Taking the Vibe to the Drive-In...

[mojo_jojo]

..tommorow night and I can't figure out how to keep the auto headlights from coming on. the manual says that if the parking brake is engaged then the daytime running light will not come on. But nothing on how to prevent the auto lights from coming on. Definetly a No-No at the Drive-In. Anybody have any ideas?

[nismo]

Well, I know this from my experience that you don't have to keep the car in the "ON" position for our radios to work. Just see if your radio works in "ACC". You do have to use the radio to get audio from the movie, right? Let me know if I'm mistaken. And the automatic lights don't come on unless the car is on. At least that's how it works for mine.Inder Singh

[ragingfish]

If the ignition is in the ON position, and the ebrake is engaged, the auto headlights WILL NOT come on.If the lights are already on, engaging the brake does nothing. You have to turn the key to OFF, engage the brake, and the turn it back on.

[nismo]

Okay, Well. On mine, if the key is in the "ON" position, my lights do not turn on. Inder Singh

[ragingfish]

Are you sure?Have you disabled your sensor?

[nismo]

Haven't done anything actually. Pretty sure I didn't do anything. But the fact that I changed my radio my make a difference, or would it?Inder Singh

[Jahntassa]

Nope, radio and headlights have no interaction between each other.

[millster]

I could be wrong, but I don't recall my headlights coming on unless the engine is running. I'll have to check this when my Vibe returns. Now I'm curious.

[joatmon]

yup. In the "ground the yellow wire" version of the DRL disable mod, thd yellow wire that gets grounded is a signal from the alternator to tell the DRL module that the engine is running. by gorunding the wire, you trick the DRL module into thinking the engine is not running, so the auto lights don't come on. If you need to have the car running for some reason such as heat or AC, then turn the engine off for a bit, make sure the parking brake is on, and then start it back up.

[Altus]

To sum up here - No, your headlights don't come on with the key position -- the DRL's only come on when the engine is started and the parking brake is off. Whichever comes last.I've done this a few times for going to the drive in -- assuming you've disabled the Twilight Sensor, and your parking brake isn't set phenomenally tight, you can have it up 1 or 2 clicks and still be able to drive normally -- but without activating the DRL's.Get yourself to the exit, let off the brake the whole way, turn on your lights, and off you go.

[ragingfish]

Sure enough, I feel like a mega a$$ now!I was totally wrong.I went out and checked, and sure enough, if your engine is not runining, the lights WILL NOT come on, even with the parking brake not set.If you do what I do, however, and turn off your car by slowly turning the key just until the engine shuts down, but keeping it in "ON" mode however, the lights won't turn out.Best bet -- when you get there, get to your spot, engage the parking brake, turn the key to OFF and back on again.But even if you don't set the brake, the lights still should not come on until the engine is turned on.