Fix your DRL module and save $

[Mr B]

OK my dash and marker lights were out because the DRL module had failed.
I bet this is a fairly common problem so...before you go spending big bucks on a new one or even a few on a used one, why not see if the one you have is salvagable?
The Daytime Running Light module is located with other modules on a plate bolted to the driver's side kick panel. It's the biggest, black one and has DRL Module labelled right on it.
Because this is the module that produces the most heat and therefore is the most likely to fail, the motherless dogs who designed the 2002 Rio put it on the left side of the plate so that you have to move a harness and unbolt the plate to get at it. If you've got big shoulders and arms, getting the plate off is going to hurt. If you're left-handed, you're screwed.
Once you've got the module out and have had your crushed ribs bandaged, which were crushed while laying over the door sill to get under the dash, you pop off the module cover and check the solder side of the circuit board for bad solder joints around the main relay connections (that's the big white block on the board).
They run a fair amount of wattage through the relay, so it gets hot when it's on and cools when it shuts down. Over time this crystalizes the solder and forms a circular crack around the connection that gets bigger until it's essentially no longer connected to the cicuit board and all your dash and marker lights go dark.
The motherless dog who designed the circuit could have avoided this by using a relay with a higher wattage rating (which would be bigger, making the module larger, but would run a lot cooler), but then we wouldn't have an expensive, consumable part to have replaced by the dealership would we.
Anyway, check the module for any burned components. If everything else looks OK, resolder the connections (or have a friend who really knows how to properly solder electronic circuits do it otherwise you'll just finish what inadequate design started), pop the module back together, plug it in, test the lights and if working, reinstall it and the mounting plate - and for the love of God put a thick pillow on the door sill this time to protect your bruised ribs.
Hope this proves helpful. It's actually a real easy fix.

[Tracy]

That's a nice write-up, Mr. B.

Now, if I can just find it when I need it...

[Classified]

good info
had that problem (or something simular) 3 years ago with my DRL

[moe2007]

I want to thank you for your post, it sure saved my big money!. I just repaired the DRL from my KIA RIO 2001: Exactly as you described it!

My initial Problem was: No tail Lights, no dashboard lights, no marker lights and no beep beep when the lights are on and the door is opened.



Moe2007

[Mr B]

Hey MOE2007 and everyone else.
Thanks for the feedback.
Yeah, I forgot about the no warning beep when I left the lights on. I'd left them on several times because of that.
I figure, judging by some other discussions (there's one with more than 500 replies to a dash and tail lights out complaint) that there'll be a lot of these DRL failures and most will likely be just bad solder joints.
The circuit components seem to be fairly robust, but I figure we all may get about one or two fixes out of DRL modules before the main relay in them finally overheats and bakes itself to death. Even then it'll probably just be a case of going down to a good electronics supplier and buying a replacement relay to solder back in, but who knows if the car will even last that long. My car's about five years old and if it and the module last another five I'll probably be on to my next KIA or some hybrid thing that runs on electricity generated from cow farts or something by then.

Mr B