So I haven’t been driving my car for a few weeks and decided to take it out with my friends the other night. My friend pulls up next to me to tell me my running lights aren’t on even when my headlights are. I did recently purchase new depo headlights and installed some lasfit led bulbs. I don’t know if it’s the bulbs that caused the problem because I know sometimes led bulbs can cause problems such as tripping dash lights because it uses less power. I searched up online to see if there were any fuses and found one that said “daytime light system” but I’m not sure if that’s actually for the headlight’s drl. Hoping someone had ran into the same issue and found the culprit. Thanks!

 

Unless you have a Canadian-spec Z or some other import where DRLs are mandatory, it's not the DRL fuse. Check all the lighting fuses to make sure they're all good. IIRC, the fuse for the running lights is located in the engine bay (IPDM E/R) and you have to remove part of the plastic cowl to access it.

Specifically, check the following:
10A fuse (No.71, located in IPDM E/R)
15A fuse (No.78, located in IPDM E/R)
40A fusible link (located in fuse, fusible link and relay box)
10A fuse [No.18, located in interior fuse block under dash]
10A fuse [No.1, located in interior fuse block under dash]
10A fuse [No. 6, located in interior fuse block under dash]

 

Many LEDs are polarity sensitive. You may have simply installed them 180 degrees out. Because of this, I have gotten in the habit of testing all replacement bulbs while everything is still taken apart. I'm glad I did this for my reverse light LED upgrade! Those are a huge PITA to gain access to.
Cheers
-Icer

 

So I checked the fuse, specifically, 71 (10A) it was blown. I replaced it with another and then turned on the lights, the tail lights flickered but didn’t turn on. Decided to check the fuse again and what do you know, blown. My buddy suggested I put in a 20A fuse, was a little skeptical at first but it worked. And before you call us stupid no I’m not going to leave it the way it is. I wanted to ask if there’s a resistor I can splice in or if I have to just ditch the bulbs and ballasts? And go with something else

 

You could try and splice in any generic 50w 6 ohm resistor to see if that stops the original 10A fuse from popping.

I'm not familiar with the brand name "Lasfit." You might want to try an LED from a more recognizable manufacturer from vendors like The Retrofit Source, VLEDs, or Diode Dynamics.

 

Only reason I went with “Lasfit” is because they had bulbs and ballasts whilst others didn’t, I don’t know much about lighting brands mind you. I was missing a headlight due to a driver error and so I had to buy a new set of headlights and new bulbs and ballasts. The oem headlight assemblies were simply too expensive so had to go with depo. I did a lot of research but never saw anything mentioning the tail lamp fuse popping. The lights are great but I hate the thought of getting rear ended because people can’t see me because I’m too low or because they cant see me 2 feet in front of them at night.

 

I thought that only applied if the lights didn’t turn on, no?

 

I don't believe that changing out to Depo aftermarket headlights and using those bulbs and ballasts will affect the tail lights. That part is fine. Depo is a perfectly suitable aftermarket headlight choice. I was referring to buying some better LEDs for your tail lights since they seem to keep blowing the fuse.

I wasn't trying to be insulting about your choice with Lasfit. We all have to start somewhere and we generally make stupid mistakes to save some money starting out. If you want some quality bulbs and ballasts, try Morimoto. They've been in the game a long time. I've done many retrofits with their products and I have yet to have one fail (knock on wood). I've also gone down the rabbit hole of knock-off bulbs and ballasts, cheap-o LEDs, and the majority of them are garbage.

 

The Depo headlights are plug and play drop in replacements, OEM replicas essentially, they should work without issue so long as you purchased a set for your year range. The Z33 changed the headlamp assemblies over the years. If your rear lamps are out, I would check your brake switch, it's rare, but still possible the brake lamp switch (upper switch mounted on brake pedal assembly) is going out. A simple resistance/continuity test on the switch pins should tell you if it's good or not. These switches are fairly cheap to replace with new OEM. Alternatively, they can be easily taken apart and cleaned up, overtime carbon buildup on the copper contacts or corrosion depending on your environment can lead to high resistance, this could cause an overcurrent scenario and pop fuses.

I don't see how LED DRLs in the Depo headlights would cause a fuse to blow. LEDs use less power vs. incandescent. Worst case, you might have a short or damaged wire somewhere. You mentioned you had a "driver error" incident with the front end? I would carefully inspect the wire harness where any collision damage occurred.

For context, I'm running 100% LED exterior lighting with the exception of the Xenon HID main headlamp bulbs. I have zero issues. I used GTR lighting signal bulbs since they have a clean in-line resistor addon to prevent hyperflashing, no need to "splice" the factory wiring, they're just not cheap. The rest of my exterior bulbs like lic plate, reverse lamps, and front DRLs are all Diode Dynamics.

Hope this helps! Good luck!
-Icer