Turn off headlights when its dark out?

[captainofiron]

I have an 04 Vibeand it has the automatic headlights. The problem is that I go into work while its still dark out. We have a guard gate, and those guys really dont appreciate it when we blast them with the headlights.SO I was wondering if there was anyway to turn them off, so I can do this while I drive up to the guard gate.Thanks guys

[lovemyraffe]

You can unplug the automatic light sensor.

[captainofiron]

is there a way to do that without opening up the dash?

[jake75]

Quote, originally posted by captainofiron »I have an 04 Vibeand it has the automatic headlights. The problem is that I go into work while its still dark out. We have a guard gate, and those guys really dont appreciate it when we blast them with the headlights.SO I was wondering if there was anyway to turn them off, so I can do this while I drive up to the guard gate.Thanks guysWith more and more cars now having automatic headlights they will just have to get used to it.

[09vGT]

Only way is to disable the auto feature. Why they did a set up like this is beyond me. ANY car I have seen with auto lights have an option of "OFF, AUTO, ON, and PARKING".. All MODERN cars anyway. Newer than 10 years old.

[joatmon]

There are a number of threads here about how to disable the auto headlights. There seem to be three ways1. Turn the car off. Pull the parkingbrake up one click, restart the car and drive2. Cut a wire feeding the DRL module inside the dash. Topic goes way back. One thread is http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=1188 I used the "cut the red wire" method, hooked it up to a switch.3. Unplug the light sensor. When I did that, I think it still left DRLs on, but prevented it from going into full headlight mode automatically.

[MotoAce51]

Quote, originally posted by joatmon »There are a number of threads here about how to disable the auto headlights. There seem to be three ways1. Turn the car off. Pull the parkingbrake up one click, restart the car and drive2. Cut a wire feeding the DRL module inside the dash. Topic goes way back. One thread is http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=1188 I used the "cut the red wire" method, hooked it up to a switch.3. Unplug the light sensor. When I did that, I think it still left DRLs on, but prevented it from going into full headlight mode automatically.On my 04 the parking brake trick didnt work. Not sure if it was just me or not. I did the DRL delete, but hooked it up so I still had the sensor lights. I then put a switch in line with the new wire. I did this all under the dash without removing anything. I just sat upside-down in the driver seat and worked under the dash. It was tight but pretty easy. I would say if you want it to act the same as always you can go in and cut the wire for the DRL delete in the middle. Run a longer wire off each end and hook each end to a switch. Then the switch will turn the lights on and off. I can shoot some pics of what I did if interested...

[star_deceiver]

You'll need a box of kleenex, and a bottle of Midol. Hand the guards those 2 things next time they whine!!! And you'll need to wear this shirt: Or I suppose you could just get at the light sensor on the dash. You should be able to pop it up from the top with maybe a small screwdriver then either disconnect or bridge the terminals (can't remember which does what in terms of daytime and night)!(I used to work with grown "men" who'd whine and snivel about the smallest inconvenience... I don't put up with that garbage anymore)

[knightrace]

I hated the fact that I could not turn off my headlights at night!!On my '05, I cut the wire. I spent a lot of time reading through all the threads on here then finally took the plunge. I'm in control now. No more shining my headlights into the neighbor windows when I back into the garage.

[captainofiron]

Its not whining, In my opinion, the forward guard gate is very well lit and you can completely turn off the headlights for a good while coming up to the gate.Seeing as it is a federal site, I see a car coming with headlights full blast as a possible security threat.Headlights coming at you limits your ability to see what is going on behind that carBut thanks to everyone for the tips, seems like the switch idea is a good one, I think I will put it on the dash next to the coin holder and the hatch switch

[rAERRK]

Quote, originally posted by 09vGT »Only way is to disable the auto feature. Why they did a set up like this is beyond me. ANY car I have seen with auto lights have an option of "OFF, AUTO, ON, and PARKING".. All MODERN cars anyway. Newer than 10 years old. this is easily the strangest and worst feature of the vibe that i can think of

[joatmon]

Quote, originally posted by rAERRK »this is easily the strangest and worst feature of the vibe that i can think ofI don't know about the strange part, but for me the feature that is easily the worst is the access to changing a fuse in the under dash fuse block. [/threadjack]

[MotoAce51]

It was getting dark but here are some quick basic pics. I didnt want to open up the little black box because I suck at soldering so I used the splicing clips. I cut the wire for the delete, and spliced the one end into the wire specified in the tutorial. I ran some longer wires to the side and installed a switch inline with everything. So far I haven't mounted the switch but I plan to mount it once I have some spare time.I plan to mount the switch here:But for now its hanging here:

[captainofiron]

cool, thanks for the pictures

[MotoAce51]

Yeah in case you can't tell, I cut the R/Y wire to get rid of the DRL's, attached a longer wire, addedswitch to that wire, then tapped into the G/B with another jumper wire. Both were then connected to the switch. It takes a whole 15min...

[captainofiron]

So you did this to circumvent the "light sensor" on the dash?and both wires need to be cut?

[MotoAce51]

I did this so my automatic lights still work. When it's dark they turn on without needing to do anything but when I take my wife to the drive-in or something I flick the switch and it disables the sensor turning off the lights.If you want to do this and keep your DRL's You could just cut the RY wire and add a switch in that line only. RY - Switch - RY I wired it this way because I have my angel eyes as DRL's. It depends what method you want to use. If you do it how I did, you have no DRL's. But in either case you only need to cut 1 wire.

[journeyforce]

I know this is late but I would not even bother worrying about the guards. It is a standard feature in this car and if they have issue then they can do one of the following1. Contact GM2. Contact the USA Govt (they still own a small part of GM)ether choice will get a good laugh