auto headlights settings

[mlc]

a couple of questions on the auto headlights on my 2001 S.

where is the sensor that decides when they should be turned on? does it get dirty and think it is darker than it really is?

The reason I ask is that the lights seem to come on a lot sooner than I would expect, certainly at times that I would not manually turn on the lights, is this that I have a fault or is the car more careful than me!

Mark.

 

[carabind]

actually, I noticed the same on my 2005 E. Not bad enough to take it to the dealer, but have noticed them on in bright sunlight at times Is it the transulant plastic button between the washer jets?

 

[jberks]

I believe its the the black plastic blob in the centre of the air grill on the bonnet. They do seem to get less sensitive as the week rolls on.

 

[carabind]

That's the one I meant.

 

[television]

Many english people are reluctant to turn their lights on until the last minute, rather than turn the lights off and on every time you pass under trees, once the auto triggers it holds, don't worry ,it does not cost anything. I do not mean this the way it sounds

Malcolm

 

[carabind]

Thanks malcolm . Think I remember a thread around dealer faults/service repairs ( a US site?) thatwas posted a couple of months ago and trawling through this, think there was something on there that mentioned output of this sensor and how the "brain" could be adjusted to allow it to come on for higher/lower readings from the light sensor. It's not a major problem, and as you say, it dosen't cost anything and probably better that they are on more rather than less!

 

[124coupe]

I had a brief road rage incident this week as the route to the office has a few tree tunnels in it.

The auto lights go on and off with the tree cover and the guy in the 4x4 in front thought I was having a go at him.

As far as I could tell, my middle finger was longer than his - hard to tell through his 35% tint though.....

 

[Rory]

I had a brief road rage incident this week as the route to the office has a few tree tunnels in it.

I've had several cars with auto-lights and I don't use them because of the potential for them coming on and people mis-interpreting it as a headlamp flash. You could just imagine if there was a side road ahead as you went into a 'tree tunnel' and your lights came on. It's especially bad with Xenons as they appear to flash as they start.

 

[television]

These thing have been modified to stop what happened to Rory and 124coupe

this is why they now stay on longer.

Malcolm

 

[Rory]

These thing have been modified to stop what happened to Rory and 124coupe

this is why they now stay on longer.

Malcolm

It's not that they flash on and off - people see the lights come on and then immediately pull out, regardless of whether they stay on or not.
It was on a SAAB 9000 with Xenons that I read about this causing an accident, but the potential is there with any car with auto lights.

 

[jberks]

it is possible, but to be fair, dipped headlights coming on for 45+ secs is totally different to a 1-2 sec flash of main beam. If someone is dumb enough to misenterpret it, then they'll probably pull out anyway.

On the subject of imbeciles. My dad was telling me, he was waiting to reverse out of a space a couple of days ago. A woman walked past the back of the car - no major issue - he was waiting anyway, but the parking sensor bleeped as she passed. This moron heard it and started to scream at him!

I never get surprised at how dumb the public are - Just watched daytime telly this morning - staggering!