[Lt. Zed]

I haven't seen this topic and it seems too easy, but just for anyone's edification, disabling daytime running lights in this car is cake easy. The patient is a 2009 LTZ with no mods at all. I followed suggestions on the Solstice forum to no avail. So a quick purusal of the HHR forum showed the most obvious solution which does work.

Simply remove Mini-relay #48 (it's labelled "DRL") to disable DRLs. Auto-headlight functionality does remain and no warning lights come on in the dash.

Removing the badging on my car was even easier as I didn't even need to heat the badges to soften the glue. Use a little windex to clean the area around the badges. To avoid a case of tennis elbow, use nail polish remover to get rid of the glue that's left over. Then, wax the whole area and it's like they were never there. Takes about 15-20 minutes, tops.

Lt. Zed

2009 Malibu LTZ
No badges, No DRLs

Boston Born, Boston Raised, Boston Driven.

 

[pamalibu]

has anyone tried this on a 2010 model pulling the fuse or relay doesnt work. any suggestions
-T

 

[Starship]

Are your parking lamps and taillamps on as well? I'm wondering if you have a light sensor problem. Also, if you weren't the original owner, you wouldn't know of any wiring modifications.

 

[pamalibu]

No the parking lamps are not on. And I bought the car from an old couple the car had a 115 miles on it when I bought it.

 

[DrivenDaily]

Unless GM made major changes to the 2010+ models, pulling either the DRL fuse or relay (or both) will disable the DRLs without affecting any other systems.

For the DRLs to turn on the key needs to be on, it needs to be light enough out to keep the headlights from turning on, Auto Light On needs to be enabled (don't turn headlight switch to Cancel position), and the gear selector needs to be out of Park. It's okay to set the parking brake.

Next step after ensuring that the above conditions are all true is to lift the hood, remove the large battery cover, remove the fuse block lid, and pull the DRL fuse, relay, or both. DRLs should turn off.

If they're not on to start with then you may have another issue. Restore the car to original and take it to the dealership. If they determine that someone has altered the car then you might have no recourse. Otherwise they should be able to fix it so it's working like it was designed to. After that you can disable it, knowing that you can put it back if you decide to sell the car.

 

[johnny_blazer]

Any other suggestions to disable the DRLs?

I have a 2010 LTZ also, pulled the DRL fuse and relay and the stupid DRLs still come on.

 

[elcompaLalo]

Aren't there two DRL fuses? I did this so long ago I can't remember.

 

[DrivenDaily]

I checked on my '11 just to be sure. It's exactly the same as on my '09 that I had. So if the DRLs are still coming on even after pulling either the fuse or the relay or both, then either the DRLs have been rewired from factory, there's a short somewhere, it's dark enough out and the headlights are actually being energized, or you pulled the wrong components.

When I pulled fuse 46 the relay clicked, signaling that the fuse supplies power to the coil of the relay as well as to its contacts, and the DRLs turned off. When I pulled the relay (with the fuse installed) the DRLs turned off.

Check again. The way they've drawn the fuse block and the way they're numbered can be confusing.

 

[tomx20]

Simply remove Mini-relay #48 (it's labelled "DRL") to disable DRLs. Auto-headlight functionality does remain and no warning lights come on in the dash.

So, you are saying when you pulled the DRL Fuse, the DRL's did not come on anymore, but the lights still automatically came on at night??

Boston Born, Boston Raised, Boston Driven.

Haha, I like that; me too.

 

[flrdotcom]

i have the same question as tomx20 - you are saying when you pulled the DRL Fuse, the DRL's did not come on anymore, but the lights still automatically came on at night??

 

[tomx20]

i have the same question as tomx20 - you are saying when you pulled the DRL Fuse, the DRL's did not come on anymore, but the lights still automatically came on at night??

I asked around and that should be the case, but I haven't pulled the fuse myself to see because I haven't gotten my HIDs yet.

 

[chevyguy8893]

i have the same question as tomx20 - you are saying when you pulled the DRL Fuse, the DRL's did not come on anymore, but the lights still automatically came on at night??

Yep, no more DRL's, but when the sun goes down my lights come on automatically still. No negative effects from doing it either.

 

[DrivenDaily]

Sorry guys, I missed the post from before. Like chevyguy8893 says, headlights and running lights work normally when you pull either the fuse, the relay, or both. I just checked it on mine to make sure I wasn't recalling incorrectly.

 

[nertil1]

Is there a reason for doing this?

 

[Silver LTZ]

Is there a reason for doing this?

Three reasons. Extends the life of the bulbs, which in a car that needs the whole bumper removed to change a bulb is a huge plus. If you have HID's you need to turn them off. Finally, many just don't like the way the look.

 

[ariker01]

Three reasons. Extends the life of the bulbs, which in a car that needs the whole bumper removed to change a bulb is a huge plus. If you have HID's you need to turn them off. Finally, many just don't like the way the look.

I have HID's. What I do is turn on the parking lights before I start the car. this disables the DRL's from turning on at start. When it gets dark I manually turn on my headlamps from the parking light position. The reason I do this is because my car is always in a dark garage even in the day, which DRL's will automatically turn on with fuses pulled or not.

When I turn off the car at night, I make sure to turn the off the car first before turning off the lights. This stops the lights from turning back on in the dark and saves the life of the HID's.

I still do have problems though with my ballasts. I have had them replaced a few times due to flickering on either side. I was told by my installer that this can be common with my make and model.

2011 Malibu 1LT

 

[DrivenDaily]

The DRLs will not turn on at all if you pulled the DRL fuse or relay (or both). I think you mean that the LOW BEAMS will automatically turn on with fuses pulled or not.

The trouble with your ballasts might be that you need to install a relay harness that supplies battery power to the ballasts instead of relying on the teeny little wires that GM designed them with.

 

[repairman54]

Is there a reason for doing this?

I'm a motorcycle rider, all these DLR cars are making it more deadly for me out there. My DLR's are off in all my vehicles.
DLR have little effect anymore, just like 3rd brake lights were supposed to stop rear end collisions.
Public is used to / desensitized to them so these systems are no longer effective other that to mask the motorcycle rider who is WAY more vulnerable in a crash scenario than someone in a cage.

 

[DrivenDaily]

I'm a motorcycle rider, all these DLR cars are making it more deadly for me out there. My DLR's are off in all my vehicles.
DLR have little effect anymore, just like 3rd brake lights were supposed to stop rear end collisions.
Public is used to / desensitized to them so these systems are no longer effective other that to mask the motorcycle rider who is WAY more vulnerable in a crash scenario than someone in a cage.

Interesting theory.

When I see brake lights I still react to them by slowing down and not hitting the vehicle in front of me, including the lower lights that have been on cars for decades.

When I'm driving in poor weather or low-light conditions and notice a car without their headlights turned on (and no DRLs, either) it's because he's a black hole in an otherwise well-lit stream of cars. It's the one coming toward me with no one else around that catches me off guard. DRLs are just normal lights that let other drivers see you long before you'd be seen elsewise, just like headlights do.

I don't feel like I've been desensitized to seeing vehicles (cars, trucks, bikes) just because certain lights are being used. Heck, I'm waiting for the Feds to require 360° lighting, meaning you must see light from all angles and from every inch of the car, including the sides that have 2 teeny little lights about 15 feet apart on an otherwise dark broad side of the barn.

You're entitled to your opinion but I don't quite follow that line of thinking.

 

[Jake Friedrich]

I have a 2008 Malibu LT1 with HID kits from DDMtuning.com. i pulled both the DRL fuse and Relay and the lights still stay on at all times even on the brightest sunny day. any other suggestions other than the foolish "must be a short in the wiring" or "someone must have modified the wiring".?? because neither of them are true. my family has owned my car since it was brand new.


Thank u