How to wire Umnitza DDE's to a switch

I rewired my DDE's after installation as switchable daytime running lights. I got annoyed that when my lights were wired up to the parking lights, I couldn't run them on overcast and rainy days without turning on my parking lights and gauges. Turning on the lights and gauges during the day made them very difficult to read. I considered just wiring my DDE's to a switched power source that would turn them on when the car was on, but I didn't always want them on during the day - just on overcast days when they'd actually be noticeable. Plus, I didn't want to lose the delay after the car is turned off - Hey, when else can I enjoy the look of the DDE's but when I'm walking away!?

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So the switch is the solution to the best of both worlds.

When the switch is "on": The DDE's come on when the car is on and shut off when the ignition is turned off. The DDE's are on whenever the ignition is in the on position.
When the switch is "off": The DDE's come on only when the parking lights or headlights are turned on. Just like the headlights, the DDE's remain on after the car is turned off for a few seconds when the stalk is set to "auto".

tools/Supplies:

• SPDT switch (single pole dual throw) - Available @ Radioshack
  
• Around 25 feet of 22 gauge (or thicker) wire
• Heat-shrink tubing - Available @ Radioshack
  
• Heat gun, lighter, or matches
• 3 slide connectors
• Drill
• Drill bits
• Wire strippers
• Crimper (typically part of wire stripper)
• Coat hanger
• Electrical tape
• 3 quick splice

Wiring Diagram:

1. Jack up the front driver's side of the car. This will allow more room to work in the fender where the wires will be routed. Remove the wheel to provide additional room to work if you prefer.
    
2. Remove 3 bolts on the driver's side mud flap. There are two in the wheel well and one on the bottom. When the flap is removed you'll see plenty of built up dirt. A great opportunity to clean up:
   
    
3. Remove 3 pop tabs from inside the fender using a flathead screwdriver to pop the tab. Pull the tabs out by hand or with pliers. One is up top next to the spring.
    
4. Inside the wheel well, pull the plastic fender guard back toward front wheel to allow access to the wiring. Both grommets running wiring into the cabin are visible. They are circled in red and orange. Pull the grommet circled in orange back. This is where the trigger wire will be routed.
     
    
5. Using 22 gauge (or thicker) wire, cut two wires of different lengths:
   - One wire should be long enough to run from the in cabin switch to the passenger side headlight (the red wire in the diagram)
   - The second wire should be long enough to run from the in cabin switch to the driver's side headlight and splice into the parking light wire (the blue wire in the diagram)
    
6. Back inside the interior, run the two wires from step #5 through the hole circled in red below. To find the hole, just follow the hood release cable. To make routing the wires easy, tape the two wires onto a straightened coat hanger. Be sure to leave enough wire in the car to reach the switch. The wires will exit in the fender where the grommet was removed in step #4. The hanger should slide through the hole and exit out of the fender with minimal pressure.
   
    
7. Route the 2 wires now in the fender up through the hole circled in green in step #4.
    
8. Route one wire to the driver's side headlight and splice into the green wire with a white stripe on the parking light. Route the second wire to the passenger's side headlight and splice into the red trigger wire bundled with the DDE wiring. Be sure to secure the wires using the ties provided with the DDE's.
    
9. Splice a 22 gauge (or larger) wire into a switched 12V power source. I got out the multimeter and after a little hunting found the green wire below in the fuse box below the steering wheel. Tap the green wire circled in red with a quick splice. Be sure the wire is long enough to reach from the fuse box to the switch.
   
    
10. Remove two screws above gauges and pull the gauge cluster toward you to release the retainer clips.
     
11. Reach behind the dummy button next to the dimmer switch and push toward you to pop the dummy button out:
    
     
12. Drill a hole in dummy button large enough to accept the switch and insert switch. Take care not to screw this up. The dealer charges 9 bucks for this little piece of plastic!
     
13. Tape all 3 wires to the end of a straightened coat hanger. (the two wires previously routed through the firewall and the wire just connected to the green wire in the fuse box)
     
14. Use the hanger to route the wires up through the dash and out of the hole where the switch will be mounted
     
       
15. Crimp slide connectors on the end of the 3 wires coming out of the dash.
     
16. Remove wires from hanger and connect the wires to the switch. The middle wire is the input wire - in this case, the trigger wire for the DDE's (shown in red on the diagram). The other 2 wires are connected to the parking light wire (shown in blue on the diagram) and the switched 12V power source (shown in green on the diagram).
    
     
17. Check to confirm proper operation. When the switch is "on", the DDE's should be on whenever the car is on. When the switch is "off", the DDE's will only come on when the parking lights or headlights are on. I put on and off in quotes because there isn't an actual off setting for this SPDT switch.
     
18. Insert switch in dash. Admittedly, mine is a little crooked - I rushed the mounting part since this switch is just temporary. I plan to use a factory switch instead of the Radioshack switch soon. I'll likely use a slightly modified heated seat button to maintain the factory look.
    

As a further tweak, you could use a SPDT switch with an off selection in the middle so the DDE's could be turned off even when the other lights are on. Or if you prefer to simplify, you could use a SPST switch that would just turn the DDE's on and off.

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