987.2 Cayman, day-time running-lights turns tail-lights on? - Page 2 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

With day-time running lights set to on, the tail-lights are also on, so it's no different from just turning on the headlights. Is it supposed to be this way? The owners manual doesn't specify whether or not day-time light includes the tail-lights. This is arguably a problem with the car since the LED tail-lights get hot and delaminate over time, so running them on more the necessary is ill-advised. So it would be much better in daylight to run with only dipped beam headlights, without the tail-lights on.

Assuming its the same as a 987.2 Boxster (mine -2010 ) they dont have the DRL's that you get on newer models. The setting in the computer just sets dipped headlights, tails etc to "always on" - only useful if you are driving in Switzerland. If you head over to boxer.net there is a hack that you can fit that turns on the foglights with the ignition, no tails. Switch the fog bulbs to LED and you have perfect DRL's. They still operate as normal fogs when you dial the switch to fog. Hack is not an MOT failure.

Dark Veil Your profile doesn't say where you are, but if you are anywhere near me (West Oxfordshire) I can let you have a print out of the hack (only involves removing the dash light switch and installing a diode (I also have a few spares of that). You then just leave the light switch set to "home". Job done.

Sorry, that should have read "Boxa.net"

I've got a 987.2 Cayman S with DRLs and had a 987.2 Cayman before without them. If you have the xenon headlights (and so headlight washers) then the front DRLs are the round lights that look like they should be fog lights and the rear lights do not switch on when they're on. Without xenons there are no DRLs and the horizontal strip under the headlights will switch on with the lights (so the rears will also switch on). There's a lights section in the settings where you can disable them if you have them. Are your DRLs definitely the small round LEDs under the headlights rather than the horizontal strip (which are side lights)?

I think you're just switching side lights on

johnconners said: I've got a 987.2 Cayman S with DRLs and had a 987.2 Cayman before without them. If you have the xenon headlights (and so headlight washers) then the front DRLs are the round lights that look like they should be fog lights and the rear lights do not switch on when they're on. Without xenons there are no DRLs and the horizontal strip under the headlights will switch on with the lights (so the rears will also switch on). There's a lights section in the settings where you can disable them if you have them. Are your DRLs definitely the small round LEDs under the headlights rather than the horizontal strip (which are side lights)? My car doesn't have xenons. In the lights section of the on-board computer the only option is "Day-Time Light" which can be set to on or off, and in the owners manual it says that it keeps on the dipped beam headlights. There aren't any separate lights acting as DRL's, only the dipped beam headlights, but it doesn't seem to make sense that it turns-on the tail-lights as well.

nutsyH said: Assuming its the same as a 987.2 Boxster (mine -2010 ) they dont have the DRL's that you get on newer models. The setting in the computer just sets dipped headlights, tails etc to "always on" - only useful if you are driving in Switzerland. If you head over to boxer.net there is a hack that you can fit that turns on the foglights with the ignition, no tails. Switch the fog bulbs to LED and you have perfect DRL's. They still operate as normal fogs when you dial the switch to fog. Hack is not an MOT failure. I'm happy to just use the dipped beam headlights as DRL's, but I just think it is pointless to have tail-lights on at the same time. Being able to run with dipped headlights permanently on without adding extra delamination to the tail-lights would be a good option.

DarkVeil said: This is arguably a problem with the car since the LED tail-lights get hot and delaminate over time, so running them on more the necessary is ill-advised. So it would be much better in daylight to run with only dipped beam headlights, without the tail-lights on. Are you sure about this? I've checked on a 987.2 after 30 minutes of running and the rear clusters were completely cold to the touch. I'd have thought the delamination is related to UV exposure, heat cycles in direct sunlight and so on. They aren't very bright / powerful LEDs so wouldn't have thought they get terribly hot.

Rear led's don't run hot and many people who have the opposite problem complain when they have drls on and come dusk the rear lights aren't on snd they get rear ended. As previously said, the delamination is more likely uv and heat during the summer.

The delamination is a known issue, but no, I'm not 100% sure that it's caused by heat generated by the lights running, that's just what I was told by a specialist. I would think that they could still get hot internally but be cool on the surface, but again it's just what I was told by a specialist, so he could just be wrong.

Find it hard to believe that they run hot enough to cause damage but are completely cold to the touch, not even slightly warm. Doesn't make sense. It's common enough to be able to feel heat in plastic headlight units when the lights have been on and with the cover much further away from the headlight bulbs than the section of cluster is from the LEDs in the 987.2 unit. The LEDs aren't even running at full intensity when just driving as opposed to braking. The section that stays on all the time brightens significantly when you hit the brakes. Moreover, I've more commonly seen problems in the lower white indicator area rather than the red section with the LEDs. If you're keeping the car really long term, it probably still makes sense to bank a pair of spares as they're only going to get rarer and more expensive and the Gen 2 cars are fairly rare. But I wouldn't sweat having them on when you're driving. Not remotely convinced it's doing any harm.

Thinking about it more, one of the tail-lights on my car is slightly delaminated whereas the the other is in pretty good condition. So maybe the previous owner regularly parked in such a position that one side was exposed to more UV light than the other.

DarkVeil said: nutsyH said: Assuming its the same as a 987.2 Boxster (mine -2010 ) they dont have the DRL's that you get on newer models. The setting in the computer just sets dipped headlights, tails etc to "always on" - only useful if you are driving in Switzerland. If you head over to boxer.net there is a hack that you can fit that turns on the foglights with the ignition, no tails. Switch the fog bulbs to LED and you have perfect DRL's. They still operate as normal fogs when you dial the switch to fog. Hack is not an MOT failure. I'm happy to just use the dipped beam headlights as DRL's, but I just think it is pointless to have tail-lights on at the same time. Being able to run with dipped headlights permanently on without adding extra delamination to the tail-lights would be a good option. Why is it pointless to have rear DRL? The number of cars you see in the dark, fog, rain with only front DRL snow and nothing at the rear is bonkers. End less cars in the dark with no rear lights. If you want to be seen from the front why wouldn’t you want to be seen from three rear too?

supersport said: DarkVeil said: nutsyH said: Assuming its the same as a 987.2 Boxster (mine -2010 ) they dont have the DRL's that you get on newer models. The setting in the computer just sets dipped headlights, tails etc to "always on" - only useful if you are driving in Switzerland. If you head over to boxer.net there is a hack that you can fit that turns on the foglights with the ignition, no tails. Switch the fog bulbs to LED and you have perfect DRL's. They still operate as normal fogs when you dial the switch to fog. Hack is not an MOT failure. I'm happy to just use the dipped beam headlights as DRL's, but I just think it is pointless to have tail-lights on at the same time. Being able to run with dipped headlights permanently on without adding extra delamination to the tail-lights would be a good option. Why is it pointless to have rear DRL? The number of cars you see in the dark, fog, rain with only front DRL snow and nothing at the rear is bonkers. End less cars in the dark with no rear lights. If you want to be seen from the front why wouldn’t you want to be seen from three rear too? For example driving in sunny or cloudy weather, I don't think tail-lights give any safety benefit, but I'd rather have dipped beam headlights on for extra visibility. For example when driving in the outside lane, overtaking, etc. Especially in a low silver car. I completely understand your point about numpty drivers forgetting to put on headlights in low light conditions due to DRL's, but my post is specifically about the Cayman rather than a general point about DRL's.

My old 987.2 Cayman had an option to turn on DRL's within the settings (either through PCM or on the steering stalk). It turned on the LED strips below the headlights, and yes, the rear lights went on too. Some cars with DRL's have rear lights that illuminate with them activated, it is not uncommon.

LED lights do not produce heat. Even if they do, it would be minimal, would not cause any physical deformation to the area.

ooid said: LED lights do not produce heat. Even if they do, it would be minimal, would not cause any physical deformation to the area. Genuine question. If LEDs don't produce heat, why do some come fitted with built in fans? I have headlight bulbs with this design.

Exactly my point, most of them have do cooling fans (high-power LEDs) so they would not produce any remarkable heat. The fans also is mostly for the lifespan of the light and the quality of the output as far as I can remember *an expert might have a much better response.

Heaveho said: Genuine question. If LEDs don't produce heat, why do some come fitted with built in fans? I have headlight bulbs with this design. The high output ones for headlights do produce a lot of heat. The little low output items in the rear 9x7 clusters do not.

Heaveho said: ooid said: LED lights do not produce heat. Even if they do, it would be minimal, would not cause any physical deformation to the area. Genuine question. If LEDs don't produce heat, why do some come fitted with built in fans? I have headlight bulbs with this design. LED's produce heat but much less than halogen or other bulbs. Any deformation I'd say be more likely to UV/sunlight or harsh washing chemicals. Which car's headlights have fans built in?

SV_WDC said: LED's produce heat but much less than halogen or other bulbs. Any deformation I'd say be more likely to UV/sunlight or harsh washing chemicals. Which car's headlights have fans built in? Don't know if any come as standard, several aftermarket types have active fans built in. I have some in a vehicle I own.