Using HID as DRL
 

Ok, im really new to all this, and yeah, i really dont have any electrical background whatsoever, but here is my situation. I have an HID kit but it doesnt have a harness (yeah, i know, everyone tells me i should get a harness for it) but hear me out. lol

So i was looking at all the options to bypass the DRLs but to be honest, i like my DRLs, i just dont like the way they make my HID kit flicker. so doing some searching i came across what was being sold as a DRL HID harness, where its supposed to take care of the DRL and help stop your HID kit from flickering. but when i got the product, it didnt work for the 08 lancer, so i tried to make the most of it.

Now, i took the DRL harness apart and just used the capacitor that was included in it and soldered that on to the 9006 (exactly the way it was shown for option 1 where the HID's are always on) and hoped that the capacitor would smooth out that waveform (the capacitor from the DRL harness is 25v 4700uF) then plugged that on to my HID ballast and the other end to the car's harness (power source for the original bulb)

what i noticed happening was whenever i start the car and release the hand brake, the HIDs would go on but no flickering, so i figured, hey that did something. but when i turn the lowbeams on, the light got brighter so i figure, which is something i wasnt expecting. but when i turn the lowbeams off and switch back to DRL mode, the light started to flicker again.

so i figure, maybe the capacitor was able to smooth out that DRL wave but just not enough to where i can turn the low beams on and turn them off and i would have flicker free DRL. so i connected another capacitor to the same harness parallel to the first capacitor, and the results seemed a little better. in DRL mode, the HID turns on but not as bright as when i turn the lowbeams on. but when i switched back to DRL, the light flickered a little bit then stayed lit.(kinda like when you turn on a flourecent light, flickers for a bit then stays lit).

now here's where i need help, hehehe. I like the idea of being able to use my HID kit as my DRLs, from what i see, it looks awesome. but will this have any adverse effect on my HID ballast or bulb? seeing that its not powered completely? and as for the capacitors running parallel, i figure if 2 works like this, maybe if i add 1 more it will take out the flickering effect and completely smooth out that drl wave form. but having that many capacitors on a harness, would that drain more power and possibly melt the wires? any feedback on this would really help. for now im stuck with the stock bulbs and i'm really having a hard time seeing the lines on the road at night.

Well, seems like you do know a bit about electrical. I am a professional in vehicle/truck electronics which is is same as automotive.

On the other hand I am a newb for HID's. What you did is interesting how it works as DRL's run at 9V or so with a varying voltage.

From my knowledge (don't deal with capacitors in trucks) the capacitor will store potential energy and thus adding more may help as its taking the DRL voltage and storing it so it can be used for the HID's properly. But then again its not making sense in my brain (sorry 4 hours of electrical diagnostic at work today :p)

It is interesting how it worked but I don't know for sure if it will have an adverse affect on the ballast(s) But hopefully someone with more knowledge of HID's will reply.

So far A+ to you for no electrical knowledge and keep it up!