What's the purpose of the headlight switch?

[HawaiianVibe05]

I don't know, but I don't think the headlight switch does anything. I've had the car on at night, walked around, noticed all the lights on. I then turned the headlight switch, and walked around again. I noticed no difference. Is there any difference that I am not seeing? I've been followed by cops and they haven't pulled me over yet, so I assume nothing is wrong. Just curious, only had the car a month now.

[ragingfish]

Your car has an automatic light sensor which will turn the lights on automatically at dark.The switch has an obvious purpose. First off, the sensor is not fool proof. It may not kick the lights in when they should be on (common problem at dusk and dawn). Also, some people, myself included, drive around with full lights on all the time. This allows you to do that.And if you needed the lights on for some reason and the car wasn't running...

[joatmon]

If the auto headlight sensor has the lights in daytime running light mode, then you get headlights at half brite and NO taillights. Sometimes you may be in a situation where you are in DRL mode, and want the full headlights and tail lights. Other times you may want the parking lights or headlights when the car is not running. The headlight switch is good for times like that.I have been in some fogs that only give me DRLs by default, or light rain, and I want to be sure my tail lights are on and stay on, not to see but tobe seen, so I use the headlight switch to force them to be on. At night, it doesn't really do much, except allow you to switch high beams on and off.edit - Mike beat me on this one

[BOZACK]

I like to put full lights on if I am driving into the rising or setting sun. The glare makes it hard to see the car in front of you untill they hit the brakes. I turn the lights on so the guy behind me can see my rear and not rea end me.

[Atomb]

also, many places require you to have your lights on if your wipers are on (rainy days) and, like this morning, it's too light out to force the auto lights so the switch is required to force them on while it's raining!

[the_nite_owl]

I noticed that for the first time driving through upstate NY. They have signs along the highway stating lights must be on when wipers are in use.Can you imagine a day with sun-showers where it is really bright and sunny but showering cars with rain and having a tropper cite you for not having your lights on?Remember it's not about the intention of the law it's about the ability to twist it to meet the current objective of the person with the power.OK, that's enough negativity for the day. Gonna have to say nice things to the next 5 people I meet. Quote, originally posted by Atomb »also, many places require you to have your lights on if your wipers are on (rainy days) and, like this morning, it's too light out to force the auto lights so the switch is required to force them on while it's raining!

[the_nite_owl]

I just recently installed my CompuStar remote starter/alarm.The lights behave oddly when I remote start the car and I have not quite figured out what is going on yet.Of course the remote starter enables the ignition power and accessory power.When I start the car in the daytime and then get into the car the dash lights are on as expected, but dimmed. I have the backlighting set lower for night driving so it SEEMS to be in a nighttime mode with the dimmed dash lights.BUT, the little lamp icon on the dash is not lit up indicating the headlights are on full.I get into the car, put the key in the ignition and turn it to the on position and as soon as I hit the brake pedal (which cancels the remote start portion) the dash lights come up to full as normal for daytime driving.Now, when this happens I have watched to see if any difference in brightness of the headlights exist but have not been able to see a difference so I assume they are at 50% before and after getting in and stepping on the brake.Knowing the wiring for the system I do not understand how the lights might be affected.The car should just think it is normally started since both ignition lines have full power and accessories have power.Just an oddity, thought I would mention it.

[jake75]

Quote, originally posted by the_nite_owl »Remember it's not about the intention of the law it's about the ability to twist it to meet the current objective of the person with the power.And unfortunately in mmany cases the objective is "revenue". Local police officer cited my son for not signaling for a left turn (he was in the left turn lane); then also for a burned out license plate bulb. I checked his ticket book via the on-line county court website. That's about all this guy does is write tickets for failure to signal. AND - when someone decides to contest one of his chicken poop tickets he no doubt gets overtime to show up in court. Our tax dollars at work!

[ragingfish]

Quote, originally posted by the_nite_owl »I just recently installed my CompuStar remote starter/alarm.The lights behave oddly when I remote start the car and I have not quite figured out what is going on yet.Of course the remote starter enables the ignition power and accessory power.When I start the car in the daytime and then get into the car the dash lights are on as expected, but dimmed. I have the backlighting set lower for night driving so it SEEMS to be in a nighttime mode with the dimmed dash lights.BUT, the little lamp icon on the dash is not lit up indicating the headlights are on full.I get into the car, put the key in the ignition and turn it to the on position and as soon as I hit the brake pedal (which cancels the remote start portion) the dash lights come up to full as normal for daytime driving.Now, when this happens I have watched to see if any difference in brightness of the headlights exist but have not been able to see a difference so I assume they are at 50% before and after getting in and stepping on the brake.Knowing the wiring for the system I do not understand how the lights might be affected.The car should just think it is normally started since both ignition lines have full power and accessories have power.Just an oddity, thought I would mention it.You have the system wired into your parking lights don't you? When you remote start, the lights are on to indicate it is running in remote start mode. When you hit the brake, it goes into normal mode, turning off the lights. This is normal.

[the_nite_owl]

Yes, power is applied to the parking lights but the ignition is also on so the headlights/dash lights have normal power as well so why would the the headlights/dashlights not behave as if the ignition switch was turned on?In a car without the automatic headlights the system would turn on the parking lights to indicate it was running but would not impact the headlights or dashlights. I think I see though, the power line running to the switch for the parking lights is actually acting as if the headlight switch was turned ON as long as the remote starter is active. In another car this would only affect the parking lights but on ours it turns on the whole system.Quote, originally posted by ragingfish »You have the system wired into your parking lights don't you? When you remote start, the lights are on to indicate it is running in remote start mode. When you hit the brake, it goes into normal mode, turning off the lights. This is normal.

[Mase]

I really think they should have designed in a way for us to have control of our lights after dark. It would be nice to see these settings on the headlight stalk:/----Headlights|----Parking lights|----OFF----AUTOI used to hate pulling up to the military guards at night/early morning and not being able to turn my lights off for them.

[binary]

Quote, originally posted by Mase »I really think they should have designed in a way for us to have control of our lights after dark. It would be nice to see these settings on the headlight stalk:/----Headlights|----Parking lights|----OFF----AUTOI used to hate pulling up to the military guards at night/early morning and not being able to turn my lights off for them.I second that idea - giving control of lights back to people who want it. Leave it in Auto, set it and forget it. But those who would like to turn off the headlights while waiting, or like you - rolling up to guard posts... don't have the choice.

[Mavrik]

I when driving in the rain or snow but there is enough light to keep the lights off, I'll turn them on. So glad I got a switch to do so.

[ColonelPanic]

Quote, originally posted by Mase »I really think they should have designed in a way for us to have control of our lights after dark. It would be nice to see these settings on the headlight stalk:/----Headlights|----Parking lights|----OFF----AUTOI used to hate pulling up to the military guards at night/early morning and not being able to turn my lights off for them.That's almost what the switch is like right now on real GM cars. It has a momentary position all the way back when twisting it toward you that cancels out the automatic feature. But you have to do that each time.I noticed that the '06 Sonata has automatic headlights and looks like works as you mentioned. If you want the automatic lights, put it to AUTO and leave it. Otherwise, leave it at OFF and control the lights manually. At any rate, I personally feel we should have automatic headlights on everything because far too many people are too fricken STUPID to know when they heck they should be using their lights. GM got it right when they made the decision to kick on the lights any time you use the wipers. Tonight on the way home, there were a number of people driving with their lights off... This was after 5 PM, it was damn near dark, the roads were covered with slush and we were having rain/sleet/snow falling. Idiots. But I see that all of the time. Sorry, I just find it a major safety problem that can easily be resolved by one second of a person moving their had and flipping the switch, yet something so simple is completely beyond them. Might as well force it on people then. And seeing it tonight, it is fresh on my mind. However, I will concur that the guards get pretty pissed about the lights thing too. That is a valid problem.

[Mavrik]

well IMO its not about people being stupid and not knowing when to turn on their lights. I believe the issue is to many people rely on the car to do what it feels needs to be done. The sun has risen and set for billions of years and since the dawn of the automotive age... we have had launterns to headlights... the concept has remained the same. People are educated to know what to do by now, just like left peddle is brake and right is gas. With running lights always on now, lots of people fail to realise when their headlamps are not actually turned on. I see it all the time, cars with their drivinglights on but no tail lamps. Don't they realise "Hmmm... kinda dark and I can't read my dash" to figure out to turn on their lights? Sure its a handy feature but I think the education of "turn on your lights an hour before sunset and leave them on an hour after sunrise " no longer exists. We're expecting to much from cars now.example... automatic wipers that detect when the windshield is wet. Well thank the gods! I never trusted my eyes to tell me that.

[ColonelPanic]

Quote, originally posted by Mavrik »well IMO its not about people being stupid and not knowing when to turn on their lights. I believe the issue is to many people rely on the car to do what it feels needs to be done. The main offenders here are people without daytime running lights and obviously, no automatic headlights. The idiots in question today were all in late model vehicles. But late model stuff, old stuff, doesn't matter. They only have to rely on themselves to turn on the lights and not the car, and they can't even get that right. Granted, there were/are issues with older GM products that just had DRL's and no automatic light control but those vehicles of 10 years ago are starting to go away... But yes, I have seen issues with that setup, hence the reason why GM started installing the nifty ALC feature later on in the 90's, they found that people were being careless and/or uneducated about the matter and of course compensated for that.

[ragingfish]

Quote, originally posted by the_nite_owl »Yes, power is applied to the parking lights but the ignition is also on so the headlights/dash lights have normal power as well so why would the the headlights/dashlights not behave as if the ignition switch was turned on?In a car without the automatic headlights the system would turn on the parking lights to indicate it was running but would not impact the headlights or dashlights. I think I see though, the power line running to the switch for the parking lights is actually acting as if the headlight switch was turned ON as long as the remote starter is active. In another car this would only affect the parking lights but on ours it turns on the whole system.Is has nothing to do with the ignition switch position, power consumption, or ALS. Turn on the car with the key, not remote start. Turn the switch to the parking lights position (but not the full on position). See, your dash lights dim. But this doesn't trigger the exterior light icon because the full lights aren't on. It's noticeable in this car because the gauges are always backlit. In most other cars, if the headlights are off, the dash is unlit. My Grand Prix, G6 sedan, and G6 coupe are all not backlit. But when you turn on the parking lights, the dash illuminates. Essentially, turn on ANY external light, the dash goes into "night mode," whether in the case of the Vibe where the dash lights dim, or in the case of most cars, the dash lights simply turn on.

[vibebob]

I drove an 05 Chevy Malibu while mine was in for waranty work and it had a swithc that you could turn off the DRL's .. UNTIL you restarted the car and then you had to turn the swith again.i like the idea of NOT being forced to use DRL's

[ragingfish]

Quote, originally posted by vibebob »I drove an 05 Chevy Malibu while mine was in for waranty work and it had a swithc that you could turn off the DRL's .. UNTIL you restarted the car and then you had to turn the swith again.i like the idea of NOT being forced to use DRL'sI believe that's standard across the board in all new models. The G6 has the same thing in the form of the auto headlight switch:You turn the switch down to "OFF" to disable auto headlights and DRL's. It resets each time you turn the car on however.I'm not sure how I feel about it. I do feel very strongly about DRL systems, I think they've saved me and other drivers on countless occasions because, in the wooded areas around here, dark cars are NOT easy to see all the time. DRL's make them MUCH more visible. But, I realize there are situations where you need to take control of the lighting, for example, as has been mentioned here several times, approaching military bases.So yeah. I forgot the rest of my thought. Oops.

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