DRL/Fog not turning off?
 

Hi guys, I tried posting this in the general forum, but since this pertains to cars originally equipped with Daytime Running Lights, The majority of forum members in the US can't really help.

Recently my car srtated doing this weird thing.

When I turn the engine off and exit the car, the fog lights (which are the daytime running lights) stay on.

I've waited up to 10 or 15 minutes, they don't turn off. I'm guessing that at the 30 minute mark they probably would becaus of the battery saver, but that's not normal.

From what I can gather, it's likely a relay that "sticks" to the on position. Problem is that the relays for these things are built-in to the Power Distribution module (IPDM) so they can't be replaced without changing the entire module, which isn't cheap.

Has anyone had something similar?

My timers for lights off are set to zero and every other lights shut right off when I close my door after a shut-down so that's not it.

Sounds like a trip to Nissan, but i'd like to see if anyone had this, I would like to point them in a direction in case they give me the "can't reproduce it" type of answer.

Thanks!

That is weird. Have you had the Z since new? If not, did someone wire up a switch to turn the DRL's on/off manually?

Just bought it this past January so i'm only starting to drive it this last month.

I've looked it over and it seems there's absolutely no modifications, no odd wires or switches.

I've read Nissan had problems with IPDM on other models that had sticky relays, but nothing on a 370Z

It may be a relay or wiring issues. Was any work done on the front end, was the bumper removed to add a CAI or maybe the bumper was replaced incorrectly after an accident/repair? That's where I would start. I am certain someone else will chime in.

As far as I can tell no modifications at all (and no signs of past modifications removed).

Carproof showed no accidents either. It's a 2013 with 23,000km on it.

If only I could change out the relay, but it's built into the IPDM.

Many sticking relays are caused by eroded/oxidized contacts. If you can get to the contacts, a small burnishing tool* should fix you up.

*Just an example, not a recommendation

electrical contact cleaner also works for cleaning electrical contacts =)

https://shop.harborfreight.com/media...mage_24186.jpg

Hmmm, you're missing the point. The relays in the IPDM are not replaceable. Can't get to them. If this was a regular automotive relay, i'd have tried swapping it out already.

The IPDM is where all wires connect next to the battery and where most fuses are. The only relay that can be changed is the starter relay. All other relays are inside, soldered to the board.

Sorry to threadjack but does anybody know a way to disable the DRL? Searching didn't yield any concrete solutions and I doubt a dealership would be keen to disable them in the BCM as it's a safety thing. I'm not a big fan of constantly running the headlights even at a reduced voltage or however it's done. Just wondering if anybody had found a way.

Can you get access to the board? You nay be able to clean them even if they are soldered on...

Another alternative is just to rewire them yourself.. Just need a switched 12V source that has a big enough circuit to power them. Are we talking about the DRLs that come on the 13+ or is this specific to Canadian models?

Burnishing does away with the need to replace. Repair, not replace.

There should be a way to get to them (IIRC, they aren't glued/welded together) ... but it may be more work than it's worth. FSM may give you some clues on how to get it apart.

A good dose of contact cleaner, as mentioned above, will help any sticking that is caused by old lubricant.

Ok, this will help understand how this thing works.

I took this image from the steering lock thread. What you see here is our IPDM. The ONLY relay that's removable is the black one, that's the starter relay.

Inside this beige board are many more. (wiper, fog, a/c, etc.) But i've not been able to find any pictures of what it looks like inside there. I'm a bit reluctant to crack mine open to see if it looks like we can replace one or even clean them. Most of the ones you have to solder as typically fragile and you risk breaking them if you try to open them.

http://www.the370z.com/members/yamah...01-photo-7.jpg

If you want to fix that relay you have two choices:
1) Replace IPDM.
Pros: Easiest solution.
Cons: Expensive.

2) Disassemble IPDM and repair relay (or replace - unsoldering/resoldering is not that difficult).
Pros: Cheaper than #1.
Cons: Documentation may be hard to find. If you screw up bad enough, go to #1.

If you decide to go with #2, please take a lot of pics and post a DIY.

Here's my plan:

I was told this car has an extended warranty that ends in 2 weeks. I have an appointment this coming tuesday at my local Nissan dealer. I hope they either can reproduce the problem (intermittent at this point) or they will believe me and replace the IPDM.

If things don't go that way, i'll try to find the same part on ebay for cheap and replace it. If successful i would then open the old one and see about fixing it.

Worst case scenario I can't find the exact same model and open mine.

I saw a few on ebay, they look the same but carry different part numbers. Not sure what differences there are but since this is an integrated circuit board, there can be many differences, can't take a chance without a perfect match.

Aramis76, I would also point out to the dealer that this is issue with your DRL's is related to the actual law, nationwide. Motor vehicles are to have fully functional DRL's. If your DRL's are not functioning properly, you may be issued a citation by local law enforcement. Maybe this may light an additional fire under the dealers a$$ses to get this issue resolved asap. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Nixin, that may work, but my DRL's stay on when the car is off. If they didn't turn on i'd have a case like you mention. The way they are acting now, I can never get a ticket for them!

I'm just hoping they don't try to weasel out of fixing it.

Sounds like a great plan to me. Good luck.

I am reading you loud and clear bro, from the first post. I am just suggesting that the dealer needs to fix 'em as they are malfunctioning and eventually will lead to their eventual failure. Hence will not work at all. I am certain that the dealer will try to weasel their way out of it. Anything to take our hard earned $.

Quick update:

Dealer replaced the IPDM under extended warranty (which is ending in 1 week).

All is good again!

Great stuff Aramis76. Thanks for the update. BTW, which dealer did you use?

Nice :tup:

Closest to me (less than 5km) is called Belvedere Nissan.

The service advisor actually lives on my street, nice coincidence!

Well this sucks but the problem is still there.

Took the car out for the first good ride since the repair today and the lights stayed on.

Hopefully the dealer will accept to keep working on it even though the warranty is out. I'll call on monday. Looking at the schematics, there's not much else that can be wrong, i'm scratching my head here...

That really sucks Aramis76. Maybe have someone try to rewire the DRL's to their own separate switch.

I want to get to the bottom of this, but the schematics from the service manual are not helping much. The IPDM has a CPU, so you can trace the internal relay to the CPU, but then you can follow it anymore since it's in the "cloud" of digital commands.

At worst I could intercept the power going to the fog lamps (DRL) and add a relay to the ignition power to cut them out when the ignition is turned off, but that would only mask the issue.

I wish I could talk to a Nissan Mechanic about this

You reported the problem before the warranty ran out. Since they haven't fixed it, they should keep working on it until they do.

I'll talk the the service guy monday morning when they open, i'll let you know what happens!

Ok, here's how this story concludes:

They tried replacing the BCM under the extended warranty, but the problem persisted.

After spending some more time, they were out of ideas and since the warranty only pays a given amount of hours for specific jobs, they didn't know what to do anymore.

So, they told me I would have to start paying, they were certain a this point that it was either a short somewhere (which the extended warranty probably would not have covered anyway) or a damaged wire somewhere.

I gave them the go ahead for a few hours of detective work. And what do you know they found something after 2.5 hours. The previous owner had bypassed the DRL relay and tapped their power directly to the IPDM power. The mechanic was impressed by how well the re-wiring looked oem. They would have never noticed it if not for following wires one by one.

I guess the previous owner wanted the DRL on all the time, but he should have taken power somewhere that is controlled by ignition. Instead, tapping into the IPDM power means the fog lights only shut down when the modules go to sleep, which can take up to 45 minutes i'm told.

In retrospect, I knew something was odd because they always came on as soon as I started the car (even with handbrake on) but since I couldn't compare with another, I didn't make a big deal out of it.

So, all in all, it cost me 3 hours, but i still got a new IPDM and BCM out of it, so I can't complain and it now runs as it should.

Thanks for the update. Glad to hear you figured it out. :driving:

Fantastic Aramis76. At last, the problem is solved!

Interesting! Now I am trying to figure out how I can leverage this new found info... do you know where he tapped for power?

It would be cool if you had demon eye LEDs in your headlights that stayed on for 45 minutes after you shut down.

If you look at the IPDM schematic, it was tapped right above the DRL relay (normally the DRL's are fed below the DRL relay.

So they were being powered at the same moment as the IPDM was.