I have just been outside to put my car away in the garage and as i got in i noticed a car setting off in front of me with no rear tails lights showing.I flashed him to let him know he didn't have his lights on.A bit further up my road he did a u-turn and came back towards me.At this point he seemed to have his lights on.As he passed me i looked round and found the back of his car in darkness.I then looked at the plate of the car and noticed it was 2012.My guess was that he had daytime running lights on at the front and because he could see his lights had thought that his lights were already on but obviously no tail lights.
This begs the question is why don't cars fitted with DRL's also have auto lights so there is no confusion.
In fact why don't all modern cars have auto lights?
We have all these gadgets like adjustable wingmirrors and see you home lights but for the sake of a few quid i think that all cars,especially those with drl's,should have auto lights.
The amount of drivers who forget to put their lights on is quite high round where i live.
What does everyone else think especially if drl's are fitted.
(Also i feel cars with drl's should also have the tail lights illuminated so part of the above problem wouldn't happen)
|
My new lorry is fitted with them, fortunately they're not camp girlie offerings like Audi or Range Rover, but, had a poke nose through the menu low and behold there's a tick box for DRL, box unticked, yes...;)
Some drivers need automatic everything some don't, it will always be thus, those who don't need the gadgets will have to put up with them because there's an increasing number of those who do.
|
I almost put a Q on here about this a few weeks ago but thought I must be wrong. Driving back from Scotland in small car transporter in awful spray conditions I noticed quite a few cars overtaking me with lights on and yet, after they had passed they seemed to have no rear lights. I flashed a couple but still no rear lights came on. I then tried to spot others coming my way on opposite carriagewaywith DLRs on to see if they had rear lights on - v difficult in mirrors so gave up.
I found it difficult to believe that cars would have front lights on but no rears unless there was a fault, and to be honest, conditions were so bad that 99% of cars had all lights on so I reckoned the couple "without" rear lights but with fronts was down to my bad observation.
However, if cars can have front DLRs but with no rears, and drivers are not aware of this in some driving conditions (fog, bad spray, twilight etc) isn't this bloomin' dangerous??
Not to mention those pillocks who forget to switch on any lights in bad conditions!
Is this the case? DLRs are only on the front?
Last edited by: PhilW on Sat 16 Feb 13 at 20:50
|
DLR = Docklands Light Railway
DRL = Daytime Running Lights
I think it's a problem as well.
Then again, it might be just the people who don't put their lights on until they can't see where they are going - at least DLRs, sorry DRLs, mean they have lights on one end.
But why are the Audi and Range Rover ones, to name but two, like the lights on a Blackpool tram? Wouldn't have those.
|
|
BMW has auto lights - they are programmable to DRLs from the computer i.e. front rear lights on at all times. Good solution and no blingy LEDs.
|
|
I think most have auto lights but they also need auto-auto lights as some drivers turn it off to 0.
|
|
And thereby hangs the problem. You can design out stupidity, but only just.
|
>> And thereby hangs the problem. You can design out stupidity, but only just.
>>
I disagree.
The more idiot aids you fit, the stupider the idiots get...
|
Up to a point but all human beings are liable to do "stupid" things without necessarily being idiots and surely it makes sense to eliminate human error wherever possible. Have you never driven out of a brightly illuminated garage forecourt for example without switching on your headlights?
|
>> Up to a point but all human beings are liable to do "stupid" things without necessarily being idiots and surely it makes sense to eliminate human error wherever possible. Have you never driven out of a brightly illuminated garage forecourt for example without switching on your headlights?
>>
To be totally honest?
NO.
Although, due to (IMHO) stupid design, I can see it is easier to do in a modern car, due to the speedo being constantly backlit.
one of my first checks, before driving off, is to scan the dash to check fuel/temp ect.
In older cars, you can't see the dash, in the dark, with no lights on....
|
"To be totally honest?
NO."
Must be just me then, Would confess to have done it more than one in city centre filling station with good street lighting. Give me a flash if I pull out in front of you.
|
I did it in the CRV a couple of times. A car crying out for auto-lights due to dash design and a poor headlamp on warning light.
On a separate note the auto lights on the Beemer went off for the first time in ages. Glorious day today.
|
>> The more idiot aids you fit, the stupider the idiots get...
Correct. Infantilised.
|
|
What devices, in you opinion, constitute "idiot aids' ?
Last edited by: CGNorwich on Sat 16 Feb 13 at 23:16
|
Whether an aid is an idiot aid usually depends on who is being aided.
Sat nav is a good example. An absolute boon, incredibly useful and amazing technology.
Its existence also allows silly people to function, after a fashion, with not much thought at all and to do the most stupid things. Like not having a map in the car, or following the directions willy nilly and driving to the wrong Stratford for example.
A parent can be an idiot aid. Some youngsters get into all sorts of scrapes as a result of not going about things sensibly, because they have parents to bail them out. When the idiot aid is removed, or decides he has had enough, they suddenly grow up and take responsibility for themselves.
|
|
So you would you have us all do without useful aids because sometimes they are misused?
|
>> So you would you have us all do without useful aids because sometimes they are
>> misused?
No, would you?
I would have been less surprised if you had suggested removing the idiots, but that's not really feasible either.
It was just a conversation. It's surely beyond dispute that skills are lost with automation. Some just take it a stage further and ditch common sense.
|
OK so we are agreed. Some people misuse things. There are no such things as "idiot aids''.
|
>> I think most have auto lights but they also need auto-auto lights as some drivers
>> turn it off to 0.
>>
Bingo.
It's not that they're turned to 0, it's that they're turned to auto. Low mist, spray, etc often give poor visibility with a bright sky overhead. The sensor sees the light level and leaves the lights off. Driver is too thick to override.
|
"DLR = Docklands Light Railway
DRL = Daytime Running Lights"
Oops! Sorry!
P
|
The DRLs on my Passat CC are a lot dimmer than the main lights. In the dark they would not light the road much. So I know I would notice I'd not put on the lights. And there's an option to turn off DRL's.
Of course DRLs are only at the front - and why would the involve the rears. They're daytime running lights.
The LED ones on Audi's seem overly complicated and bright. They have to be dimmed when you indicate... so they are too bright and the indicators are not bright enough?
Last edited by: rtj70 on Sat 16 Feb 13 at 21:16
|
|
And how long do LEDs last...! ?
|
>> And how long do LEDs last...! ?
Much longer than any bulb. Or until the light unit is broken in an accident.
I wonder how expensive some of the future all LED lighting solutions are to replace/fix. The next S-Class Mercedes seems to be able to pick out pedestrians it's sensors has seen even. Are the LED's directional even? Sounds complicated/expensive but very clever.
|
>> >> And how long do LEDs last...! ?
>>
>> Much longer than any bulb. Or until the light unit is broken in an accident.
>>
>> I wonder how expensive some of the future all LED lighting solutions are to replace/fix.
>>
I believe the rear LED lights have to be replaced as a complete unit, £200+ at a guess. How many failed LEDs in a unit constitute a MOT fail? One, five, 10%, 25%? etc.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Sun 17 Feb 13 at 07:53
|
|
My BMW's LED saga is documented elsewhere on here - but 4 years and 25k miles is not a long time. The headlines were that both units were replaced and the total bill was 211 quid. Noticed a couple of cars since with degraded LEDs - Audis all I recall.
Last edited by: R.P. on Sun 17 Feb 13 at 10:00
|
>> My BMW's LED saga is documented elsewhere on here - but 4 years and 25k
>> miles is not a long time.
Seen many XF's with failing rear LED's too mainly in the couple of years after launch but not so many recently, hopefully Jaguar did the honourable thing and replaced poor quality high failure components quietly.
They are something i have managed to avoid so far, and will try me best to do so for the forseeable.
add to the growing list now, satans gearbox, spare wheel, electric parking brake, xenons, VW group -:)
|
No such issue on the Volvo. Light switch in position 0 = headlights and tail lights on.
I don't really understand why they bothered fitting a light switch.
I liked the way on the C5 if the auto wipers required any more than intermittent wiping they they turned on the headlights irrespective of the lighting conditions
|
Our Fiat 500 has DRLs that can be turned on or off through the menu system. I always have them on as the more visible I can be to the many, many numpties that are round our way the better!
On the 500 the dash lights stay off until the headlights (and tail lights) are turned on so not really any different from a car without DRLs.
I would not like auto lights as standard on every car *at all*. My old Megane had them and I hated them. On more than one occasion I'd be driving between light and shade and they would be 'on-off-on-off' to the point that other drivers thought I was flashing my lights at them.
|
>> I would not like auto lights as standard on every car *at all*. My old
>> Megane had them and I hated them. On more than one occasion I'd be driving
>> between light and shade and they would be 'on-off-on-off' to the point that other drivers
>> thought I was flashing my lights at them.
>>
I used to get comments all the time on that from following collegues when I had a Peugeot company car with auto lights.
I had someone pull out in front of me when they came on once as a drove under a bridge and I did the same thing myself when a Jag coming towards me turned its Xenon lights on and I reacted to the 'pop' of the HIDs firing and pulled out.
|
>> No such issue on the Volvo. Light switch in position 0 = headlights and tail
>> lights on.
>>
>> I don't really understand why they bothered fitting a light switch.
>>
Without the light switch you would not have the option of parking lights, you would also not have the use of the fog lights and the main beam would not stay on.
It's surprising how many people report the main beam not staying on the first time they drive a Volvo and say the lights are on but when they pull back on the stalk for main beam it switches itself off immediately. It's due to them not having switched the lights on.
|
SQ
>> It's surprising how many people report the main beam not staying on the first time
>> they drive a Volvo and say the lights are on but when they pull back
>> on the stalk for main beam it switches itself off immediately. It's due to them
>> not having switched the lights on.
>>
I thought the same, but just realised that main beam and fogs work (and stay on) with the lights in the off position. Dont know if this is a recent change
Last edited by: VxFan on Fri 22 Feb 13 at 01:29
|
>>Dont know if this is a recent change
>>
Possibly with the introduction of auto lights. I don't have that on mine, only auto wipers
Last edited by: gmac on Thu 21 Feb 13 at 22:17
|
>> No such issue on the Volvo. Light switch in position 0 = headlights and tail
>> lights on.
>>
>> I don't really understand why they bothered fitting a light switch.
>>
If it's anything like the Merc I had on hire in SE, the high beams only work when set to "headlamps on".
This makes a bit of sense when you think about it, but took me a while to deduce in the pitch dark in the middle of nowhere.
|
>> No such issue on the Volvo. Light switch in position 0 = headlights and tail
>> lights on.
>>
>> I don't really understand why they bothered fitting a light switch.
>>
On my old S60, I seem to recall the only difference between the light switch being on or off was the behaviour of the main beam stalk. You could only flash the main beam with the light switch set to off, whereas with the light switch on, you could toggle main beam on and off, as well as flash.
I used to just leave mine set to on all the time (they turned off with the ignition anyway).
The only time the 320d has ever had the light switch moved from the auto position (to sidelights) was when boarding the Eurotunnel shuttle.
|
When I was growing up my father had a number of Volvos with DRLs and when the Passat arrived I expected it to be the same -lit all round.
It only has the front lights on, nothing to the rear so there are times when I use sidelights instead.
I hate the auto lights where everyone ends up with headlights on when it is clear and light and there is no need for the headlights.
|
|
DRL are lights on the front of the car only - rear is not lit. Volvos don't have DRL - they just always have sidelights on which includes the rears.
|
>> Volvos don't have DRL - they just always have sidelights on which includes the rears.
>>
Volvos used to run 5w/21w stop/tailight bulbs in the front sidelight holders, 21w on most of the time, once you put the headlights on those bulbs would dim to normal 5w sidelight depending on year and model.
Excellent simple system, didn't give off subliminal camp messages either..;)
|
>> DRL are lights on the front of the car only - rear is not lit.
>> Volvos don't have DRL - they just always have sidelights on which includes the rears.
>>
That contradicts Volvo's manual:
"Models with daytime running lights:
Low beam headlights will automatically come on if the ignition key is in position II. Front and rear parking lights and license plate lights will also be on. Volvo recommends the use of daytime running lights. If, however, you would prefer to have these lights turned off (USA only), please consult your Volvo retailer. Please note that the use of daytime running lights is mandatory in Canada."
I had mine switched off because it went through dipped headlight bulbs almost as quick as tanks of diesel.
|
>> My guess was that he had daytime running lights
>> on at the front and because he could see his lights had thought that his
>> lights were already on but obviously no tail lights.
>>
I doubt the DRLs would be bright enough that he thought the lights were on.
My guess is that he was driving one of the many cars these days that have permanently illuminated instrument panel, which used to be the main reminder years ago that you didn't have your lights on!
|
>> I doubt the DRLs would be bright enough that he thought the lights were on.
You'd be surprised. The DRLs on the 500 are rather bright - in fact they dim when the headlights are turned on.
|
>> The DRLs on the 500 are rather bright - in fact they dim when the headlights are turned on.
The DRLs on mine will go off when the headlights are on. Seems the logical thing to do unless of course a car uses sidelights as DRLs.
|
>> My guess is that he was driving one of the many cars these days that
>> have permanently illuminated instrument panel, which used to be the main reminder years ago that you didn't have your lights on!
>>
I got caught out driving my daughters V reg Yaris with no lights. It has a such an instrument panel.
When you turn the lights on the instrument panel dims and a tiny " lights on" symbol is displayed. This indicator has failed but not really an excuse. I was driving on the brightly lit part of the M25 and did not immediately realise it was ME being flashed to light up.
|
|
The instrument panel lights in the Up! work the same way as those in the Audi so far as I can tell. They're always on during the day, but as the ambient light level drops they dim until eventually they go off altogether presumably as a reminder to turn the lights on. It doesn't have auto lights and the DRLs are permanently on, and pretty bright. You'd not confuse them for headlights on unlit roads, but round town I can see how you might, bar of course the unlit instrument panel and switches inside
|
|
Volvos have always had automatic DRLs. They come on when the ignition is on, together with the rear sidelights. Never a problem, except to boring people who say "Youv'e got your lights on".
|
|
I recall being in France in the nineties with a Volvo, and indeed the lights came on with the ignition. Interestingly though none of the French registered ones did, not that there were many, and it was commented on by French locals at various petrol stations as something they'd never seen before.
|
>> The instrument panel lights in the Up! work the same way as those in the Audi so far as I can tell.
So when you turn it on, it Lights Up!
Thank you, I'm here all week.....
|
Daytime running lights problem - -
