Auto lights on

[Martin blackett]

Hi all
Hope you enjoying it. I’m in my shed away from it all
Just got this W169 and find it’s not got the auto lights on feature like the other higher spec models we have.
is there a way to enable this. I know I’d need the light switch but anything else ? Must be a sensor or is it a major install
Job. ?
Thanks. Cheers. . Whisky & mince pies in peaceful shed.

 

[EmilysDad]

There's a sensor on the screen behind the rear view mirror ....

I'd imagine the effort of adding auto lights would be more than the benefit gained

 

[Martin blackett]

It’s the wife and daughters. Get so used to auto lights they think having to turn them on is a bit beyond them

 

[Botus]

german cars seldom provide the wiring to add features (may even miss out the module to operate the missing feature)

I fitted auto lights and wipers on my Focus, its was much more agro than you may think. To start with you need a new windscreen. I already needed that due to big impact damage, so based on that need I took opportunity to add the self dimming mirror to make motorway work easier (of course that involves much of the same work you need for AUTO lights).


basic Parts:
New windscreen (£700) insurance (I had legit need - but even then not easy to obtain one that wasn't OEM on that car)
New interior mirror (£180)
New interior mirror trim (£25)
Auto light switch (£110)
Actual Light sensor (£120) which is usually the same component for lights and wipers

that seemed to cover the basics. As then I could fit the better interior mirror and add the rain light sensor for the lights and wipers. But life is not that simple.

Clearly the interior mirror needs wires to power the photochromatic dimming, these are part of the same loom for the rain light sensor and sit in the same location on the windscreen. Everyone on the forums claims its glued to the roof lining and you just need to pull it off and relocate. That's utter rubbish the 5 wires aren't there...

As if by magic a suitable secondhand loom was waiting on ebay that very weekend with 3 additional roof lights for just £32 quid. NICE ! With that on order I decided the project's a goer and buy the posh interior mirror, a rain light sensor and Auto headlight switch, noting it came with interior dash rheostat NICE ! So now have £100 quids worth of secondhand bits coming in the post)

Reading about where that loom plugs in. I came across a post about it runs from the front SAM (actually a GEM in ford world), but many SAMS don't have the pins on the module for this loom. Que, bike trip over to the car to check the spec of the SAM I have. BUGGER ! its low spec and can't support the features.

Back on ebay to discover this module comes in 5 different specs (although they now only supply the highest spec from new £600). Find one of the highest spec ones (turns out its not the end of the world, mine didn't suit Voice control and Bluetooth - that I was also looking to add anyway). So bought one secondhand for £80

All the bits show up, so ask Autoglass to come to replace the damaged screen. Specifically say must have the Rain sensor mounting. They get funny because the car doesn't show as having this screen on their records. But after a big fight and a wasted week fitter turns up. He walks off the job, refuses to fit that screen on my car. Another week wasted another guy shows up and they do the job correctly.

That ridiculous time wasting comes from the incredible difference between the two screens, which entails
a) a 10p bracket glued on the screen for the rain light sensor to clip into.
b) a different shaped blob bonded on the screen for the interior mirror fixing (just to stop you having the good mirror on the cheaper cars)
c) 6 x 4" black section just to hide the wires (when looking from the outside)

So all of 99 pence worth of difference between the two screens !

With the mirror on the car (no dimming yet), and the Auto light switch clipped in and working as a normal one, I can dim the interior dash and radio lights (which is big help on unlit roads). So go to fit the SAM under the dash (the GEM as its really called) with all 7 or so multiplugs in place I then realise I don't have the cable to connect the laptop to the car, so I can't programme it. BUGGER ! Swap it back. Drive home to late, so wait for another day. Keen to get stuff working tackle to job in a rush one evening at its getting dark.

Plug in the new SAM again. As I connect the battery the flipping headlights lights come on, even though turned off. BUGGER ! how long will it take to programme? As can't get any power to the car where it is !!! Flash the three config files and the chassis number to the SAM module in a panic. Now Auto lights switch works as intended and I can switch off and everything seems to be working as I'd expect. Go to start the car and it won't run, BUGGER ! now what????

Getting too dark, it won't start, swap out the SAM again in what's left of the dusk! Then go inside to scratch my head... Then realise the first time a few days back I was going to methodically check each fuse and relay was OK and in the right place. But when I didn't have the cable for the laptop and gave up realise that's where I'd omitted this critical step. BUGGER !

Got the manual out check what the 50 million fuses all do and every dammed one check outs.... till the last 15 amp fuse is on the old module but not on the replacement. Well what's that for then ? Fuel pump ! BUGGER THATS WHY !!! Then thought about life and realised I should have noticed that. When I tried to start, it had run for about 2 seconds.... residual fuel pressure !!! BUGGER !

Actual parts:
New windscreen (£700)
New interior mirror (£180)
New interior mirror trim (£25)
New Auto light switch (£110)
New wiring loom (£100)
New Rain Light sensor (£120)
New Steering wheel column wiper switch (Ford do it right, its the same part. No one else does)
New SAM (£600)
Fitting and programming (£500)

so on a Merc with some windscreens coming in in at crazy prices, retrofit of Auto lights could cost £6,500...
I did it on my ford for about £250 with secondhand parts and because I needed a new screen anyway

 

[Martin blackett]

That’s some story Just had look on Google and Amazon. Seems a good few kits out there from £20 up. may do some research and report back

 

[Botus]

As you want this to work 100% and not just switch off mid unlit country lane, I wouldn't go there using non genuine bits. Aside from that, I also wouldn't want some Chinese budget rubbish forgetting how to work an giving me a flat battery either.

Using non genuine bits for something so obviously safety critical should quite rightly invalidate your insurance...

 

[SmartAmg]

Funnily enough, I'm not keen on auto lights or auto wipers for that matter, I know myself when to turn my lights and wipers on and off.

 

[EmilysDad]

....

Using non genuine bits for something so obviously safety critical should quite rightly invalidate your insurance...

Really!!

 

[EmilysDad]

Funnily enough, I'm not keen on auto lights or auto wipers for that matter, I know myself when to turn my lights and wipers on and off.

you do get to like them ... though auto lights do need to be checked up on, they tend not to automatically turn on when it's foggy. My Merc's auto lights do seem to be less sensitive to slight changes in levels of light eg I see other cars turn their lights on when I'm waiting at lights under a local motorway bridge.

 

[Blobcat]

you do get to like them ... though auto lights do need to be checked up on, they tend not to automatically turn on when it's foggy. My Merc's auto lights do seem to be less sensitive to slight changes in levels of light eg I see other cars turn their lights on when I'm waiting at lights under a local motorway bridge.

Don’t clean the sensor and they come on quicker...

 

[EmilysDad]

Don’t clean the sensor and they come on quicker...

the state my car is in at the moment I'd be surprised if they ever turned off

 

[Botus]

As you want this to work 100% and not just switch off mid unlit country lane, I wouldn't go there using non genuine bits. Aside from that, I also wouldn't want some Chinese budget rubbish forgetting how to work an giving me a flat battery either.

Using non genuine bits for something so obviously safety critical should quite rightly invalidate your insurance...

Really!!

indeed really !!! have you even been driving along an unlit road, the only vehicle about, minding your own business on high beam doing 100 mph and had all your lights turn off instantly. I have its not a great experience, I was accelerating away from a nasty 50mph bend !!!

in 40 years of being on the road, I've had total light failure happen to me at night on 2 Yamaha motorbikes. Never had it in a car, but I expect it happens to some.

the way its done at the factory isn't a nasty relay, scotch locked into the cut wires between the switch and headlight wiring with a 10 pence sensor vaguely hoping its going to stay in place and do its job. And I bet it isn't designed to fail safe.

There's a clue in my original post above. When I first fitted all the genuine bits for auto lights. All tail and headlights were on regardless of what the door locks, the ignition or the headlight switch was doing. As it wasn't sure what was going on (as it didn't yet have the correct coding in the module) it just powered up the lights to be on the safe side regardless. Are you really telling me an aftermarket set up was put together with such thought for all makes and modles they support?

 

[Botus]

Funnily enough, I'm not keen on auto lights or auto wipers for that matter, I know myself when to turn my lights and wipers on and off.

with Can Bus operating everything in modern cars since 2005 - 2007 auto lights failing to turn off is the last of your worries (at least you see that happening)

very few cars put anything asleep aside from the headlights when you take the key out. almost everything else remains live for 5 to 25 minutes depending on the manu

 

[SmartAmg]

with Can Bus operating everything in modern cars since 2005 - 2007 auto lights failing to turn off is the last of your worries (at least you see that happening)

very few cars put anything asleep aside from the headlights when you take the key out. almost everything else remains live for 5 to 25 minutes depending on the manu

I'm not worried, just don't like
auto lights and wipers, personally I think there pointless.

 

[Botus]

I'm not worried, just don't like
auto lights and wipers, personally I think there pointless.

with auto lights you never touch the switch again. They just work all the time they are needed. On a proper car you even have the ability to set them to come on during the day when the very same sensor detects the rain.

as for auto wipers, when done well and correctly calibrated in software... imagine the perfect driver beautifully managing the wipers manually. The exact intermittent wipe for whatever rain type or quantity. And switching to fast wipe quicker than you can when a bow wave hits.

Both are major safety benefits for almost zero cost when specc'ed from new. And work almost exclusively (from a on off perspective) with no less reliability than the manual variety.

The component is actually "a rain level and light level sensor"

 

[EmilysDad]

indeed really !!!

I was referring to the 'invalid insurance' bit ....

have you even been driving along an unlit road, the only vehicle about, minding your own business on high beam doing 100 mph and had all your lights turn off instantly. ....

Kind of ... I managed to to turn the lights off on my motorbike instead of going to dip in the back of beyond ... then couldn't find the on/off switch again!

 

[SmartAmg]

with auto lights you never touch the switch again. They just work all the time they are needed. On a proper car you even have the ability to set them to come on during the day when the very same sensor detects the rain.

as for auto wipers, when done well and correctly calibrated in software... imagine the perfect driver beautifully managing the wipers manually. The exact intermittent wipe for whatever rain type or quantity. And switching to fast wipe quicker than you can when a bow wave hits.

Both are major safety benefits for almost zero cost when specc'ed from new. And work almost exclusively (from a on off perspective) with no less reliability than the manual variety.

The component is actually "a rain level and light level sensor"

Yep, No doubt all of the above is true, still don't like them, though.

 

[Martin blackett]

Never thought that they wouldn’t be reliable though Valeo do a kit for £30. They used to be a decent company .
May just say to wife. Turn them on you lazy sod.

 

[EmilysDad]

.....
May just say to wife. Turn them on you lazy sod.

do you think that's wise? .....

 

[Martin blackett]

do you think that's wise? .....

I will text her and hide in my shed.