9005's flickering when in DRL
Model Year 2018 and Newer
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I used their SL1s in MY16 fogs with good results.
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Do the Diode Dynamics flicker with DRL on?
I am on the fence totally about upgrading to LED's in these headlights. The DD's do look like a normal white though. But the package I got had both 9005's and H11's. So I'd like to see both before committing to the extra cost. If nothing solves the DRL strobing, then I am not going to attempt a convert to any other light. I see DD offers 9005's, but if you go to their site an search by vehicle, the only things they list as compatible are the fog lights.
The low beam H11's will work no issue, but at $150 for a set of 9005's plus their $30 anti flicker option, which is not even guaranteed to work, because that's exactly what I just had, lol. Maybe I'll have to contact DD for some clarification.
Also, I already contacted LASFIT, and they offer the same thing. They say none of the lights for the Crosstrek require anti flicker additions, but they do not offer a high beam solution, only fog lights. I suspect both DD and LASFIT do not offer the high beams because they know this issue. When I contacted LASFIT they said to get the $70 set of 9005's and the anti flicker addition. Why? I didn't ask. I suspect it STILL WON'T WORK. I suspect the $70 set was mentioned simply because it costs more. It even states above the list of the 9005's they offer that the $70 set is "recommended". C'mon folks, see through that marketing. Willing to bet you wouldn't notice a difference between the $70 set and the $50 set. Hell, probably not even the $40 set. The $50 set is the beginning of ones with fans though, so there is that. But the rest is marketing at it's finest. Still, no proof they will work with the Crosstreks DRL's.
TBH, I just don't think a picture does the spread and color of light justice. Numerous pics were posted on the brand that I bought, and none of them looked as blue as they actually are.
I am on the fence totally about upgrading to LED's in these headlights. The DD's do look like a normal white though. But the package I got had both 9005's and H11's. So I'd like to see both before committing to the extra cost. If nothing solves the DRL strobing, then I am not going to attempt a convert to any other light. I see DD offers 9005's, but if you go to their site an search by vehicle, the only things they list as compatible are the fog lights.
The low beam H11's will work no issue, but at $150 for a set of 9005's plus their $30 anti flicker option, which is not even guaranteed to work, because that's exactly what I just had, lol. Maybe I'll have to contact DD for some clarification.
Also, I already contacted LASFIT, and they offer the same thing. They say none of the lights for the Crosstrek require anti flicker additions, but they do not offer a high beam solution, only fog lights. I suspect both DD and LASFIT do not offer the high beams because they know this issue. When I contacted LASFIT they said to get the $70 set of 9005's and the anti flicker addition. Why? I didn't ask. I suspect it STILL WON'T WORK. I suspect the $70 set was mentioned simply because it costs more. It even states above the list of the 9005's they offer that the $70 set is "recommended". C'mon folks, see through that marketing. Willing to bet you wouldn't notice a difference between the $70 set and the $50 set. Hell, probably not even the $40 set. The $50 set is the beginning of ones with fans though, so there is that. But the rest is marketing at it's finest. Still, no proof they will work with the Crosstreks DRL's.
TBH, I just don't think a picture does the spread and color of light justice. Numerous pics were posted on the brand that I bought, and none of them looked as blue as they actually are.
Hopefully Cutlass will respond. All of these LED companies say “ for off-road use only” for the low and high beams.
I used a DeAutokey HID kit in MY16. I used the 9011 HIRs in the highs. I contacted Nick at DD and received free freight. I used DD’s H11 SL1s 5000K in the fogs, and they widened the light.
I used a DeAutokey HID kit in MY16. I used the 9011 HIRs in the highs. I contacted Nick at DD and received free freight. I used DD’s H11 SL1s 5000K in the fogs, and they widened the light.
OK, so what happened several years after these DD lights were listed as replacements for the Crosstrek is that it became known that there is actually a US federal regulation against using LED bulbs in reflector housings designed for incandescent bulbs. This is the reason DD cannot claim that they are legal for on road use. It was a more than annoying situation, but DD offered a rebate to buyers. There was a fair amount of ill will generated by the situation.
How that affects the other makers of LED headlight bulbs, I can't tell you. Except that if people make a complaint against you for having these bulbs in the car on road, you may get a ticket from the police and be required to switch back to incandescent bulbs.
Now as my beam pattern really looks pretty much the same as the OEM beam pattern, and no one has ever complained to me, or flashed their lights at me on the road, I just didn't switch back after that came out. But I know that it is possible that I might be forced to do so.
This is the difference in the low beam pattern.
As you can see on the wall, the DD LED doesn't shine any significant amount above the lower piece of masking tape than the OEM bulb does. That said, actually making the adjustments necessary to get that result wasn't the easiest thing in the world.
The high beam pattern isn't quite as clean as the low beams, but I turn those off for approaching cars anyways.
The DD LEDs in the the high beam slot will both flicker, and be at 100% brightness all the time. There is a work around for this, and you can do that and get just a different DRLs, or you can go without DRLs. I did the work around. And while done is done, and I like the affect, the cost and difficulty of doing it was such that I wouldn't recommend it, or do it again.
The fog lights are a DD bulb with an amber laminate overlay. The DRLs are the boomerangs on the bottom and C lights on the sides. I didn't have anyone to sit in the car that day for a pic, which is why the headlights are on, as the Crosstrek won't light up the DRLs with the car in park unless the headlights are on.
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What is the work around to get the DRL's to function?
You could just do the low beams with DD for $150. You could get the Lasfit H11 for $40. If you don't like the Lasfit you could return them to Amazon. You could leave the high beam 9005 or replace the with German Phillips 9011s HIR from Amazon. On my 2016 Crosstrek, I used the 9011 with good results.
In my case, I bought a wiring harness and those boomerang lights from a vendor of Subi customizing parts, and disconnected the high beams from the DRLs entirely. My experience dealing that that company was poor enough so that I wouldn't go back to them.
GCS LED DRL Fog Light Bezel Inserts
GCS DRLs for the 2016+ CrosstrekThis product is new for the end of 2016 and gives your Crosstrek proper DRLs. They have a dual intensity function because
To just disconnect the DRLs, there is a wiring harness plug, in the first generation car, I do not know about the second gen car, which is under the bumper forward of the right front wheel which if you unplug it, you no longer have DRLs.
Possible search;
www.subaruxvforum.com
Search results for query: disconnecting DRLs i 2018-2021
www.subaruxvforum.com
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Well, I got contacted by Diode Dynamics. They said what I expected, and what you are relaying too. They do not work with DRL's.
So I went out and bought some Sylvania Silverstar Ultra's (not the ZXE's). They look great. I will test them tonight, but since I have used them before I suspect nothing out of the ordinary. They even look great with the DRL's off. Give a nice reflection, and obviously, they do with the DRL's. So, until I get some projector style lights, I'll stay away from LED's. I do still plan on doing the interior with them (lol @ Subaru btw, for wanting $100 for 3 bulbs) and I already did the license plate. The fog lights are a possibility, although I rarely use them and already have the housing yellowed, so maybe no need to waste money on the DD"s (but damn they do look good). But the rest is most likely going to stay as is. I'll update as I go through them eventually. Thanks for all the help!
So I went out and bought some Sylvania Silverstar Ultra's (not the ZXE's). They look great. I will test them tonight, but since I have used them before I suspect nothing out of the ordinary. They even look great with the DRL's off. Give a nice reflection, and obviously, they do with the DRL's. So, until I get some projector style lights, I'll stay away from LED's. I do still plan on doing the interior with them (lol @ Subaru btw, for wanting $100 for 3 bulbs) and I already did the license plate. The fog lights are a possibility, although I rarely use them and already have the housing yellowed, so maybe no need to waste money on the DD"s (but damn they do look good). But the rest is most likely going to stay as is. I'll update as I go through them eventually. Thanks for all the help!
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The reason all the LED's flicker is because Subaru uses a PWM, pulse wave modulation, for the daytime running lights. Halogens react to this by appearing dimmer, but LED's will see full voltage pulsing on and off very fast. Nothing you can really do to change that.
I went down this rabbit hole trying to have off road lights automatically turn on, via a relay, with the high beams and not the DRL's. I was able to mostly achieve that by using a second relay tied into the parking lights circuit.
I went down this rabbit hole trying to have off road lights automatically turn on, via a relay, with the high beams and not the DRL's. I was able to mostly achieve that by using a second relay tied into the parking lights circuit.
Morimoto makes 9005 high beams with DRL functionality. It's the newer 2stroke 3.0. I just got a pair, but won't be able to test it out until this weekend. I'll post my findings when I do.
I wonder if a pi filter ( 2 capacitors and an inductor) would smooth out the 6 volts. That would be for the EEs to ponder.
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Oh, there is no doubt that you can create am electronics circuit to filter it out. It was just too much of a pain for me to worry about. I did try using a relay thats latching voltage was less than 6v, but it still picked up the PWM signal.
What I wanted was to be able to have my A-pillar mounted offroad lights turn on and off with the highbeams. I hated fumbling in my forester to turn them off seperately when I came upon another driver. So I just made a simple logic circuit; If the parking lights are on (relay one), then the highbeams signal can then pass through to relay two, which is controlled by the highbeam signal, to turn on/off the offroad lights.
The only issue would be if you wanted to have just the parking lights on, but no headlights, then the DRL signal still gets to the offroad lights and they'll flicker. Not really an issue since I have a OEM switch that acts as a bypass, it has to be on to even allow the offroad lights to work. So it never happens in reality. Obviously the offroad lights are LED's.
I was not considering off-road lights. If there's a fuse for the high beams, either in the engine compartment or interior fuse box, use a fuse tap and relay to turn on the off-road lights.
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lol, um... yeah. Since the DRL's and the high beams share the same 12v source (and fuse), that isn't an option. I have a good workaround for my situation, it's people like OP that want to replace the halogen bulbs with a LED lamp that can't get around the PWM making them flicker and/or incorrectly see full power.
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May I ask how you got your dealer to do that? Mine refused saying they "can't" (which is a lie, the Impreza Sport uses the same BCM and that has separate DRLs)
They may think it's against the rules. In some places, it may even be against the law to do so.
BCM? Disabling the DRLS is about just pulling the plug apart.
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