DRL lights for Megane 1.9DCi 2008 model

I got a Megane 1.9DCi 2008 that I bought second hand at a good price (can’t find any decent diesel car in Taiwan within the 350K I paid for it). I wanted to install some after market daytime running lights as the car doesn’t come with any, so I went to a shop to get ones. For my amazement, the shop owner couldn’t install them, and said that because the car had a light sensor (for Auto lights on/off), he couldn’t install them (after a 1 hour looking around on how to switch them to the fuse).
I don’t know if anyone has any experience with the Megane here in Taiwan, but I already saw a lot of posts on the internet of successful installations around the world.

Anyone can help?

Thanks in advance

By daytime running lights, I presume you mean the sidelights, but those can be turned on at any time and your car already has them, so I’m not sure if I know what you mean.
Just for clarification, (because I’m better with pictures, due to misinterpretations at times) do you mean front fog lights such as these?

Or do you mean, some sort of additional daytime running lights, or slim lights, such as these?

If so, then how would you prefer for them to switch? If you want a separate, manual toggle switch with a relay, then that’s pretty simple. I’m sure we could accomodate you. Or perhaps you would prefer for them to stay on permanently? That should be even simpler. Daytime running lights in many countries are permanently on, regardless of how the driver controls any other lights on the car.
I understand however that it’s becoming ever more popular for people to fit these slim aesthetic L.E.D., front light sets. I’m not sure if they’re actually designed to have the effect of daytime running lights, but they usually are fitted for aesthetics, over functionality.
As I said, really, daytime running lights are simply your side lights, wired to be permanently on, or a front and rear set of additional, typically bumper mounted lights, which are typically only as bright as the side lights, and which only serve to warn other road users of your presence.

On a bit of a rant…Apparently, some Taiwan drivers seem to think that their fog lights serve as some sort of all weather, all hours running lights. This always drives me crazy, as I can’t count the number of times I’m dazzled in perfect weather, and then the daft driver doesn’t even react when I flash them. Flashing your lights in someone’s rear view mirror usually does the trick back home, as the driver wonders what you are flashing, quickly does a lights check, then realizes they actually left their fog on, and quickly switch it back to off.
It seems to me that many Taiwan drivers actually mean to leave their fog on. :ponder:
My work partner is also frustrated by this habit, and he’s Taiwanese. He has come up with the potential plan of fitting a very high luminescent lamp to a desecrate location on the rear of his car, so that he can overtake a chap who won’t turn off his fog lamps, and then dazzle the bejezus out of him.
I don’t actually advise anyone to do this, as it really only serves as oneupmanship, and is quite childish, and really quite dangerous. I can however see the immensely frustrating reason for wanting to however.

I would like them to be as the picture in that Megane.
I want them to be on all the time, but would prefer them to dim once the normal lights are on.
The reason I want the lights is for their real purpose, for others to see me well from distance… I’m an European, so I tend to drive the whole time with lights on as I do a lot of freeway (hence I chose a diesel car).
Let me know how much would be the cost of fitting a pair of them.

[quote=“mr_boogie”]I would like them to be as the picture in that Megane.
I want them to be on all the time, but would prefer them to dim once the normal lights are on.
The reason I want the lights is for their real purpose, for others to see me well from distance… I’m an European, so I tend to drive the whole time with lights on as I do a lot of freeway (hence I chose a diesel car).
Let me know how much would be the cost of fitting a pair of them.[/quote]

Dimming L.E.D.s is not easy at all, as they require so little current, that it’s not easy to control.
If you already have your own kit, but need it installed, then we would need to see your kit, before we can offer a quotation.
I also need to see the car, to know if it requires any additional modification. If you want to bring it to the garage, then I can provide a more accurate quotation.

Cheers for now. You can PM me, email or call for more info.

Jamie

I’ll visit you tomorrow then…

I was wandering also if a EMU tuning would be advised here, because I am not sure the turbo won’t last as long as the 100K Renault does expect it to last… and don’t know how much it will cost me to repair it…

EMU? Does that stand for Engine Management Unit? If so, then this is more commonly referred to as the vehicle’s Electronic Control Module (E.C.M.), or E.C.U. (Electronic Control Unit)

The life of a car’s turbo is determined by a number of factors, but not so much to do with the on board computer. It is mainly determined by design, type of oil, oil flow rate, and style of driving.
I believe you need to attend to the other issues, including the electronics before considering modifying this vehicle. I also do not recommend performance modifications, relating to electronics to this type of vehicle due to many issues concerning unreliability of components and general electronic issues, which will also become a hindrance when modifying, especially when modifying is so much easier with a predictable and reliable system.

I’m sorry to say that typically you will expect to put more money into the repairs on such a vehicle as well as it’s purchase price, than on a more reliable type of Japanese equivalent.

A 2008/11 not-made-in-Taiwan 4 door diesel saloon for 350.000NT, with 40K KM, and 1 year warranty. That is what I bought… let me know what else I can buy for that price, that has 5 stars Euro-NCAP, 6 air bags, does easily 15-20 km/l, and feels and sounds like a rock. With the car having so many problems (electronic), I still went to Taizhong and came back with heavy rain, and it was probably one of the smoothest rides I did in Taiwan.
The electronic problems were already fixed, as the warranty covered them, and the sales had to fork up the repairs… but more than repairs, it was just bad servicing. The car probably never saw an authorized Renault mechanic, and was due a lot of repairs for a long time. I am confident it is a good car, just need the right servicing.
As with many other things, information is the key. I’m going to Tainan to fix the motor of the window, and it will cost 2.000NT. This shop was recommended by many Renault users that fixed their cars there.

double post…

Good stuff. It’s nice to know you found yourself a cheap repair centre.

In terms of Euro NCAP ratings, you are right. There really aren’t many options out there. Renault had the first 5 star rated car out there with the Megane, and the Toyota Prius followed a little behind. The issues with the Megane were the reason we went with the Prius though, but you won’t pick one of those up for that price for a long time yet.

I’d likely go for a four star rated Skoda Octavia, a VW Golf, or a Suzuki SX4 in this case.
On the other hand if I was in a position to take out a loan, then I’d put that money towards a newer, Japanese import, as the depreciation on A Renault, plus repairs outside of warranty would typically be greater than the interest and depreciation on a newer Japanese car. This is what we ended up doing, and why I got the Prius. We started with a budget of over 600,000NT, but then we got an interest free loan on a car which was discounted from over 1.2 million, to 1 million. A huge gap from a 350,000NT budget, I know, but I sold it five years later and lost over 280,000NT. With the savings on fuel, and a total of 3,500NT worth of a single repair/replacement (new lead acid battery), I saved a lot, by investing more. I was actually going to keep the Prius for as long as it would last, but we ended up leaving the country.

I’m not knocking your decision, as I know people all have their reasons for their choices in vehicles, but I’m just listing some options here for people in the same predicament as you were in.

My friend asked for a loan also, and 350K was the maximum she could afford now.
Anyway, even if it depreciates (new it is a 1M car), it will never go for less than 100K, as in 4-5 years, it will still be a ok car, and probably people will be looking for cars doing at least 15km/l by then, so there is a chance that it won’t go down that much.
As for the other options, there were none in the price range my friend could afford. A new imported Japanese car (like the Swift) would go for another 300K…