With the DRL mandatory on Canadian vehicles, it was affecting the way my HID was running as it used a variable signal to the low beams instead of a direct current when the DRL was on. This caused the HID to flicker and a relay would not have solved the issue, as discussed on other 07+ Mitsubishi vehicles. Instead of using a capacitor to try and mimic a direct current, or relay the low beams to the parking lights, I decided to rewire the low beams and fog lights since they are both H11. Everything works the same and only requires a couple extension pigtails to bring the low beam down to the fogs and the fogs to the HID.



Here is position 0 and everything is off. DRL is on.



Here is position 1 and parking lights are on. DRL is on.



Here is position 2 and parking lights are on, low beams are now full power to DRL.



Here is position 2 and fog light switch activated to turn on the HID. Everything is on.



I like having the fogs as the DRL like on the 11-12 model years. I never drive with the fogs off when the low beams are at full power during the night anyways. This works perfect for me to not have to deal with relays or capacitors while still being able to retain full control of the lights and avoid issues with the DRL disturbing the HID. When high beams are on, the quick flash does not turn off the HID, but high beams on constant will turn off the HID as it is now wired to the fog. I don't use the high beams on constant too often so this is not much of an issue for me. It's nice the quick high beam flash does not turn off the HID to prolong bulb life.

 

Strange thing with the wires.

I've also installed HIDS on our ASX, it has fogs + drl, and I never experienced any flickering or interference from any lights. And it has an automatic light sensor.
Also when using full beam, the hids don't turn of.

 

Lucky! What kit do you have? Is yours also 2013?

 

Some may recall my previous announcement (here: https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ou...sx-os-rvr.html )of a new set of tail lights offered for our platform while I was traveling overseas. The design wasn't finalized at the time but was released to market after I returned home. Since timing wasn't on my side, communication with the manufacturer became much more difficult to coordinate a batch of these lights to North America. Japan and Asia received their shipments much sooner than we did, but at the end of the long process, we finally have these beauties landing on our soil... Here is my write up on the install and review of the lights as we have not seen these here as of yet. Hopefully this may be of use to those considering a set of these lights but may be put off by the uncertainty of quality, install, etc.





We start off with the driver side. There are two screws on the black trim upon opening the hatch. Remove those and set aside for later.



Insert a panel puller to the outer edge of the tail lamp. Pry towards the rear of the vehicle and be mindful to protect the painted edge of the body. It should release as shown below.



Here is a close up of the reverse side of the tail lamp and the reason why we have to pry straight towards the rear of the vehicle. Note the silver pin which has to slide out, as well as the C shaped female clip.



Remove the turn signal and brake light covers. Then release the wiring assembly away from the tail lamp clip.



This is what you will end up with. The bulb is for the turn signal and the other plug is for the LED brake light. Thankfully the OEM tail lamp is also LED so there is no need for resistors or relays in order to run the aftermarket lights. Everything is plug and play.



The connection on the LED brake light is identical to the OEM tail lamp. Remove the turn signal bulb and insert in the new male plug from the aftermarket tail lamp into the OEM socket. Note that there is only one way to insert this plug for the turn signal to match the correct polarity. After you have inserted this plug, do a quick test with your hazards to see if the signal lights work. If not, you have reversed the polarity. Simply flip the plug around and try again.



The LED brake light plug for reference.



Now we have to draw power for the running lights from the outside edge to the tailgate lights. The OEM lamps do not turn on so in order to achieve the full affect, we have two power cables supplied. Pay close attention, one set is long and one set is short. We want to use the LONG set of cables first.



Remove the grommet for the OEM wiring assembly coming from the body and route in one end of the long power cable.



You will need to pull back on the interior panel of the trunk slightly to access the power cable you just fished in through the outside. No need to pull the entire panel, a slight opening will be enough to see where you inserted the power cable from the other side.



Insert the other end of the power cable into the connector on the aftermarket tail lamp. Again, there is only one way to insert this plug so make sure your polarity is correct.



Leave a small amount of slack on the outside for your wiring in case you ever need to change back to stock or swap a bulb. Place the wiring harness grommet back into the opening to seal out the elements. The only seal you have to prevent water from entering the vehicle through this hole is the grommet, so double check you have a good seal with the new power cable running alongside the opening. Be careful not to cut the new power cable you just ran along the edge of the body as it is sharp and can cause a kink.



Now for the other end of the new power cable, run it along the rubber door seal towards the headliner.



Remove the grommet for the hatch wiring and feed the power cable under the headliner and out through the rubber hose towards the hatch.



The wiring should now be as pictured below. Now we have to remove the hatch paneling starting with the top piece that runs across the hatch.



Next is the side pieces on each end. Also just held in place with clips and only requires a little force to remove.



Note the push pins on each end of the final piece of the hatch panel before pulling the rest of the pins out.



Route the new power cable into the hatch and place the grommets back in place on both ends of the body and the hatch.



Here we have three nuts to remove. Two are under the black caps on the left, and the last is exposed on the right. Unplug the reverse lamp and the whole center piece tail lamp will pop out. Set aside the nuts for use later.



A shot of the exterior hatch without the tail lamp for reference.



Place the new aftermarket tail lamp in place and secure with the three original nuts. Replace the black caps to the two outside nuts to prevent corrosion.



You will notice there are two connectors on this tail lamp on the driver side. Connect one of the connectors to the power cable we ran from outside towards the headliner and into the hatch from earlier.



Take the second power cable supplied (the shorter set) and connect it to the second connector on the tail lamp. The two connectors are interchangeable so it does not matter which one you connect to. Both will have the same result.



With the reverse lamp in place and the wiring tucked nicely, this is what the finished result should look like.



Run the other end of the short power cable set across the hatch to the passenger side.



Remove the tail lamp assembly like on the driver side with the three nuts. Here is a picture of the black caps being removed to expose the nut underneath.



Install the new tail lamp and secure the three nuts. Remember to place the black caps over the two outside nuts again. Plug the last connector to the power cable we just ran across the hatch from the driver side, and also the reverse lamp. At this point, our work in the hatch is complete. You may proceed to place the trunk panels back in.



Moving on to the final lamp, again, remove the two screws on the black edge as shown.



Remove the LED brake light and turn signal connector, and free it from the tail lamp clip. The turn signal bulb has to be removed as well.



Connect the new tail lamp with the original wiring. Note the turn signal plug only goes in one direction, so test the hazard lights as soon as you plug the turn signal in to make sure the polarity is correct.



Place the new tail lamp back into place and push directly towards the front of the vehicle. Make sure to pay attention to the pin and clip on the outside edge and that they are aligned. Afterwards you can use the original screws to secure the assembly in place.



Finished results with the new tail lights and all trunk panels back into place.

 

^
Most Excellent how-to & review!
Please post photos of it in action at night.

Thanks for sharing.

 

Very nice can we see some pics of it lit up and break lights.

 

These lights are perfect. The smoke is darker than what I prefer but I've gotten use to it in a second. Originally I almost opted for red as the smoked version was on back order, but I am glad I waited. Illumination is perfect at night time. Compared to stock, I much prefer these without the amber turn signals. It creates a much cleaner look during the day, and the same for at night when the full strip of running lights are on. It updates the look of the back compared to the OEM lights. The LED strip is what automakers are releasing on most models now so it's nice to get with the times.

The only concern I have is how long these will last. The turn signal and brake light are all LED which cannot be replaced. The reverse lamp is the same as original which is nice if you have already upgraded the bulb for brighter output. Only time will tell how well these can hold up. For now, I am blown away by the appearance, performance, quality, and ease of installation. Pricing was more than I had hoped but there is always a price to pay for being first to try.

Lights off:















Lights on:















Brake lights on: (hard to see but the LED strip is the same brightness as before. Only the square outside portion on each side is brighter along with the high mount brake light)







Turn signals:







Turn signals with lights off:





Reverse lamps with lights off:









Reverse lamps with lights on:

 

I'm so looking forward to installing these! Awesome description with illustration as always! Thanks so much for helping all of us out with this deal.

 

No problem at all. Just glad I can help the community out!

 

We experienced a slight winter thaw so I took the opportunity to give the RVR a good cleaning. This has only been the second time I've been able to hand wash the car since new. With the muddy grime we have over the winter, usually a quick spray down is all I can squeeze in on a warmer day. Nothing beats a good bucket wash though so I also snapped some pictures of the exterior since I hardly have the chance to get full body shots. You'll notice I removed the window visors as the front visors were starting to peel. The better motivation of why I decided to part ways with the visors though was the wind noise. It wasn't bad at first but from my daily commute on the freeway, it really began to get to me. I immediately noticed a difference on how much quieter the ride became without the visors so I'm a happy camper. Another change back to stock is the stubby antenna I had on from before. The look was nice but the fit was not ideal. Imagine a Darth Vadar helmet with where the antenna met the car body. It was a minor detail but it always bothered me there was a gap between the two. I was surprised when trying to remove the antenna that the fitting supplied had corroded over the winter. It has only been less than 3 months and it was already seized. I still managed to remove the stubby antenna and clean off the corrosion. The stock antenna is back in place for a much clearer radio reception. Although the look is more obvious, the fit and finish of the OEM can't be beat, so I'm content.

Last but not least, LED license plate lights! These puppies are bright, I tried to capture the best of the lighting as I could with a tripod. It goes well with the new tail lights to really complete the new-age look of the vehicle. Despite it being brand new from 2013, the tail lights and LED license plate lights really set it off. Enjoy!

 

Good job. One thing I don't like about it is that the LED strips don't light when you brake. I think it was mentioned somewhere that you can install a relay to make it work.
Also, the ideal way would be for the LED strips to increase intensity when you brake, similar to the stock tail/brake lights. I wonder if there's a way around this.
Lastly, the area inside the green lines below doesn't seem to serve a purpose?

 

I agree the braking could be improved with different variations. I personally wished for the LED strip to be the DRL only. I feel if the brake light only came on full power when braking, then it would be closer to how Audi has their setup. It would probably preserve the life of the LED's as well.

Either that, or add more lights in the green area you highlighted to also light up when braking. Right now it is just wasted space which is too bad.

Do you have more info on your relay install?

 

.

Thank you for the night shots!
They look great.






I'm sorry to hear about your window visors... I was actually planning on getting myself a set. Thinking that it would be "quieter" than others I've seen (due to it's flatter AND partial fluting design). How disappointing. But, thank you for your honest input.

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I'm trying to picture that Vader description.. Be more funny if it had a cape to go along with it.

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Man, they don't make stubby antennas like they use to, do they? Can't even keep the rain and salt sprays out for 3 months!?

How are we suppose to pimp our rides when little items like these can't even keep itself together?

 

I think I'll wait for version 2.0 of the tail lamps.

 

With all the common complaints about engine, CVT, wind, and road noise on this platform, I wanted to try and see for myself if some improvements could be made. Honestly, the noise doesn't bother me too much as I'm used to driving loud vehicles. However, for a daily driver, having a more comfortable ride is always a bonus. I picked up some damper and absorber material from B-Quiet.

As seen before, even on Canadian spec RVR's there is not much to offer aside from some foam.



Close up of the absorber, it's not too thick at 3/4" which is meant for under the hood or firewall. I like this material because it comes with adhesive already applied. Most other absorber or composite materials require your own adhesive to apply if not used on the floor. I think the only downfall for this material is its poor resistance against water. Based on other reviews, it seems like it soaks up water quite easily and hold it for long period of time before drying out. Something to keep in mind if using near open water.



Again, just a vapor barrier and not much else on the door skin.



I didn't go crazy with the damper on the door skin. Just wanted to add some weight to control the vibrations and see how much of a difference it made before venturing into other areas.





For the absorber foam on the door panel, I wanted the vapor barrier in between to keep the water out. The door panel doesn't have the most flat surface for one piece of foam uncut across the entire panel. Obviously it would be more efficient to have one solid piece as opposed to what I have done here. Again, I only had so much foam on hand and wanted to conserve for the rest of the 3 doors. I wanted to experiment to see for myself how much of a difference could be made first.



The passenger door is not much better. Just the same old piece of foam.



I was surprised how easy the vapor barrier was to remove and re-install.



Close up of some of the areas I applied the damper.







Finally, the same layout for the foam on the door with pieces here and there for a trial run.



Initial impressions, although I only worked on the front doors for now, there is a slight difference in driving comfort at all speeds from off the line to cruising. It's a feeling like there is less high pitched sounds coming from both sides, and a firmer feel to vibrations. Although the difference is marginal and it may also be psychological, I am satisfied with the improvement and will continue to work on the rear doors and trunk later on to see if more improvements can be made.