One thing that confuses almost everyone (or at least have confused a few people): DRL (day time running lights) vs. high beam – what’s the difference?

It’s like asking: Is DRL the same as high beam?

Here’s an answer to that.

Table of Contents

Is DRL The Same As High Beam?

As you might guess, DRLs are the same as your vehicle’s high beam headlights, but they’re not quite as bright. The goal is to give drivers behind or in front of you enough light to see your vehicle while using less wattage than high beams.

DRLs are designed to make your vehicle more visible during the day without blinding other drivers.

Is DRL Bulb The Same As The Headlight Bulb?

Always, the DRL bulb is one of the several bulbs turn on when the vehicle is in operation. It is often located inside the headlights. The DRL bulb is sometimes referred to as a parking light and it is usually fitted at the front of the headlight. Mostly, a DRL bulb is designed with different colors, but it still functions as the parking light.

The headlight, on the other hand, can be found at the front part of your vehicle. The headlight serves as an additional lighting device for your car during rainy or night driving condition. Also, there are other types of headlights like:

Halogen lamp – This type of headlight uses filament which produces light by heating tungsten filament to a high temperature.

LED – This type of headlight uses electromagnetic radiation and its color depends on the energy band gap of its LED material.

Bi-xenon – This type of headlight uses xenon gas to produce high-intensity light when heated by an arc discharge in a bulb.

Is Low Beam Same As DRL?

Low beams are not the same as DRLs, although they do function similarly. A low beam is a dimmer, more focused version of your headlights. They’re designed to be used at night or in bad weather when you don’t want to blind other drivers.

DRLs are specifically designed to be used during the day and should be brighter than low beams. Your car’s DRLs are usually connected directly to your battery and turn on automatically when you start your car, regardless of whether your headlights are turned on or not.

Will LED Headlights Work With DRL?

DRLs are designed to turn on when the engine is running and the headlights are off. They are a low-power light source, usually an LED array, that will light up in a bright daytime running light mode.

If you have some sort of canbus system, you might be able to make your DRLs act as turn signals as well. It’s a complicated install, and you’ll probably need a canbus adapter or two (or three). Also, if your car has factory-installed fog lights that come on with the DRLs, the whole project gets more complicated.

A lot of people want their DRLs to work with their LEDs because they want them to be brighter. DRLs are supposed to be bright enough so that other drivers notice them but not so bright that they annoy other drivers or cause glare. That’s why many DRL systems dim at night. If you’re going to install LED headlights anyway, you might as well make them into DRLs too.

Do DRL Stay On At Night?

Daytime running lights are always on your car when the engine is running. Because you’re more likely to be involved in a crash when your vehicle is moving, daytime running lights increase your visibility to other drivers during the day and at dusk. On some vehicles, the headlights come on with the daytime running lights.

DRLs don’t emit as much light as headlights, which means they don’t illuminate the road ahead of you like headlights do. DRLs also use less energy than headlights, which means they don’t put as much strain on your battery.

Some cars have automatic headlight control, which turns on your headlights whenever it gets dark enough outside. If you have this feature, your daytime running lights will stay on until they automatically turn into headlights. If you have automatic headlight controls and you turn off your headlights at night, then you’ll need to manually turn off your DRL by adjusting settings in your car or by turning off your engine.

What Is Difference Between High Beam And Low Beam?

High beam lights are brighter than low beams and illuminate the road ahead of you. They should be used on open highways and rural roads where there are no streetlights or other cars. It is unlawful to use high beams in fog, rain, or snow as they reflect off the water droplets in the air and create more glare than low beams. High beams also cannot be used within 300 feet of an approaching vehicle.

Low beam lights are less bright than high beams and light up about 250 feet ahead of the car. Low beams must be used at all times when driving behind another vehicle or when a car is approaching from the opposite direction, including when there is dense fog, rain, or snow.

Do DRL Lights Drain The Battery?

The DRL lights definitely do not drain your battery on most cars.

Many modern cars will have a dedicated circuit for the DRL lights which is completely separate from the main lighting circuit of the car. With this setup, the DRL lights won’t even be connected to your battery and as such, they can’t drain it.

However, there are some older models of cars that use one of their low-beam headlights as a DRL light. If you have an older car, it’s possible that your DRL light is draining your battery if you forget to turn off your headlights before turning off your car.

How Long Do Daytime Running Lights Last?

If you drive a lot and your headlights are on most of the day, then you might wonder how long your daytime running lights will last. It depends on what kind of lights you use. If you use standard halogen bulbs, then they should last about 1,000 to 2,000 hours.

However, if you upgrade to LED bulbs like those from Sylvania, then they will last from 10,000 to 25,000 hours. Maybe, even more. That’s a pretty huge difference in lifespan.

Can I Use A High Beam Bulbs In Low Beam?

In short, yes, you can use a high beam bulb in your car’s low beam headlight. However, this will result in significant glare and discomfort to oncoming drivers. This is why it is illegal to use a high-beam bulb in the low-beam housing.

In fact, the only way to install a high-beam bulb in a low-beam headlight is to install an HID conversion kit or LED conversion kit. These kits feature an “HID relay harness” which prevents flickering and other issues with using high beam bulbs in the low beam housing.

What Color Should Daytime Running Lights Be?

Your vehicle’s daytime running lights (DRLs) are a small but important safety feature. They help other drivers see you on the road, and they can even improve your visibility in low-light conditions.

Your DRLs will look different depending on what kind of car you’re driving. More often than not, your DRLs will be either white or yellow. And while some cars will use an LED bulb that stays lit during normal operation, others may use a standard halogen bulb that turns on automatically when the headlights are off.

Regardless of the color or type of bulb, the function is the same: to keep you safe throughout the day and night.

Are Daytime Running Lights The Same As Fog Lights?

If your car is equipped with daytime running lights, you may be tempted to use them when driving in foggy weather. You shouldn’t.

Daytime running lights are designed for one purpose: to make your vehicle more visible to other drivers during daylight hours. They’re brighter than standard parking lights and are generally white, not amber like your front turn signals.

That’s great for improving your visibility in bright sunshine, but they don’t help much at night or in bad weather. Fog lights are the better choice when driving in low-visibility conditions. Fog lights are mounted close to the ground, typically just behind the front bumper, so they shine directly into the fog and reflect light back to you without being obscured by water droplets or dust particles.

The lamps also use different bulbs than daytime running lights: They have a wide beam pattern that helps increase visibility without dazzling other drivers, who would be blinded by standard headlights in foggy conditions. Some cars have special covers or lenses that direct light downward and away from oncoming vehicles — if your vehicle has these, make sure they’re installed correctly before using your fog lights.