DRL issue handling - use sidelights or headlights?

MajorTom

MajorTom

New member
So coming back to the facelift/MY18+ DRL issue... since that other thread with lots of good info on the issue has been removed I'm adding this thread. Thanks to the info from Tim we all know what the problem is and what the solution hopefully will be.

Until the repair solution is available, what do we think is the best course of action to avoid getting the issue or limit the progress of the dimming on cars where the DRL has started to dim?

If I recall correctly, putting the lights in sidelight mode or turning on the headlights dims the DRLs compared to when the lights are in auto mode with only the DRLs on. That should presumably reduce the heat produced by the DRLs and slow down the progress of the dimming. Right?

I think it looks best to run the car with the headlights on because the DRL is less obvious then and the car is more visible than running with only sidelight DRLs. The question is only if the heat produced by the headlight LEDs could have any negative effect on the DRLs and contribute to the DRL's melting/fading issue even if the DRL operates with reduced intensity. Any thoughts on that?

At least from the outside, the lights don't seem to get particularly warm. I took the car out for a one hour blast the other day with the headlights permanently on. Directly after the headlights were cool to the touch so nothing seemed to be particularly warmed up.
 
Yes, some aspects of the DRL matter seem to be surprisingly touchy so let's keep it "too polite to be honest" in true British manner on here, and keep any sinful comments for other forums. :D I hope nobody will mind pragmatic discussions about how to deal with the issue here.
 
From technical comments I had understood that the issue was due to excess heat on the left unit (vs the right one). Just naïve thinking loud : could some sort of improved air flow inside the unit help in delaying, or even possibly avoiding, the issue ? Such as drilling a couple of well positioned holes.
 
Hmm, good point. I think I saw someone mention that kind of modification too, but suspect it might lead to issues with moisture or dust entering the light. I guess they are sealed for a reason, and that Tim and the people he investigated this with already thought about it too.

The safest way to limit the melting issue ought to be to just run with sidelight intensity on the DLRs in daylight but I'm hoping using the headlights is good too. It would be great to get that confirmed by someone who dug deeper into the issue and has checked the temperatures in different light modes.
 
I think Tom's idea about running the headlights to dim the DRL's makes sense. Less light running through the bar equals less heat and as we have learned its the heat that melts the plastic part which is affecting the light transfer across the bar.

I know a guy who runs his own commercial lighting company, admittedly they don't do car headlights but I should think his knowledge on light bars might give us some idea on if temps are lower/higher depending on the brightness and if in his opinion the heat from the headlight would bleed over to the DLR.
Il ask him when I see him.
 
MajorTom said:
Not entirely on topic because it's not about preserving the OEM lights, but about replacing them altogether. Looks like the aftermarket solutions are moving forward. Still early days and I wouldn't dare to buy a set at this stage but a chap over at the US forum got a set for his pre-facelife F-Type and seems happy.

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/For-Jaguar-F-TYPE-LED-Headlights_1601454765743.html
Click to expand...

Good to see aftermarket are appearing, but as a word of caution same idea did appear for the first generation Z4. Whilst they were functional they were clearly cheap in moulding and construction. They also changed the look of the car and so general view was stick to OEM. That said if no OEM or simply a prohibitive price, then they could be a great option.
 
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