avalanche website who has used one for years and says it works well. I think he had a 5 second delay set from ignition to lights on. I plan to mount mine under the hood so I will need to buy a plastic electronics box to house it to keep out the elements. I plan to find the power wire for the headlights and run it through the timer then to the relay for the HID's.

I have been looking at HID's for my 09 LTZ and there are so many on the market its hard to make a decision. What brand did you get? Where at? Are you happy with the product & light output? Alot of people talk about them being too bright and blinding everyone. I don't want that.

salden77 · December 3, 2009

i have the same problem on my truck with my hids, its not good for the ignitor to turn the lights on then off and then back on again, and over time it will kill the ignitor.

WhiteRabbit · December 3, 2009

I've seen the delay relay in action. There's a guy who makes a kit for bikes that does the same thing. Here's a video of his in action.

http://www.tripageled.com/PAGES/600rr05.htm#HIDdelayrelay

Sean006 · December 3, 2009

anyone have a problem like this on the HID's

if i just unlocked the truck and turn the key,only one headlight will pop on but if i start the truck with the remote start then turn the key they both always come on.