tsxGoldenBear

So i did a search, but couldn't really find anything but I've been wondering about the auto on/off lights on the tsx. I remember when I was younger that I was told to never turn the engine with the headlights on because it could kill the battery. With the tsx auto-light feature you have to leave the lights in the on position for them to stay on and turn off. I like leaving them on and having them turn back on when i come to the car. When I get in though, I still don't feel right turning the engine with the lights on, so i usually turn them back off and turn them on again after starting the car. I'm sure newer cars like the tsx have good enough batteries that it doesn't matter, but I was wondering what other people do. Am I just being paranoid?

n8dog82

my headlights are on all the time. I have never had a problem, even during the last few weeks when it was 10 degrees every morning.

if your battery has a problem with headlights being on, then you need a new battery.

slfmade

correct

if you leave the tsx headlights on than they are only on for 15 seconds after you get out of your car. you could leave your headlights on for 10 minutes and your car will still start, they arent going to drain that much from a good working battery although i wouldnt suggest leaving your headlights or any other electronics on for extended periods of time while the car is turned off as the battery will eventually drop too low to start and require a jump

tsxGoldenBear

Well I know that leaving them on for 15 secs doesnt' draim the battery. I'v just heard in the past with other cars that turning an engine on while the headlights are on can put a big strain on teh battery which isn't good for it.

synthetic

It's not the battery that you should be concerned about, but rather the HID capacitor. This is a capacitor that goes under extreme initial load when the headlights are turned on, so in general everytime you turn the lights on/off you're causing a load/unload action on a highly consuming electronic component.

I'm not aware of the quality or the lifespan of these capacitors, but in the world of electronics, a capacitor's lifetime is directly dependent on the number of load/unloads it goes thru.

slfmade

i dont know about HIDs enough to make an educated comment but from what i quickly looked up i couldnt ifnd anything about the actual capacitor but read that HIDs use about 2/3rds of the power a regular headlight bulb uses and there is no filament to burn out so they can last ~100k miles ( http://www.spitzkraft.com/topic.php?...&cntnt=hidtech )

but to the original poster, it seems like you were talking more about actually turning the car on and yes, if you have the key in the accessory position and are using the stereo, headlights, ac, etc and have been using it for some time there is a possibility that your car will not have enough juice to completely roll over, in which case you would need to turn off all the electronics and start. if i ever have my car playing music, etc and then want to turn it on i always turn off most of the accessories and at least turn down the stereo so that there will be enough juice to roll over.

helraiser

i started leaving my car's headlights on about 6-8 months ago. haven't had to boost my car yet or had any battery issues. the hid's are basically my DRLs instead of using the low light halogens as the DRLs.

I keep the fogs off though but just cuz they're not needed.

tlbkcal

how are they on for 15 seconds? mine turns off when I close the door...

junktionfet

I'd prefer not to ignite those HID headlamps unless they are needed to see where I'm going and if I plan to keep them on for a while. Turning headlights on and off a lot generally doesn't do them any good--whether it is an incandescent filament or a ballast driven gas tube.

tsxGoldenBear

you can adjust the timing for them to stay on in your MID. I haven't changed it so i don't know exactly how , but mine came with the 15secs standard.