DIY | Enabling the European/10 Series 6-pin HID LED Low-Power with Headlights for $5

[SilverTipp]

I installed mine with a diode and 100 ohm resistor. 100 ohm is possibly a little bright ... I may add the other 100 ohm resister in series that came with the pack.

But ... glad I have them now working with the HID headlights either way! Thanks for the write-up. This was the only thing that bugged me on the 10-series. In fact, the salesman and I spent 15-20 minutes trying to figure out how to turn them on with the headlights before we realized we couldn't on day of my first test drive. lol

[#944_10_Series_FRS]

@SilverTipp , do you mind to post picture of diode installed? I have no electrical knowledge and want to make sure I install it correctly. thanks

[Luis_GT]

Originally Posted by #944_10_Series_FRS

@SilverTipp , do you mind to post picture of diode installed? I have no electrical knowledge and want to make sure I install it correctly. thanks

[mid_life_crisis]

Don't get too excited about that picture. It doesn't tell you the most important detail. That being, which end goes to pin5 and which goes to pin1. Diodes are designed to only flow current in one direction, which is why they are great for making sure you don't burn out circuits by flowing electricity the wrong way.

[mid_life_crisis]

I have a question or two about this. If one resistor will do the job for both lights, then either they are in series or they are in parallel and the paths diverge in the connector, which is why the resistor before the connector would affect both.
How are they wired from the factory? Does anyone have the full pinout for this connector?

[Luis_GT]

Originally Posted by mid_life_crisis

Don't get too excited about that picture. It doesn't tell you the most important detail. That being, which end goes to pin5 and which goes to pin1. Diodes are designed to only flow current in one direction, which is why they are great for making sure you don't burn out circuits by flowing electricity the wrong way.

Goes from #5 (red) to #1

[mid_life_crisis]

Originally Posted by Luis_GT

Goes from #5 (red) to #1

That still doesn't answer the question. Which end of the diode goes where? You know and I can certainly figure it out, but many of our fellow forum members have no clue which way to point the diode. Many of them have no idea why there's a stripe on the thing.

Edit: Damnit, you answered too quick. I edited too late.

[Luis_GT]

Originally Posted by mid_life_crisis

That still doesn't answer the question. Which end of the diode goes where? You know and I can certainly figure it out, but many of our fellow forum members have no clue which way to point the diode.

The bag where the diode comes in says which direction the diode works... if it doesn't, only way to know is by using a voltmeter.
or you can just flip the cables between #1 and #5 if it's backwards, it's not that hard...

in the case of my diode, power flows from ring-less to ring.

[mid_life_crisis]

For those of you wondering what the heck I'm going on about, here's diodes 101.
This is an incredibly simplified explanation of how a diode works. It really is an idiot's guide for people who don't need or want the scientific explanation but want it to be more than flippin magic.
With few exceptions diodes work the same way.
Picture the tube as having three areas: Positive end, negative end and what amounts to a neutral middle area. The ends are treated with material (technical term "doped") to make them have the charges they do.
Remember that opposites attract and likes repel.
Now imagine connecting the plus end to a voltage source and the negative (typically the one with the stripe) to a lower voltage. You hook the positive source to the positive end and the doped material is repelled towards that neutral center area. Same thing happens at the other end. They meet in the middle of that neutral zone. Now you have a complete path from one end to the other.
Now imagine something weird happens and for some reason the end that had the higher voltage suddenly drops so that it is lower than the other end. Opposites attract, remember. So now the doped material is pulled towards the ends, making that neutral zone bigger and turning it into the equivalent of a moat preventing movement through the diode, so the electricity can't go the wrong way.

[KelvinBRZ]

So... any chance a similar method like this could work on the BRZ's DRL strip?

[#944_10_Series_FRS]

Just completed this mod today. Thanks to @Siege and @Luis_GT for your help on the instruction.

[unikhmer]

Can anyone post a picture of how you mounted the resistor?

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[subiestyle]

im a straight nub with this kind of stuff.

can someone post a more detailed nub friendly guide?

[Retro86]

im gonna need detailed instructions on these