Drl headlights and some questions

[2.9._ranger]

I have a 89 and I ordered some 91-94 explorer headlights and I just need to know how I’m supposed to wire the daytime running lights onto my truck. And also I have some questions about other lights onto my truck I have no hazards blinkers or brake lights and I replaced the flasher relay on the front and back of the fuse panel and checked all related fuses and it didn’t change anything. Next thing is that when I turn on my low and high beams the halogen bulb doesn’t come on which is the one I would think would turn on but the smaller bulb that I think is the blinker bulb comes on and I don’t know why or if that’s what it’s supposed to do any suggestions help I just want to try everything before I have to replace the multi function switch

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Sounds like you have some electrical problems to address. Usually grounds are the main problem. You need a power-probe/test light/multi-meter (any one of the three) and start probing sockets and stuff. Trace ground wires. It’s a lot of fiddly work. Personally, I’d probably start with new grounds off the battery, but around here corrosion and rust are huge problems, you may not have problems with the main grounds. I just have spent hours trying to trace electrical problems only to find a bad main ground so I like to start there now with 4-gauge welding cable, heat shrink, No-Alox and Dielectric grease. I even change the body ground (usually 10ga) to 4ga. It could be as simple as a bad body ground somewhere for the lighting circuit. A factory electrical manual can help a lot with tracing problems, they are year specific.

Daytime Running Lights on these usually use the normal wiring plus a small module. Not sure if the older stuff is pre-wired for it or not. I know my 2000 Ranger has the DRL wiring and just a cap over the plug where the module goes. My aftermarket headlights are set up for DRL, I just don’t have the module yet. For some as-yet unknown reason, every junkyard Ranger I’ve found in my vintage with the module has a different plug shape. According to the parts store computer though, my plug shape is correct for my vintage and the junkyard ones are incorrect, yet the junkyard trucks have factory wiring. Weird. I haven’t wanted to pay for a new module that essentially just shorts a couple wires together and costs about $50 so I haven’t done mine. Regular light operation works fine for now and I just do what I’ve always done and turn on the parking/marker lights in poor lighting conditions because DRL only turns on the front lights which doesn’t do crap for the guy behind you in poor visibility.

 

[2.9._ranger]

Sounds like you have some electrical problems to address. Usually grounds are the main problem. You need a power-probe/test light/multi-meter (any one of the three) and start probing sockets and stuff. Trace ground wires. It’s a lot of fiddly work. Personally, I’d probably start with new grounds off the battery, but around here corrosion and rust are huge problems, you may not have problems with the main grounds. I just have spent hours trying to trace electrical problems only to find a bad main ground so I like to start there now with 4-gauge welding cable, heat shrink, No-Alox and Dielectric grease. I even change the body ground (usually 10ga) to 4ga. It could be as simple as a bad body ground somewhere for the lighting circuit. A factory electrical manual can help a lot with tracing problems, they are year specific.

Daytime Running Lights on these usually use the normal wiring plus a small module. Not sure if the older stuff is pre-wired for it or not. I know my 2000 Ranger has the DRL wiring and just a cap over the plug where the module goes. My aftermarket headlights are set up for DRL, I just don’t have the module yet. For some as-yet unknown reason, every junkyard Ranger I’ve found in my vintage with the module has a different plug shape. According to the parts store computer though, my plug shape is correct for my vintage and the junkyard ones are incorrect, yet the junkyard trucks have factory wiring. Weird. I haven’t wanted to pay for a new module that essentially just shorts a couple wires together and costs about $50 so I haven’t done mine. Regular light operation works fine for now and I just do what I’ve always done and turn on the parking/marker lights in poor lighting conditions because DRL only turns on the front lights which doesn’t do crap for the guy behind you in poor visibility.

I’ll get a multi meter and look but also can I just tap the drl lights into the normal headlight wires so that they turn on when I turn my headlights on instead of just running all the time?

 

[Curious Hound]

I’ll get a multi meter and look but also can I just tap the drl lights into the normal headlight wires so that they turn on when I turn my headlights on instead of just running all the time?

There is a control module you need for DRL. It wasn’t part of life back when your truck was built. So you’ll need one from a newer vehicle and the wiring diagram to connect it properly.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I’ll get a multi meter and look but also can I just tap the drl lights into the normal headlight wires so that they turn on when I turn my headlights on instead of just running all the time?

DRL uses a module and is actually typically tapped into the parking/headlight circuits so there is no actual additional wiring to the lights themselves, just on the vehicle harness side. And that is basically just adding the module in the harness.

No offense, but you need to figure out why your lighting circuit isn’t working correctly before you worry about DRL from the sounds of it.

 

[Curious Hound]

No offense, but you need to figure out why your lighting circuit isn’t working correctly before you worry about DRL from the sounds of it.

That’s awesome advice. Make everything work properly first. Otherwise, if you add DRL
And it doesnt Work, you don’t know if it’s a bad DRL installation or a pre-existing problem. That just makes it 10times more difficult to troubleshoot and repair.

 

[2.9._ranger]

That’s awesome advice. Make everything work properly first. Otherwise, if you add DRL
And it doesnt Work, you don’t know if it’s a bad DRL installation or a pre-existing problem. That just makes it 10times more difficult to troubleshoot and repair.

Yea I’m gonna make sure to figure out all the other problems because I don’t want to out the lights in then have to take them right back off and it’s gonna be annoying either way because the previous owners weren’t very smart

 

[Brain75]

I'm pretty sure that 89 did not have DRL.
Canada lobbied, wrote up the law, then allowed auto manufacturers plenty of warning that DRL was a must (in Canada) starting in 1990. Ford made 1 wiring harness (body/chassis) for north america rather than a special for just Canada. All the '89's I have seen in the junkyard were not pre-wired, all the 90+ (every last one of em) are.
Easiest way to tell, look right behind your drivers headlight, if you see a horn (the loud thing to warn traffic) you are not wired for DRL, if you see this:

with a little "dummy plug" on it (no pic, sorry) then you are wired.
A canadian vehicle would have a full DRL module there - go to rock auto and look up these part numbers if you want to see the pix.

Rock Auto lists a DRL module for 1990 Ford Ranger 2.9L XLT - part number Standard Motor Products LMD100 OR (Wells) WVE 6H1475....

OEM / Interchange Numbers: E9SZ15A272B, F43Z15A272A, F7LY15A272AA, FODZ15A272B, FOTZ15A270A

7 of the 8 pins are wired on that connector.
The USA dummy plug connects the high beam indicator lamp to the high beams, and has 2 other pins that I can't figure out what they do by reverse engineering. If you have the plug and want all that I have figured out I am glad to share it. (people also refer to this as a dummy resistor, but I found no resistance... I think it is because the real module has a resistor to reduce the low beams to a dimmer setting when running as DRL or bypass and go full bright when used as headlights)

Starting in 1990 the 2nd gen horn is down at the bottom of that area just straight down several inches lower.

 

[Brain75]

I haven't seen a 1989 manual, but if you look at page 66 and you don't have this paragraph about Canadian ONLY DRL then that just confirms what I am saying.
(manual below is a 1991)

 

[Brain75]

I got obsessed with finding my pic of the DRL module and forgot to send you here....
the Tech Article section has a bunch of stuff... and the 83-89 wiring and 90+ wiring are two separate (very similar) animals but the biggest thing to help you sort out your mess before DRL is the wire colors

Ford Ranger Wiring Diagrams - The Ranger Station

DISCLAIMER: Activities and vehicle modifications appearing or described at The Ranger Station and it’s pages may be potentially dangerous. We do not endorse any such activity for others or recommend it to any particular person – we simply describe … Continued

www.therangerstation.com

83-89 exterior wiring

https://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/EDiagrams/files/Diagram_Exteriorlights_1983to1989.JPG

90-92 exterior wiring

https://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/EDiagrams/files/Diagram_Headlights_1990andlater.JPG

I'm pretty sure both of those are HAYNES manual pictures...
here's the Haynes color code abbreviation (page12-17 of the 83-92 book)
BK Black
P Purple
BR Brown
PK Pink
DB Dark Blue
R Red
DG Dark Green
T Tan
GY Grey
W White
LB Light Blue
Y Yellow
LG Light Green
N Natural
O Orange
(H) Hash
(D) Dot

I found my pic of the DRL Dummy module as I found it before I touched anything:

 

[Brain75]

something more to help you in your tracing:

https://www.therangerstation.com/forums/index.php?attachments/ford_bronco_ii_headlight_switch_wiring-4-jpg.118207/

https://www.therangerstation.com/forums/index.php?attachments/unnamed-png.118208/

not the top (picture) is "normal" layman style outside looking down at the switch, the bottom (diagram) is "manufacturer" style as if you were inside looking out, so mirrored