Question about a dash light

[nanofreak]

There is a light on the dash, it looks like an upside down bulb with lines coming off it. I think the manual calls it something like the master light indicator, but does not state what it means for it to be on or off. Can anyone give me any insight?

[northvibe]

If this is the yellow one..it is one when your headlights are on.

[piecuch1]

I think it comes on when your headlights are on.

[nanofreak]

That is what I thought, but they are always on, so it didnt make sense.

[nanofreak]

Just bought the car yesterday, so thats why such a simple question.

[northvibe]

oh the vibe has DRL (day time running lights) they arent as intense as the normal night time headlights. so when the "night time" headlights go on, that light goes on.Welcome to genvibe!!

[joholste]

Nano...what is happening is your daytime running lamps are always on, and when the sensor on your dashboard(little black bubble right by the drivers side corner) determines that it is getting dark out or is too dark for just DRLs it turns on your Full lights. when your full lights are on that's when the little light bulb will show up.Joe

[joatmon]

The car is supposed to keep the headlights on all the time it is running, in either full headlight mode, or in daytime running light (DRL) mode. In DRL mode, the headlights are on only about half bright, but the tail lights and other running lights are not on. When the car is in full headlight mode, then the headlights are on at full brightness and the tail lights and running lights are on. The little green (or yellow, depends on your color perception) lights up to let you know that the headlights are on in full headlight mode. Think of it as a tail light indicator, if it is not lit up, then your tail lights are not lit up.The switching between DRL and full mode is supposed to be automatically handled based on the amount of light hitting the light sensor in the top front left corner of the dash. If it thinks it's dark enough, the headlights should come on full. If it thinks it's bright enough, then it will go back to DRL mode. You can always force it to be in full headlight mode using the headlight control on the turn signal lever, but the only way to go into DRL mode when the car thinks its dark enough for full headlight mode is to shine a light on the light sensor.Sometimes when it is raining, or foggy, there will still be enough light for the car to go into DRL mode, but I think that I want the tail lights on, so I pay attention to that green indicator to let me know if I need to manually go into full headlight mode. Normally, I just let the car turn the headlights on and off, and when I do turn them on full manually, I almost always need the reminder beeper to keep me from leaving them on after I get out of the car.

[starmatt]

Quote, originally posted by northvibe »If this is the yellow one..it is one when your headlights are on.Just for the record, I think this is a very stupid light. It would be easier just to have the gages light up when the headlights are on like most cars do. Until I stumbled across this thread, I thought the light meant that I had a light out (the owner's manual certainly doesn't contradict this, it doesn't say anything about the light other than calling it the "Master Lighting Switch"). It was driving me crazy trying to figure out what light was out.