My driving light controller module prototype

segxr7

Registered
I finally got fed up and had to do something about my headlights. I decided to get a set of driving lights to mount behind the grille.

After trying to figure out how to control them without adding any switches, I ended up making what I guess would be called a driving light controller module. Basically when the headlights turn on, it turns on the driving lights. If you manually turn on the headlight switch for at least ~2 seconds, it shuts them off. If you turn the switch on and then immediately back off, it turns 'em back on.

The headlight switch sends 12 volts to the warning chime module whenever it's turned on. This is how it "knows" to chime if you left the headlights on, but not if they're on because of the Autolamp timer. My module taps into this to determine when the headlight switch is flipped. It also taps into either the headlight feed wire (to turn on with the headlights), or a switched ignition wire (to turn on whenever the car's running).

It's designed to not affect the warning module, the "lamp out" module, or any other function of the headlights. If it fails, it'll only cause the driving lights to stay off or on. I have not yet installed it in my car, but I spent several hours testing it w/ a 12-volt power supply and so far it's working perfectly.

I'm attaching the schematic.. Hopefully some people here can expand/modify/criticize it and come up with more cool stuff. :) The usual disclaimers apply-- I'm not an electrical engineer, I make no guarantees that it actually works, and I'm not liable if it burns up your car. It should go without saying that each input needs an inline fuse. I'm using a 0.5amp on each wire. From my tests (which include driving the output relay), it consumes about 0.18 amps at the most.

Here it is:

EDIT: Oops! The schematic should also include a diode immediately after the "warning output" wire to prevent any feedback into the warning chime.

http://www.lincolnsclub.org/forum/user_files/1734.gif
 
RE: My driving light controller module prototype

Pretty cool! :)

When I had driving lights, I just used a wireless relay control. I use the same control now for my fan over-ride.
 
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