by "404 - User No Longer Available" (toni-cipriani)
Published 09/10/2017 at 08:17
by "404 - User No Longer Available" (toni-cipriani)
Published 09/10/2017 at 08:17
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STARS: 3
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I’m actually more for removing DRLs altogether so those shitheads can’t actually see without turning actual headlights on, but mandated automatic headlights would work. I don’t understand how if a Cobalt has non-defeatable AHL standard, why doesn’t a friggin Civic.
"pip bip - choose Corrour" (hhgttg69)
09/10/2017 at 08:24, STARS: 1
surely it’s just down to programming?
"gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee" (gogmorgo)
09/10/2017 at 08:44, STARS: 0
I’m a pretty big fan of daytime running lights. So many people don’t think to turn on headlights in inclement weather, so it’s nice to have that heads up. But yes, definitely, something needs done about tail lights not illuminating as part of the package. Frankly driver education might help too, but it’s difficult to target everyone and the subset of people who aren’t turning on lights probably aren’t going to pay attention, either.
Driving across Canada vs the US, the mandated DRL’s are definitely noticed and appreciated. Although it’s less common now, the other noticeable phenomenon is vehicles that use their headlights as DRL’s vs the tiny little orange parking lights (every Taco out there) which are basically invisible in a snow storm.
Obviously the solution is turning on your damn lights when you drive. For me it’s become habit to turn them on right after I start the engine, which has the added bonus that when my headlight switch did the Jeep thing and set itself on fire, it was actually light out so I could see to disassemble my dash to extinguish it, and then continue on without my lights.
"BJ" (benjamin-bignell)
09/10/2017 at 08:44, STARS: 1
This drives me fucking nuts. DRL are great for safety, but the manufacturers are lazy and/or cheap - as mentioned in the news article, they wire the dash lights to the DRL. This is probably to save $1 on a separate relay and circuit.
"BJ" (benjamin-bignell)
09/10/2017 at 08:45, STARS: 1
Not even, it’s just basic circuitry. Save a few cents on wire and relays by re-using the DRL relay to trigger the dash lights as well.
"merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc" (merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc)
09/10/2017 at 09:05, STARS: 1
On vehicles without auto lights, I can sort of understand, but what gets me are the assholes that have auto lights, and don’t have them on... I’m looking at you Lincoln MKYF.... oh whatever the heck the alpha bits cereal that passes for a name are supposed to mean... yeah you, turn that little knob to auto and leave it alone, ya knob.
I’ve become so spoiled since about four cars ago when I got my first “luxury” car in the form of a Cadillac STS. That was an ‘06 and had auto lights and also anytime you ran the wipers, the headlights and tail lights would turn on. And all my audi’s have been the same way, as is our new Pacifica... but back to my rant above, if you turn the light selector knob to anything other than auto, they don’t do all the fawncey stuff.
PSA, if your car has an “auto” function, just turn that little knob over to that selection, job done. Don’t worry about your lights cycling everytime you pull into your garage... it’s not a big deal and it won’t kill you’re precious headlight bulbs. Also... pair your friggin phone with your car you tool, I know that most BMWs around here have Bluetooth, so maybe pull out the owners manual and figure out how to pair your phone so you don’t have to drive around with a phone plastered to the side of your head while you simultaneously swerve into every lane on the three lane throughfare....
point of all this? The tech is probably already in most cars, but you still can’t fix stupid. If the Rhodes Scholar behind the wheel turns off the function, then it’s all for nought.
"jimz" (jimz)
09/10/2017 at 09:08, STARS: 0
what are you talking about? My Ranger was originally sold in Canada so it had DRLs (of the “run headlights at 75% brighness” kind) and they had nothing to do with the dash backlighting. All I had to do to disable the DRLs was flip a bit in the configuration of the body control module.
"Svend" (svend)
09/10/2017 at 09:10, STARS: 0
As Pip Bip suggested. It’s down to programming.
It’s been something that has been brought up a few times.
Such as for VAG cars. Use VCDS, VAG-com, or OBDELEVEN.
"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
09/10/2017 at 09:15, STARS: 2
It amazes me that there are still vehicles without automatic headlights. My cheapo S-10 pickup had them 20 years ago.
"If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent" (essextee)
09/10/2017 at 09:25, STARS: 0
Maybe that’s how it was done when everything was wired directly but nowadays everything is through the ECU. My DRLs can be toggled on or off through the diagnostic port.
"If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent" (essextee)
09/10/2017 at 09:26, STARS: 1
GM has had auto-on light tech since the 60s. They called the option “Twilight Sentinel”, which is just about the coolest option name ever.
"Logansteno: Bought a VW?" (logansteno)
09/10/2017 at 09:34, STARS: 2
My S10 had undefeatable auto lights and the damn thing had rubber floors and crank windows!
"404 - User No Longer Available" (toni-cipriani)
09/10/2017 at 09:44, STARS: 0
Nah, cost cutting sometimes remove a 5 cent photo-sensor.
"404 - User No Longer Available" (toni-cipriani)
09/10/2017 at 09:47, STARS: 0
No, it’s the advent of the “all dark when off” clusters, like the ones in the Mazda3 Sport. If the backlighting isn’t on, you can’t read anything, it always glows orange. The difference with the headlights on is a blue glow around the gauges.
"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
09/10/2017 at 09:48, STARS: 0
GM is really good at naming options. My first car, an ‘89 Olds Toronado Trofeo, had it. Twilight Sentinel had an extra feature to it. You could set a delay to leave your headlights on for up to three minutes after the car shut off. It was nice if you parked in a dark area.
My current favorite GM option name is Super Cruise. I think it’s both a cooler name, and a much more apt description than Tesla’s Autopilot. I wish I could afford a new Caddy with Super Cruise, that would be sweeeeeet.
"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
09/10/2017 at 09:49, STARS: 0
Exactly! And yet all these much newer and supposedly more “premium” cars don’t have it. What the deuce?
"Logansteno: Bought a VW?" (logansteno)
09/10/2017 at 09:49, STARS: 0
Plenty of manufacturers have auto lights, they just don’t force people to use them. My mom’s Fusion has an auto selection on the knob but you can also set it to everything off.
This is something GM actually does right. You can shut your auto lights off, but only for that trip. As soon as you turn the car off they reset to default on. Hell, my S10 had a button sequence to shut them off most people probably wouldn’t know unless they read the owner’s manual and my brother’s Grand Am doesn’t even give you an auto off option.
"tpw_rules" (tpwrules)
09/10/2017 at 09:50, STARS: 1
As I’ve said before, it should be illegal to turn off any lights. No reason to. My old car ran the main headlights as “DRLs” so you couldn’t turn them off. Bulbs still lasted 100k. If you can’t turn off your head lights and tail lights, there’s no risk of not turning them on. Even ‘auto’ might not turn them on at the right time.
"404 - User No Longer Available" (toni-cipriani)
09/10/2017 at 09:50, STARS: 1
Don’t worry about your lights cycling everytime you pull into your garage... it’s not a big deal and it won’t kill you’re precious headlight bulbs.
Ah yes, the classic defense of the typical FP idiot who keeps saying “I don’t want auto headlights”. I cringe every time I see that, these people simply have no idea how electrics work.
Your typical lightbulb is already flicking on and off 60 times a second...
"404 - User No Longer Available" (toni-cipriani)
09/10/2017 at 10:01, STARS: 0
Actually the Canadian variant doesn’t even allow that. The moment you leave P, AHL becomes enabled again. I can’t even defeat it if my handbrake is not pulled on my manual.
"If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent" (essextee)
09/10/2017 at 10:12, STARS: 0
They also had an auto-dimming headlight option called “Autronic Eye”.
"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
09/10/2017 at 10:23, STARS: 0
I forgot about that one.
"merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc" (merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc)
09/10/2017 at 10:39, STARS: 1
I’ve had the same thought though, but after years of cars with auto lights, I’ve still seen no decrease in bulb life, hid especially.
"404 - User No Longer Available" (toni-cipriani)
09/10/2017 at 10:57, STARS: 5
HIDs as long as you’re trying to dim them till they flicker, you’re fine.
Shortened bulb life turning on and off sounds like something moms make up to tell 5-year olds to not play with light switches...
"Urambo Tauro" (urambotauro)
09/10/2017 at 11:21, STARS: 0
I’m not a fan of DRLs or automatic headlamps. The DRLs are too bright, serving as a pseudo-headlamp when they should only serve as markers to others that the car is in operation. And the automatic headlamps are making people excessively lazy.
There was a post on JustRolledintotheShop the other day where a customer got all pissy because the shop happened to turn his headlamps off while it was in for service, and the guy later drove 3 hours in the dark before he even noticed.
I think it’s also a bad idea to allow DRLs to illuminate the dashboard. Dark dashboards used to be a really good measure to let drivers know when it was too dark to proceed without turning the headlamps on. And as Torch has pointed out, the move to always-lit digital dashboards is just making it worse.
More and more automation could eventually “save us from ourselves”, but until cars are 100% automatic, these features are just going to foster complacency and laziness. Sure, they’ll save a few lives in the meantime, but on the whole they’re allowing a lot more drivers to become even more incompetent, and I think that’s a greater safety issue.
"LongbowMkII" (longbowmkii)
09/10/2017 at 12:57, STARS: 0
The Yaris has DRL’s and a manual switch. Annoying. Particularly since the full low beam is like 10% brighter than DRL’s. It’s basically turning on the tail lights.
"BJ" (benjamin-bignell)
09/10/2017 at 20:17, STARS: 0
Well, I’m not an automotive electrical engineer so I don’t know how all the vehicles work. Maybe one can switch off the DRL with a bit flip in many cars, but I highly doubt you can control the dash lighting separately through software.
I see a lot of this problem on a regular basis from many different brands.
"BJ" (benjamin-bignell)
09/10/2017 at 20:21, STARS: 0
Depends. My VW dash looks exactly the same with headlights on or off, but the daytime setting is absolutely blinding at night. Even at max brightness, the night setting is different, so you’d be hard pressed to not notice you’re driving dark.
Whatever the cause, it’s a problem. For years now I’ve just been in the habit of turning on my lights all the time. Day or night.
"BJ" (benjamin-bignell)
09/10/2017 at 20:24, STARS: 0
DRL yes. But controlling dash lights separately from the DRL through software? I doubt it.
I like having DRL, and it’s the law. But having dash lights always on is a bad idea because many drivers are obviously too dumb to use their headlights.