Add Auto Headlights & DRLs to Your Ford PIU or Explorer

[@ep-ou7sc]

That dash panel with the blank is very easily removable. The whole thing pops off with ease!

[@reidthemanual]

You mean the ~3ft wide cover over the front defroster vents and surrounding the sun load sensor? Mine didn’t want to come off easily so I opted not to push it.

[@ep-ou7sc]

@@reidthemanual yup! Start from one corner of the windshield with a panel tool and work your way across

[@mrtrytofixit]

Nice how to video. great upgrade

[@reidthemanual]

Thanks for commenting. :)

[@wolfbloodchain]

Thank you my good Sir. I know we all appreciate these videos!

[@RichPedro]

Thank you for this!! I did everything you did (except the Forscan) and was a bit disappointed that it didnt work, so I removed the switch thinking I had to modify the wiring harness. Looking forward to the fog lamps if you do that. I started but my wire harness didnt have fog lamp plugs. I ordered a new harness and have the lamps installed. Just need to pull the bumper and get to it !

[@reidthemanual]

That’s awesome! What year do you have and what harness did you buy? I have not looked into this yet but expected the harnessing (finding correct part numbers to order) to be the hardest part.

[@CLN702]

Thank u i love ur videos ✌️✌️🙏

[@reidthemanual]

Glad you like them! Thanks for commenting!

[@Digimee2]

Great video! Well detailed

[@reidthemanual]

Thank you!

[@samdremodeling1987]

Thanks!! 🙏

[@jeffrobinson4841]

Thank you, Good Sir!!!

[@reidthemanual]

You’re very welcome!

[@JoelGarcia-vz5we]

thanks, need this

[@reidthemanual]

Glad I could help, Joe. Thank you for the comment.

[@beaubowman9607]

The auto light switch and sensor went perfect, however the DRL programing fails to work. The DRL ambers come on when switched, but on auto I get nothing. 2017 PIU. Any suggestions?

[@TheJordanJ]

Why didnt you get the led module to have the signature lighting turn on too ?

[@reidthemanual]

To my knowledge, the LED ribbon itself is missing from the headlight assemblies on the FPIUs. This was to make room for the installation of emergency strobes inside the headlamp if a department so chose. I did not want to replace my headlamp assemblies just to get the “signature” LED lighting. If there is a way to retrofit that I may do it in the future. For now, I’m very happy with the current DRLs.

[@ep-ou7sc]

Hey something I've wanted to see if it's possible is steering stiffness. Maybe something you can find in forscan?!

[@reidthemanual]

I’ll look into it. To be clear, do you want one turn of the steering wheel to turn the wheels more/less than currently or do you simply want the steering wheel to turn with less resistance?

[@ep-ou7sc]

@reidthemanual less resistance. A smoother turn. So a civilian model it's alot "softer" than the FPIU. I'd love it to have less resistance than current

[@pmb8565]

Can you recommend me the easy to plug in remote starter for a 2019 ford police interceptor utility?

[@reidthemanual]

@@pmb8565 I installed the OEM remote start kit and highly recommend it to ensure a long and trouble-free service. It take a laptop and about 1 hour to install. I had to make a trip to my Ford dealer for help, but you **shouldn’t** have that problem on a 2019.

[@dimaccc]

Thanks a lot for the video. I have a question, i managed to get my DRL to work with Forscan before watching your video. Later i messed something up in the BCM and ended up restoring everything to factory AB. Now i cant get it to work again. I followed all your steps, and all i managed to achieve is that my HIGH beams now turn on when i enable DRL. Any ideas what im doing wrong?

[@reidthemanual]

Let’s dig into this. You said that you had DRLs working before, so what hardware did you have installed at that time? Lamp switch with “Auto” option? Sun load sensor?

[@dimaccc]

Hey sorry for the delay. I have factory light sensor with auto mode. I only modified the settings in the bcm. The drl were disabled for some reason

[@dimaccc]

No matter which settings I change I only get the high beams work as drl

[@jeffrobinson4841]

So...I tried it tonight. Forscan final write failed at 23%. Said something along the lines of configuration error. Full disclosure, I have a turn signal missing, front left. Apparently DPS motorpool mechanics yanked out one of those high dollar ION led units and left me with no turn signal. Im guessing the computer said no dice when unable to complete the circuit. This is another project I'm trying to figure out. I've read bits and pieces of folklore that states there is some type of decommissioning plug in the truck that can be reconnected to a standard pigtail, socket and bulb, all of which I have. But I have yet to find a good walkthrough or video on this matter.

[@reidthemanual]

Jeff, I feel your pain and have experienced that “configuration error” a few times recently. It was always due to me changing something in FORScan that the vehicle did not like. Do you know which parameter change caused the error? If not, you might try changing one parameter at a time to see which one the vehicle does not like.

[@jeffrobinson4841]

@@reidthemanual i thought I matched your settings exactly, but I'll try again tomorrow when I've had some rest. Preciate you being here for us. 🏆

[@jeffrobinson4841]

Ok, a new day. I have tried again, with successful writes. My settings appear to match yours exactly. When I turn my headlight switch to auto, they go out instantly. Could I have a new, but defective, sun load sensor? Is it my missing turn signal bulb? Guess I'll work on the bulb to eliminate that as a possibility.

[@reidthemanual]

Progress! 3 questions for you: 1. The best indicator as to whether the sensor thinks is daytime or nighttime is whether or not your internal control lights (steering wheel buttons, HVAC controls, headlight switch, etc.) illuminate. Are they illuminating even in broad daylight when the switch is on AUTO? 2. I was surprised how much light it took to get the sensor to think it was daylight. Have you tried shining a bright light directly on it for a minute or so? 3. Do you have the Daytime Running Lights options in the dash menu now? If so, try turning DRLs off. After all of this, if you have DRLs off, the switch on AUTO, and the sun load sensor exposed to blinding light for 1 minute, are your exterior lights still on?

[@jeffrobinson4841]

@@reidthemanual ok, I open the door with no key in ignition, the cluster lights up and the head unit display is blue. Head unit goes dark in 5 sec, clock for 10 seconds more. Cluster stays on 30 sec. More in a second....

[@jeffrobinson4841]

I'd like to have automatic ignition on low beams. So I can leave my headlight switch in the auto position and never have to touch it again. Turn signals only on when turning. How do I get there? I have the new headlight switch, the new sun load sensor, and functional Forscan.

[@reidthemanual]

Hi, Jeff. What you want sounds just like what I now have. At 13:00 I list the setting you need to disable. Now, I never take the switch off AUTO. When I start the engine in the daytime (and take the transmission out of Park), the low beams come on. When I start the engine in the nighttime, all lights (low beams + parking lights) come on. Is this what you want?

[@jeffrobinson4841]

That sounds right. Basically I'm coming out of a 12' Chevy Tahoe and I need this truck lighting to be exactly the same. Set & forget. What ever lighting SHOULD be on for night driving, without getting pulled over. 😁

[@reidthemanual]

When running your lights in AUTO, your front turn signals + brake lights (together called parking lights) will not illuminate during the *day* if you match the setting I show at 13:00, but your those same parking lights will run 100% of the time once it gets dark. I’m not sure if there is a way to NOT run parking lights once it gets dark. You, of course, need your taillights on at night, but I’m not sure if you legally need the front turn signal lights to be on. If you need your front turn signals to be off at night unless turning, I can look into that for you.

[@CLN702]

Bro one cuestion i did Everything the same but when i unlock my car my lights dont turn on like urs

[@reidthemanual]

Hi, there. Is yours an Explorer or PIU?

[@emperornephew6487]

Bruh, TV KLAN, REIS ÇIÇO!

[@reidthemanual]

Are you saying I should be on TV in Albania? Haha

[@ArvinS-d4f]

Do you know if it's possible to have the amber lights on as part of DRL without the headlight turning on? Just the ambers lights

[@reidthemanual]

It’s very possible. I would try adjusting the settings that are currently set to “dedicated DRL” and/or “DRL only” to see if you can switch the light circuit that gets energized. I’ll try looking into it and get back to you.

[@LochnessMonsterr]

@@reidthemanual Were you ever able to take a look? I tried all the combinations and couldn't figure it out myself. Only thing I was able to do was have the amber parking lights at max brightness with the headlight still on. Wasn't able to get it where it was the amber lights only with the headlight off for DRLs.

[@Legendz167]

I would like to disable the DRL completely so which option do i correct?

[@reidthemanual]

Thanks for asking. Follow the process in the video and then turn off DRLs as shown at 13:08

[@farrisqassem9988]

What if the cap doesnt have the wire with it at all?

[@reidthemanual]

If the harness for the sun load sensor was not installed at the factory, you will need to add it. Here is the Ford part number for the kit: 9U2Z-14S411-TA The kit comes with the sensor connector and some generic wires, but you’ll need to run the wires to the appropriate destination. The sun load sensor has four wires exiting its connector. Two of those must be run to the Body Control Module (near the brake pedal). The other two wires must be run to the HVAC Control Module (behind the HVAC controls). If you do this, here are the exact pin out for the connections: Sun load pin #1 -> HVAC pin #22 Sun load pin #2 -> BdyCM pin #24 Sun load pin #3 -> HVAC pin #23 Sun load pin #4 -> BdyCM pin #22

[@-kjlifestyle-]

Just took off the cap for the unload sensor and didn’t see it wire however it looks like the cap was taken off before. I then took off the cover for the vents and tried to feel around and couldn’t feel anything. Is it a possibility that the wire fell down in? Considering taking the radio out to see if it’s down there.

[@-kjlifestyle-]

And if possible, would you be able to make a quick video showing where the wires go? I looked up the part number and it said fits explorer 2011 to 2025 but only says police interceptor utilities 2013 to 2025. I have a 2011 that I don’t believe was technically an interceptor but was a detective vehicle.

[@tyroneelder8241]

How and where did you get the license?

[@reidthemanual]

Hi, Tyron. You mean the extended license for FORScan? I purchased it for $10 from FORScan.org. Well worth it in my opinion.

[@sethgleason1749]

Does this applies to FPIS as well? Ford police interceptor sedan. I installed auto lamp switch and my car already comes with sunload sensor. I have went through forscan and still doesn’t work. I might need to turn on the autolamp menu because I haven’t done that.

[@reidthemanual]

Hi, Seth. What year is your FPIS? There are many common features/parts between the sedan and utility. I would expect the AUTO headlamps activation process on the sedan to be similar to the utility but cannot speak from experience. Please try matching all of the settings I show in FORScan and share if it works.

[@sethgleason1749]

@@reidthemanual It is 2015. I think 2017+ FPIS has different BCM. I will try that and let you know!

[@sethgleason1749]

@@reidthemanual Just got home and I forget to enable Ambient Light Sensor in BCM and Autolamp delay in IPC. That fixed the problem! Thanks to your video about the autolmap delay!

[@reidthemanual]

That’s awesome! Thanks for following up.

[@NotColaTai]

Funny enough i dont want those features

[@reidthemanual]

The fewer features you want, the easier life becomes. Haha

[@NotColaTai]

@@reidthemanual hell yeah!

[@Jacob-mm8xq]

Quick question, I have a sport model explorer and would like to have the orange light in the front to come on instead of the white ribbon on the top and side of the light. Is there anyway to make it like the interceptor?

[@reidthemanual]

There are two settings in FORScan (“DRL Lamp Circuit Usage” and “DRL Configuration”) that might let you choose what lights are used as your DRLs, but I have not tried messing with them since installing my new switch. I’ll look into it.

[@Adam-vx1ib]

@@reidthemanualany update on this? I’ve got a 2023 Explorer ST and would like to use the parking lamps as DRLs both in day and nighttime