Automatic headlights

[ansta1]

So moving off at a tangent from the 'digital gone too far' thread....

Auto Headlights - are they really a good thing? They don't generally come on in fog/mist, also if like on my w220 they are switched (eg off, automatic or on (and therefore not automatic) if you switch them too off and forget you could be driving with no lights. If you leave them on automatic then you could be driving in fog or other poor vis situations with no lights.

I have them on the w220 and whilst I will always remember to switch them in say fog I have been caught out when pulling out of al well lit car park because the dash lights up irrespective of lights on or not.

Or perhaps it just needs another 'idiot' alert. 'beep' it's dark and your lights are not on 'beep'.

 

[EmilysDad]

They're certainly not idiot proof, as you say, they often don't come o in fog/mist. Conversely, mine are often ON in a morning when the sun is still low ie dawn, they were on this morning in the beautiful early morning sunshine at 7 o'clock

 

[ZZZZ]

I like them. Keep mine on AUTO, if only for when getting into a car park (daily routine for me, unfortunately).
The fog lights on my car cannot be switched on, when the light switch is on AUTO anyway, so it does require certain human interaction and situation awareness

 

[ansta1]

@EmilysDad,

Same here (though I was out and about a tad earlier)

@GLK,

Again same here, I have to turn them on to get fog lights on.

I suppose the key part is do auto headlights fix more issues than they cause?

I suspect not, but I wonder if some cars are worse than others. As I mentioned on the w220 the dash is always illuminated so without checking the switch or actually seeing the beam from the lights (not as easy as it sounds in a well lit car park)

 

[EmilysDad]

Same here (though I was out and about a tad earlier)

I will be too over the week end

..... As I mentioned on the w220 the dash is always illuminated so without checking the switch or ....

Same as mine then .... and Mercedes usefully put the 'lights on' tell tale on the switch in front of my right knee ..... as much use as the proverbial chocolate teapot

 

[Craiglxviii]

Whether or not they’re a good thing in one’s opinion, Auto headlamps are coming in mandatorily by regulation I think from next year. As in, car headlamp switches will start at “Auto” and not “0”.

 

[Headhurts]

Love mine and they are mostly very reliable assessing when they are needed.

Daytime fog will confuse them but pushing the rear fog light switch whether in auto or manual will switch them on.

Robin

 

[Naraic]

During the winter I had my lamps set to constant.

Auto is far better than the "nothing" that so many adopt.

 

[barnaclebill15]

Leave mine on auto but notice that in dull weather with drizzle wipers on but no headlights, should be a link, if wipers on headlights on. Last night about 18:30 driving home in sunshine headlights come on.
Agree with Auto is better than nothing as some cars seem to drive on sidelights in dull drizzle, maybe should make it a rule for dipped headlights all the time.

 

[LostKiwi]

We have a total of 5 cars, 2 of which have auto headlights which, in the main, work perfectly well most of the time.
The issue for me comes when I've been driving the auto lights equipped cars for a while then jump back in one of the others.
I have on a number of occasions wondered why the lights haven't turned on before the penny drops.
On two of them its pretty obvious the lights aren't automatic as you somehow don't expect it (r129 is too old and it seems ingrained in my head that nothing is automatic). Smart is too basic and again its ingrained in my head. The 210 though has a very similar light switch and has auto wipers so I tend to forget it doesn't have auto everything.
None the manual switched light cars have permanently lit dashboards so it doesn't usually take too long to realise!

 

[Brizzle]

In the W204 I have the DRLs turned on and as they are the head and tail lights I'm never caught without dipped head lights when they're needed. I have to turn the light switch to the headlight position to use the fog lights though.

Why is it that on some cars DRLs only operate on the front? I see so many cars like that but it is completely illogical to my mind.

 

[Robuk22]

I wanted high beam with lights in auto, all I got was light on dash saying hb, switched to manual and high beam worked, it appears auto decides whether or not to give you high beam.

 

[Craiglxviii]

I wanted high beam with lights in auto, all I got was light on dash saying hb, switched to manual and high beam worked, it appears auto decides whether or not to give you high beam.

...auto high beam... part of the Intelligent Lighting System.

 

[d215yq]

Instead of having madatory "auto" can't they just mandatoraly be on? They are introducing "lights on at all times/conditions" on many single carriageway A roads here as it reduces head on crashes caused by dodgy overtaking. Since this has been taking off I put the lights on for any long journey outside the city even in bright sunlight. Is there a downside to this approach?

i'd rather be seen than not even when it's not mandatory to have the lights on...

 

[LostKiwi]

Instead of having madatory "auto" can't they just mandatoraly be on? They are introducing "lights on at all times/conditions" on many single carriageway A roads here as it reduces head on crashes caused by dodgy overtaking. Since this has been taking off I put the lights on for any long journey outside the city even in bright sunlight. Is there a downside to this approach?

i'd rather be seen than not even when it's not mandatory to have the lights on...

Swedes have been doing it for years.
Only downside is you'll go through bulbs faster....

 

[Craiglxviii]

Instead of having madatory "auto" can't they just mandatoraly be on? They are introducing "lights on at all times/conditions" on many single carriageway A roads here as it reduces head on crashes caused by dodgy overtaking. Since this has been taking off I put the lights on for any long journey outside the city even in bright sunlight. Is there a downside to this approach?

i'd rather be seen than not even when it's not mandatory to have the lights on...

Because all vehicle lighting is going LED. And LEDs get dimmer over time. If the lamps are perma-on, after 5 years the headlamps will be at 85% of original brightness and that’s verging on below legal condition. So, rather than a brute force solution the Auto setting allows for the headlamp life to match the design life of the car, by not coming on when not needed.

 

[d215yq]

Because all vehicle lighting is going LED. And LEDs get dimmer over time. If the lamps are perma-on, after 5 years the headlamps will be at 85% of original brightness and that’s verging on below legal condition. So, rather than a brute force solution the Auto setting allows for the headlamp life to match the design life of the car, by not coming on when not needed.

Interesting, suppose it makes sense when new lights are 1k instead of a 2 quid bulb. I thought LEDs in general were 10,000 hours and all that, atleast the ones in the home claim so. I work for a major manufacturer (not in design) but apprently we spend the same per car on the light units as the entire drivetrain on the non hybrid/electric models - happy to be proved wrong though as that's not official - but if it is it's madness.

What drove this arms race? My car has rather terrible headlights but the only time I find night time driving dangerous is when soemthing bright dazzles me the other way (i,.e. about 1 in 2 vehicles nowadays). Had a new hire car with xenons and thought "this is great, I can see a bit further along the road"...until 20 seconds later some oncoming traffic came along and then dazzled just as much as before, so driving roads with traffic there is no actual point to brighter lights and probably causing more bother for others coming towards me.

 

[mercmancdi]

Mine work good no problem, wouldn’t be without them. To be honest if it’s fog or mist then fog lights should be turned on anyhow.

 

[LostKiwi]

Mine work good no problem, wouldn’t be without them. To be honest if it’s fog or mist then fog lights should be turned on anyhow.

Only if visibility is seriously impaired.
Relevant section of rode code below:

Rule 226
You MUST use headlights when visibility is seriously reduced, generally when you cannot see for more than 100 metres (328 feet). You may also use front or rear fog lights but you MUST switch them off when visibility improves (see Rule 236).

 

[mercmancdi]

Only if visibility is seriously impaired.
Relevant section of rode code below:

Rule 226
You MUST use headlights when visibility is seriously reduced, generally when you cannot see for more than 100 metres (328 feet). You may also use front or rear fog lights but you MUST switch them off when visibility improves (see Rule 236).

100 mtrs is quite a bit at my age lol.