stingerbtry

Is there anyway to make the headlights come on sooner/in brighter conditions? For instance this morning it was really overcast (and early) and raining on the way to work and defintely a time when I would use the headlights since it was so dark out still. My headlights stayed in DRL mode as usual. It seems they only come on when it's actually pitch black night time. The only adjustment I've found was the light sensitivity setting and I have that at max, which by the way made no difference whatsoever in how it operates. Does anyone have this problem or know of other things to set to make them come on before it's completely dark out?

spacklebucket

Turn the headlights on

stingerbtry

Yeah really?? I know I can turn them on when I need to but like the climate control system, it should work automatically when it's supposed to according to how I set it.

michaelbmenaker

If you're in DRL you are NOT in "Auto". The auto on/off feature doesn't have a sensitivity adjustment, but when you're in DRL, it does not function at all.

stingerbtry

I always keep the lights in auto. When the car thinks it's too light out for headlights it keeps the DRL's on, then "automatically" turns on the headlights (and the DRL's off) when it thinks it's dark enough. So yes, I am in auto mode. I know how to operate the car and what the settings mean, I'm not an idiot. It was a simple question, is there a way to adjust it and since I'm at work and not near my manual I thought I'd post the question. It sounds like there isn't so thanks anyway.

vp911

Yes. As part of your options to configure through the MID, I believe you can configure the sensitivity for the sensor. Look in the manual - I don't have the RL anymore to give you step by step instructions on how to do this.

vp911

Also, since this is a topic that isn't specific to the navi or anything else, I am moving it to the general forum for more exposure.

stingerbtry

Like I said in my first post, I did this and it made NO difference.

stingerbtry

Hmm, I can't believe that headlight questions wouldn't be in the electronics forum. It seems like that is exactly where it should be but whatever it doesn't really matter. I was thinking that had I opened it in general it would've been moved to electronics since it deals with an electronic part of the car.

AcuraRLBlue

Any chance that the sensor is blocked?

hondamore

I was about to pose the same question as AcuraRLBlue. If the windshield is dirty in that area or the sensor is dusty, it may effect the function of the automatic lights. Sorry I can't help you with any specific sensor adjustment technique - I haven't got a clue if that is possible.

lflorack

There are three sensitivity settings that are accessable from the steering wheel buttons on the inside lower right side. I've got mine set to the most sensitive setting and it could be a bit more sensitive. Not a LOT more so, just a bit. But I'm not aware of anything further I can do.

EDIT:
I've now read the rest of the thread (so far) and see that someone has already mentioned the MID settings. I believe it made a difference when I changed mine and (as I said) it could be a bit more sensitive but it's not too bad for me.

stingerbtry

Well I know that the dash isn't particularly dusty and the windshield isn't too bad either since it's been raining and keeping it fairly clean so I'm not sure what's going on. It does work it just seems to take a whole lot of darkness to make the headlights trigger then it should. Oh well.

Nocturnal

Coincidentally today I was thinking how I don't like the auto setting because it's too conservative for me. I'll admit I've hardly played with the sensitivity setting though.

Stingerbtry, what you could do is use some scotch tape and put that over the sensor. This should reduce the amount of light that comes through and turn on the light earlier. You may need several pieces. This is just an idea, I haven't done this myself but I don't see why it wouldn't be worth a try.

And a big -thank you- from me for wanting your lights on under those conditions. Too many idiots refuse to turn on their lights unless it's pitch black. Don't get me started on a rant here

Let us know how it works out.

stingerbtry

Yeah I've been thinking of actually just leaving them in the on position all the time but the downside to that is that the nav won't dim/brighten on it's own. I hate people who think they are the only ones on the road and don't use their headlights in low light situations too. I tend to think that more is better and have always used my headlights in almost any case other then full sunlight until now. I guess I can try the tape thing, thanks for the idea. If I do I'll let you know how it turns out.

vp911

My mistake.

Rob L

Something must be wrong with your car's sensor or we have a diff perception of darkness. My RL lights come on before I think they should and I have the lights set to come on at the darkest light setting.

My lights always come on in the situation you describe with rain/overcast.

Treblig

I have to agree, I have mine set one level above the darkest setting and during recent overcast situations, the headligts turned on as expected.

stingerbtry

Ok, maybe I'm not setting it in the right config screen because I haven't seen anything that even mentions dark/darker/lighter or whatever. The only config I have adjusted is the light sensitivity setting which has something like max/medium/mid/low or something like that. Is this what you guys are referring to? Please tell me there is another adjustment on another menu somewhere that I've missed somehow.

Rob L

hmm, i think that is the correct thing. Mine didnt have dark/darker/lighter/etc either.

Treblig

That's the menu that I am talking about. I have mine set to "mid".

stingerbtry

Yeah mine was at MID since I got the car but even at MAX now it doesn't perform any differently. I even tried MIN to make sure I was reading into it backwards.

Rob L

yeah that's odd bro. Mine is set to mid and if I had driven it this morn the lights would have been on as it is overcast outside right now.

Maybe mine is funked up compared to others.

hondamore

I think that we are just dealing with the different perceptions and different preferences of different drivers.

stingerbtry

This morning it actually worked a little better then usual. The headlights stayed on almost the whole way to work up until the sun broke the horizon. As soon as I saw the first ray of sun the lights turned off. Maybe this is a perception issue but I prefer driving with my headlights on in any low light condition. I don't think that having your headlights on before the sun comes up is too much to ask. I actually would've liked them to stay on a little longer as it was still low visibility out even though the sun was coming up. Oh well I guess I just have to live with it.

lflorack

Does the fact that the DRL's are on even when the headlights are off help at all?

stingerbtry

They do help but for me I prefer to have the headlights on because not only are they brighter but when they are on the sidemarkers and tail lights are on as well which just adds to your visibility. The DRL's are pretty dim anyway and I don't think they really help too much especially around the time when the sun is coming up, whereas the HID's are super bright and defintely noticable. I know, I'm probably just too picky.

Nocturnal

Nope, you are not

Rob L

edit- mine is set to low not mid. I hate when I go to type something and type what I read rather than what I actually intend to type/reply with.

03CoupeV6

The auto headlights cannot be overly zealous or it could risk cycling the HIDs too frequently, which leads to HID failure over time.

Nocturnal

The circuit needs a Schmidt Trigger ( http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu...c/schmitt.html ) which basically means that once on the light needs to brighten more before it turns off again. Same is true the other way. This prevents the lights from blinking. It could also have some amount of delay that says the lights can't change state more often than once every minute or so.

In any case, I've had my S4 for 6 years and used the HIDs whenever I felt like it. They're still intact. Car HIDs are a bit special because they can turn on much quicker than consumer HIDs like those used in dive lights for example. Not sure how they do it.

headersplus

Mine Too!