Disabling DRL's. No tools, no jumper, no dash warnings.

[Satyllac]

Alright...

Items you need:
-A 1991-2002 Saturn S-Series vehicle.
-A brain.
-At least one hand. Two are preferred.
-One eye... Wait, no, you could do it by touch if you had to.

What this procedure will do:
-Disable the annoying daytime running lights (aka DRL's).
-Disable the DRL's without affecting anything else on the car.
--Both headlights still work, low and high beam (foglights work too).
--No warning lights will flash or illuminate on your dashboard.
--You're not required to have a ghetto-fab jumper plugged into your fuse box.
-Allow you to re-enable the DRL's if the need arises, without having to carry the relay in your glovebox/map pocket/cup holder/etc.

1.) Pop your hood, unscrew the big plastic bolt on your underhood fuse box.

2.) Find the DRL relay. (Underside of fuse box cover has a diagram, it will be labeled "DRL".)

If you don't know how to read the fuse box diagram, here is a picture. The DRL relay is circled in red.



3.) Pull the relay out. Easily accomplished with a straight-up pulling motion and a bit of rocking back and forth (follow the arrows in the picture above).

4.) With relay removed, take a look at it. Cute, huh? Wonderous little things, relays are. Electromagnetic switches. Back on topic. Find the diagram printed on one side. See how it relates perfectly to the orientation of the pins on the side next to it.



5.) Find pin 85. Bend it flat against the relay housing so that it won't be inserted into the socket.



6.) Plug the relay back in. Enjoy cruising around without your DRL's.

7.) If anyone ever gives you any trouble about disabling a "safety feature", or if you ever feel the need to re-enable your DRL's, simply bend the pin back into place.

[Riztnackon]

I think u could be a hand model! lol Prolly should make this a sticky!

[the Shaolin UWP]

That easy, huh?

I'm gonna see if I have that relay laying around somewhere..it's currently ghetto rigged...

[Riztnackon]

Originally Posted by the Shaolin UWP

That easy, huh?

I'm gonna see if I have that relay laying around somewhere..it's currently ghetto rigged...

+1

[North]

Tools you need:
-A brain.
-At least one hand. Two are preferred.
-One eye... Wait, no, you could do it by touch if you had to.

you said we did not need any tools!


lol

[madbrad]

This presupposes that all of us find DRLs annoying or don't want them for whatever reason.
I've noticed most American posters hate them and the Canadian posters don't mind them being there(I stop short of saying they like them).
How do they annoy you if you're in the car and you can't see them? Is there some practical reason for not wanting them, or just resentment over the lights being turned on by the government? I don't mean to argue, I just like to hear opinions. In Canada they have been on every car sold since 1990(model year) so we are either so used to it or there's that rep that we never question our leaders or something like that.
In the more northern lattitudes they really do help you get seen in a line of cars in daytime, especially dusk and dawn, which is handy on 2 lane highways and you want to pass. In Scandanavia, all the cars have had all the lights on(no need for DRLs) since the 60s IIRC, just like motorcycles have here since about the same time. They found it reduced collisions at those cruicial times. I always turn on all my lights 24/7 anyway, as taught by my driving school, for that very same safety reason, since I started driving in 1982, so My DRLs don't even get used, so technically I don't need DRLs. But anyway you can see they do have a use and thewy did have a reason for it, but the closer you get to the equator, the less difference they make. Not trying to make you keep them, just discussing

[mr tibbs]

Originally Posted by madbrad

This presupposes that all of us find DRLs annoying or don't want them for whatever reason.
I've noticed most American posters hate them and the Canadian posters don't mind them being there(I stop short of saying they like them).
How do they annoy you if you're in the car and you can't see them? Is there some practical reason for not wanting them, or just resentment over the lights being turned on by the government? I don't mean to argue, I just like to hear opinions. In Canada they have been on every car sold since 1990(model year) so we are either so used to it or there's that rep that we never question our leaders or something like that.
In the more northern lattitudes they really do help you get seen in a line of cars in daytime, especially dusk and dawn, which is handy on 2 lane highways and you want to pass. In Scandanavia, all the cars have had all the lights on(no need for DRLs) since the 60s IIRC, just like motorcycles have here since about the same time. They found it reduced collisions at those cruicial times. I always turn on all my lights 24/7 anyway, as taught by my driving school, for that very same safety reason, since I started driving in 1982, so My DRLs don't even get used, so technically I don't need DRLs. But anyway you can see they do have a use and thewy did have a reason for it, but the closer you get to the equator, the less difference they make. Not trying to make you keep them, just discussing

I want to disable them for 2 reasons:

1) I run a high power stereo and I would like all of the power I can get. I would rather power my stereo or charge my battery than run some lights.

2) If I want the lights on, I will turn them on. I have been driving long enough that I know when I want my lights on, so I reach down and turn the little switch.

[Satyllac]

Discussion is good, discussion is definately good.

My reasons for not wanting DRL's:

1.) I don't like things being turned on without my prior approval. Much the same reason I like being able to selectively mute out certain channels on my stereo head unit (Pioneer DEH-P8600MP). On Lindsey (my green SC2, RIP) I had a switch run to the subwoofer amplifier so I could selectively turn on the subs. I also had the good old radiator fan switch so I could turn that on whenever I felt like it. I like options.

2.) I like driving with only the foglights and parking lights on during the day. Until I upgrade my headlights, I think the car looks "meaner" and/or more unique coming down the road. While I might not be able to see the uber-dim DRL's, other drivers can. If the yellow paint didn't tell you already, I like my vehicle to stand out a bit.

3.) Modifying certain things brings me pleasure. Making the factory equipment work differently than it was made to do is enjoyable to me for some reason. Call me crazy.

4.) Anything to get that "custom" touch. If one out of every twenty Saturns you see have their DRL's disabled, I want to be one of the "ones". Much the same reason people put the limited edition black emblems on their "unlimited" S-Series.

[GoldieGoldie97]

the cops around here will get you for not having your lights on when your winshield wipers are on, sunshower or not, and the DRL's have saved my butt many-a-time. i also don't think they look bad at all, more of a luxury touch

[93 saturn sl2]

Originally Posted by satyllac

2.) I like driving with only the foglights and parking lights on during the day.

My moms impala has DRLs and you can turn the parking lights on with the fogs while the DRLs are still on.

Can our Saturns do that?