Daytime Running Lights (DRL) - AlfaOBD Help Needed

[JLandry]

Hi everyone,

I have a 2014 Ram 3500 Dually (D2) with Laramie Limited trim. It has projector headlights.

Back in 2015 I paid Saitta Trudeau in Pahrump, NV to activate the new "daytime running lights" feature. On this truck it's the amber LED strip under the headlights. At the time I remember verifying the LED's indeed came on when the truck was in drive and the parking brake was off.

Sometime during the intervening years, I became aware the daytime running light feature was no longer working. I chalked it up to one of the many firmware updates done during recalls. Fast forward to today when I decided to try and get them working again using AlfaOBD and an OBDLink EX adapter cable.

I'm using the Windows version of AlfaOBD since I don't own an Android device.

In preparation, I read dozens of threads on several websites and watched a few YouTube videos. I carefully went through and verified (or changed if needed) each required setting, but the daytime running lights feature still doesn't work.

Here are the settings I'm using (Note that the wording on these is slightly different from that used in AlfaOBD Android version):

All are found under in "Body Computer":

CBC Features-DRL Configuration: Optional DRL
CBC Features-DRL Lamp Location: Dedicated
CBC Features-DRL Dropout Enabled: Yes
ECUConfig-3: DRL Customer Setting Present: Yes
Cust.Set.Menu-1: Daytime running lights CSM Present: Yes​

The first three (CBC Features-DRL) were already correctly set and didn't need to be changed by AlfaOBD.

The last two were set to "No" so I changed them to "Yes".

I'm a bit confused by the recommend choice of "Dedicated" under the Lamp Location menu. Other choices under that menu are:

High Beam DRL
Low Beam DRL
Turn Signal DRL
Fog Lamp DRL
Dedicated
SRT Light Bar DRL​

How does "Dedicated" differ from "Turn Signal DRL"?

Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should try next?

Thank you,

John L.

 

[lpennock]

The Limited trim had a DRL circuit built into the headlight housing. Possible it died.
Turn signal uses the turn signal bulb. If you are running switch back bulbs it will be the yellow section rather than the white section though.
I would try Fog or High beam (if you have a dedicated HI Beam Bulb as opposed to the projection being a combined) and see it they work.

 

[JLandry]

UPDATE: Issue Resolved!

After posting I went back out to the truck and decided to poke around around in the Uconnect 8.4 before calling it quits to see if there might not be something in the settings related to the DRL. I HAD looked immediately after changing the last two DRL settings using AlfaOBD but didn't find anything. This time however (about an hour later) a "Daytime Running Lights" setting now appears under the "Lights" menu. I activated that with a checkmark, started the truck, put it drive, released the parking brake, and my official observer (wife) tells me the LED strip under the headlights is now on.

John L.

 

[JLandry]

Turn signal uses the turn signal bulb.

That makes perfect sense. Thank you!

John L.

 

[AH64ID]

Glad you got it fixed. Sometimes settings take a while to appear.

 

[sag2]

I had the same problem when I made the change. It took a while for it to appear, if I recall it was the next day. Quite a bit different from using the engineering tool at work.