My Defender has Matrix headlights. Since the high beams are quite weak, I decided to have Lazer Lamps R750 Elite auxiliary lights installed.

Now that they are installed, I have discovered that they only work when switching between high and low beams manually. However, if I switch to automatic mode, allowing the Matrix headlights to function, the auxiliary high beams do not turn on.

Has anyone found a way to make the auxiliary lights work in auto mode, or is this simply not possible?

 

Based on how complex the headlights are, and the fact that there is no built-in auxiliary switches, I'm willing to bet it isn't possible. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm pretty confident that you will just have to deal with it as-is unfortunately. I agree the high beams are subpar. One of my biggest complaints about my Defender.

 

CANM8 - High Beam interface controller

https://www.canm8.com/can-bus-interf...-highbeam.html

 

I'm pretty sure it's not possible like @CincyRovers said and the only way is as @Defendit.. mentions.

I recently email Joshua Lewis at Lazer Lamps asking about a passive canbus reader for their "canny" as it's in a waterproof case, so can be installed in the engine bay. Vs in the cabin and passing the highbeam trigger through the firewall. I really don't want to put a hole in that boot. He mentioned there was a dedicated canbus to the lights that you can tap into.

 

Counterpoint:

Just put a hole in that boot. Right where it says Land Rover. It is a thick rubber boot but it’s easy to pierce , and it will not rip if you do it properly. You can use a very small dental pick type of tool -- or straight point probe -heat it up - go right through.

I put my GMRS antenna wire through there, no issues. You wil have no water ingress. I put a bit of black sealant around my antenna wire once I had it in there and it was in place.. You are in no way compromising your cabin integrity, introducing noise or water to the cabin.

I can assure you I am the biggest purist out there and have seen all kinds of hack jobs putting wiring in the cabins on Land Rovers and this is not a hack job. It’s actually very clean and good. Almost as if LR intended this -- You should see what people have done on D2’s, P38’s, LR3’s, Etc that I have bought in the past to run wires... total hack jobs that over time leak, etc. This is a very good solution.

 

I'm curious why it even let's you set those "low". For every other maker they are essentially high all the time, intelligently masking out "bits" as needed. Those Laser Lights are almost surely going to have to be manual.

You are overseas, right? The upgraded lights in the states are not matrix.

I do a lot of mountain offroad at night since I live above a 5 mile unpaved section of NC-197 through the Pisgah NF. There's another 11 miles about 5 miles from there as well. I put ditch lights on .my D90S and keep amber blinders (supposedly 50% reduction) on unless I am in unfamiliar territory. I used a cheap pair of Auxbeam lights that work incredibly well and have side lights also. Amber they light up 600 yards or so and uncorked nearly half mile full bright. They have even better now, around $200. I bought the brackets which attach under the hood line for $80 at Lucky8. I think those are $99 now?

 

Agree with @nashvegas . Lucky8 sells great products and does a lot for the Land Rover community. Here's the instructions to their light bar installation: Link. Pages 19 - 24 show you where to go. Here's a screen shot of where to do it. I just used an awl that I had in my tool box. I only did it once for my GMRS line and have NEVER had issues with it. No water ingress EVER. That boot is THICK. It's tough to pierce and I put some silicon caulk on the inside & outside, but I doubt if it's ever needed.

Note, for most electronics (you're trying to tie into a controller, but if ever using an interior switch), I run all my electronics from a Trigger 6-Shooter controller which is wireless (Link). The trigger turns on my ditch lights, rear flood lights, front flood lights, etc. Really not had a problem with the trigger itself. It's always some short in my crappy wiring. It doesn't eat batteries. I think the switches on the inside need changed every couple of years. I keep spares in my glovebox just in case.

Good luck, post your results and pics!

 

Sorry, my main point is that he likely does not have "matrix" headlights. They are not available here in the US.

I have driven a RHD Euro model in Denmark and there was no way to turn them "down".

If he has the upgraded Signature LED headlights, the CANBUS solution(s) should work. "Matrix" headlights are always on high.

 

Ahh, interesting. Now I did not know this. I thought it would be regular DRL (the famous broken wink), on, high beam (w proper matrix masking), and of course the auto (once again with matrix masking).

 

For the sake of forum history, and in case this post might help someone in the future, I’d like to note that Lazer Lamps auxiliary lights can be set up to work in a way that they activate when the vehicle has matrix headlights in auto mode (i.e., when the switching between low and high beams happens automatically). When the matrix headlights switch to high beam mode, the auxiliary lights also turn on, but when an oncoming vehicle is detected, the auxiliary lights turn off, and the matrix headlights function as they normally would. Pretty cool.



The only downside is that the auxiliary lights are extremely powerful and may dazzle oncoming drivers, who might flash their lights from a distance. To ensure that the auxiliary lights work in auto mode together with matrix headlights, the CANNY module must be installed, which is sold separately by the light manufacturer.



All in all, it’s great that this option exists, as it effectively compensates for the Defender’s relatively weak high beams.