Delay on radio/a/c/automatic shifter lights

[suzye]

Hi. I just got a salsa base vibe w/power package two weeks ago and I just wanted to check if this is normal. When i turn my car on the dash and headlights go on but then there is a delay for the lights on the cd player, a/c controls and automatic shifter. I find at night I am ready to pull out of my parking spot and can not tell if I have gotten the shifter into the right gear because the lights havent come on yet. So I was just wondering if anyone could tell me if this was normal and if you know anyway to adjust this so these lights would come on at the same time as the headlight/dash lights.Thanks!

[NovaResource]

The lights that go on first ar the DRL (Daytime Running Lights) These are on all the time as well as the gauges behing the steering wheel. Only the headlights are on at this time (at about 70% power), not the parking lights or the other dash lights. After 15 seconds, the automatic headlights turn on. This will turn on the headlights to 100% power, turn the rest of the dash lights on and the parking lights. All this is normal.All this info can be found by reading the owners manual.

[BaseVibeDriver]

What you're experiencing is normal. The delay is due to the headlight twilight sentinal (auto on) not engaging right after start-up.

[suzye]

Thanks for the info, my delay seems to be more than 15 seconds though. More like 30 seconds-1 min. I will time it tonight though. Thanks for your help!

[NSimkins]

To get the lights on quicker, if needed, just turn the headlamps or parking lights on and your console will illuminate.

[NY Pete]

So is there a way to disable the twilight sentinel? I hated this feature in my Corsica and disabled it (along with the daytime running lights)...

[Sub-Vibe-R]

quote:So is there a way to disable the twilight sentinel? I hated this feature in my Corsica and disabled it (along with the daytime running lights)...Unplug the sensor (at the bottom of the A pilar) and it will disable the auto-light.

[NSimkins]

quote:Unplug the sensor (at the bottom of the A pilar) and it will disable the auto-light.Yes, that's the easiest way to do this. I also unplugged my sensor.There are 2 ways of easy removal. First, you can get a thinner flat-head screwdriver and gently pry the sensor out. It is clipped in and is in fairly tight. To make sure you don't scratch the dash, put a soft cloth under the screwdriver pivot point.Another way is to remove the left A-Pillar cover (can be pulled off with some moderate force). With the cover off, there is a hole right next to the sensor. Reach under and push up on the sensor unit and it will pop out of the socket. The reason I found this was due to a rattling I was getting from a loosely attached A-Pillar cover. I put some padding inside the cover and also popped out the light sensor at the same time.I'll get some pics posted of both procedures.

[Cubanpete]

I also had my sentinel disabled, using tiny screw driver to pop out the photocell, but when you unplug it, you have to tie it to the photocell with fishing line or something....cause if it drops in there you have no access, it will be rattling inside and chances are it will be very,very hard trying to get it back out!.... unless we use a-pilar method to pop it out, ....dear moderator if you have any pics with the A-pillar method...Please post them!

[NSimkins]

quote:dear moderator if you have any pics with the A-pillar method...Please post them! Sorry, I forgot. I will get some pics snapped this week and post them for you!

[Sub-Vibe-R]

Take a look here: http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=1391It show how the sensor is built. Pop it out from his hole and unplug it.

[kaybeejay]

Why does it take 15 seconds to "boot" the system? Why isn't it instantaneous? Any Electrical guru's out there?