2007 GMC Yukon XL Denali - 11541 km: DRL disabled


denali-front-suzuki-3
Originally uploaded by istargazer.
The debate over daytime running lights is on-going with very passionate people on both sides. That being said, I'm an advocate for freedom of choice and the control as well as the responsibility over one's own actions.

I take pride in myself for driving defensively and being aware of my surroundings at all times. Being a driving enthusiast, I focus on my own driving and on those people driving around me. Riding my Burgman around town, I know how much other people on the road can be pre-occupied with everything else but driving.

I also understand that to take a particular skill to a higher level you need control. Being hampered by electronic nannies that cater to the lowest common denominator does not maximize your safety. One of the biggest problems with DRLs is at night where some people drive around with them on, not realizing that their headlights are not on, their tail lights are not on, and the road in front of them is barely lit.

On our 2007 GMC Yukon XL Denali, the automatic headlight system paired with the DRL renders the headlight switch almost completely useless because it is impossible to control the lights to suit driving conditions. I'm glad that disabling the DRL on the Denali is as simple as removing a couple of fuses in the engine bay. Now I have full control.

It's really easy to disable the DRL on the Yukon (and I'm sure that they are the same for all of the next generation (2007+) GMT-900 SUVs like the Cadillac Escalade and the Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban). There are two fuses in the engine compartment that are clearly labeled. Once the fuses are pulled, the DRLs are off. No other functions or features are affected.

UPDATE: I re-installed the fuses shortly after removing them. The automatic headlight system is more sinister that I first realized because they too cater to the lowest common denominator and even with the DRLs disabled, I still had little control over the headlamps.

Comments

  1. New update: 70000+ km -- The driver side headlamp burnt out last night and I'm thinking of upgrading the bulbs to high performance Silvania Silverstar Ultras. The only problem is that they have a shorter lifespan than standard halogen bulbs, so I'm thinking about disabling the DRLs again.

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  2. I was trying to figure out what I meant 3 years ago when I updated the post to say that the Automatic Headlight System was more sinister than I realized. After attempting to disable the DRL again, I *think* that I meant removing the DRL fuses under the hood HAD NO EFFECT.

    I've been running the Denali for a couple of the days with the two fuses marked "DRL" removed and there seems to be no effect at all. The headlights turn on as soon as I start the engine. When I use the knob to turn them off, they turn back on again as soon as I shift the gear.

    After doing some searching on the web, there seems to a few posts about pulling the fuses not working on some vehicles, but most people have no problems. The "official" info says a control module has to be reprogrammed. I'm going to keep searching....

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