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While driving I activated the high beam (headlights) and the rpm-meter started flickering for a moment and then dropped down to 0. Stopped the car and shut off the engine for 10 min for other reasons. Then the engine wouldn't start, like the battery was dead. No starter cables were available but managed to tow it to start. Drove 10km to where I'm staying and left the car running for a while in case the battery was just low (both battery and alternator are 14 months old). The brake and ABS lights were lit while not revving the engine but while revving a lot of lights went on and off. I started to hear a fast clicking sound from the floor area. I located the sound to a box marked "UNIT ASSY-DRL". The sound stopped when I unplugged the box, and started again when connected again. No other changes noticed. I made a quick Google search and not much info but I saw something about headlights so I turned on the high beams again. The engine stopped the same second. After that it won't start (no starter sound). Still no starter cables. I'm on holiday right now and far away from home and my tools and meters. There are no workshops open until after the weekend and then I was hoping to be on my way home :-/ :-/ Do you have any idea what the problem could be or what I could do to maybe locate it?

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  • start by checking the connections on the battery. it seems to be electrical. check the ground cable at the engine to body and battery to body.
    – Ben
    Jun 5, 2016 at 3:13
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    Sounds to me like your alternator may be bad. I discovered that my alternator was bad when my engine stopped after flashing the high beams, because the battery alone can't provide enough power for the lights and the spark plugs at once.
    – Moshe Katz
    Jun 5, 2016 at 13:53
  • DRL = Daytime running lights. I would start with checking battery voltage and grounds.
    – rpmerf
    Jun 6, 2016 at 10:49

1 Answer 1

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I would assume that the drl is either a relay or a circuit breaker for the running lights. You may have either a short circuit (which would cause a circuit breaker to open) or a broken or loose cable or wire. Check your battery connections and cables to make sure everything is clean and tight.

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