DRL (amber)issue

[Lee144]

I noticed tonight that my amber DRL on the passenger side is out. The middle amber turn signal works and the white lighting works as do low and high beams but no amber parking light on that passenger side. Drivers side is perfect. I’m thinking its not fuse related because the other lights are good to go. Thoughts?

 

[FordTechOne]

The DRLs on these trucks are the low beam headlights; they just operate at a lower intensity. If the amber lights are functioning as DRLs, somebody has made configuration changes to the BCM and it may be corrupted.

 

[Lee144]

The DRLs on these trucks are the low beam headlights; they just operate at a lower intensity. If the amber lights are functioning as DRLs, somebody has made configuration changes to the BCM and it may be corrupted.

Ahh gotcha ok mistake on my part. The DRLs are working as required it’s the amber outer ring that flashes when you lock/unlock and work with turn signals. I’ve seen them referred to as parking lights. My passenger light is not working. Drivers side works fine. Possible BCM?

 

[FordTechOne]

Ahh gotcha ok mistake on my part. The DRLs are working as required it’s the amber outer ring that flashes when you lock/unlock and work with turn signals. I’ve seen them referred to as parking lights. My passenger light is not working. Drivers side works fine. Possible BCM?

It could just be a faulty lamp assembly. Are there any aftermarket circuits tied into the factory harness or BCM?

 

[Lee144]

Just a quick follow up on this. It looks like the previous owner tapped into the headlight wiring for the fog lights but the fog lights are operated through the upfitter switch, so I’m a little confused as to what he needed to tap into the headlight. Is this something due to a difference in power draw that would cause a fault in the bcm? Wouldn’t this trigger a cel?

 

[Antho]

Do your fogs have those backlit leds? Maybe he tapped into it for those?

 

[FordTechOne]

Just a quick follow up on this. It looks like the previous owner tapped into the headlight wiring for the fog lights but the fog lights are operated through the upfitter switch, so I’m a little confused as to what he needed to tap into the headlight. Is this something due to a difference in power draw that would cause a fault in the bcm? Wouldn’t this trigger a cel?

CEL indicator is only for powertrain related issues. The BCM uses Field Effect Transistors to monitor power draw. If it’s out of spec (low or high) it will set a DTC and may disable the circuit output. If the fault continues to be present for specific number of cycles, the BCM permanently disabled the circuit and sets a module failure DTC, which requires replacement of the BCM.

I’d suggest removing the aftermarket wiring and repairing any damage to the factory circuits. You may need to clear DTCs with ForScan. If it still doesn’t work, you’ll need to buy a replacement BCM.

 

[Lee144]

Okay so it looks like the P/O had installed some diode dynamics led light **** into the headlight. That connection came loose causing the issue. the Connector that the setup uses is broken and requires a hardwire fix.

 

[FordTechOne]

Okay so it looks like the P/O had installed some diode dynamics led light **** into the headlight. That connection came loose causing the issue. the Connector that the setup uses is broken and requires a hardwire fix.

I would recommend removing the aftermarket circuits from the factory harness completely. No need for that when you can have the additional lights controlled by an upfitter switch.