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Topic: Turning Off Headlights in Drive-In

Richard Greco
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1180
From: Plant City, FL
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 06-17-2005 01:12 PM

Joshua, Use the parking brake trick. I have customers apply the parking brake, shut their vehicle off, and turn it on again.98% of the time it works like a charm

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Tim Reed
Better Projection Pays

Posts: 5246
From: Northampton, PA
Registered: Sep 1999

posted 06-17-2005 01:50 PM

quote: Randy Stankey
...Joe Don Baker

The only problem is, Joe Don Baker isn't a very convincing tough guy. He comes off like a wuss. I could never figure out how he got that part.

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David L Parlier
Film Handler

Posts: 23
From: Franklin, NC, U.S.A.
Registered: Oct 2003

posted 06-17-2005 02:03 PM

I decided to check with my brother on this topic since he is a ASE Master Tech working for GM. This is what I found out.

- There is no override for the running lights (pushing your dome light three times) for the 1999 models. This only works for 2000 models and newer and usually has to be done each time you start the vehicle.

- To disable the running lights you can; push the parking brake to the first notch or the notch that disables the DRLs (this should only be done for short distances), bypass the switch at the parking brake, or purchase a after market DRL override kit for your particular vehicle from most after market companies.

- Why DRLs? He was told that GM went to the DRL on all vehicles because it was a cost cutting move. Since all new vehicles sold in Canada must have DRLs it is cheaper to have them on all GM vehicles.

- In the U.S. you can order new GM vehicles without the DRL if you specially request it, but it will cost you extra.

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Chris Mosel
Film Handler

Posts: 74
From: New Braunfels, TX, USA
Registered: Sep 2002

posted 06-17-2005 02:51 PM

Pellet gun from the booth [Smile]

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Randy Stankey
Film God

Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99

posted 06-17-2005 03:15 PM

quote: Tim Reed
The only problem is, Joe Don Baker isn't a very convincing tough guy. He comes off like a wuss. I could never figure out how he got that part.

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Dave Macaulay
Film God

Posts: 2321
From: Toronto, Canada
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 06-17-2005 03:31 PM

I don't know what year we (Canada) got mandatory DRL. My '91 Jeep had a system where on start the headlight high beams would get 8V or so for DRL once the car moved a few metres. I put in halogen headlamps and soon learned that halogen bulbs have no tolerance for low voltage operation, so I had to remove the DRL "feature". A special module under the hood controlled it, but the headlight power and the speedo pulse signal passed through it - and the module was a box with a plug on the side, filled with black epoxy. I had to hacksaw the module apart, remove the connector, figure out what all the wires were then jumper the connector so that the headlights and speedo would work again with it connected.
I don't know if I can legally sell a vehicle with deactivated DRL.
I have motorcycles too, in Ontario any bike made since 1970 or so must have the headlight on at all times. I think that's a good idea, I want to be as visible as possible! I've rented bikes in various countries and in Asia particularly, riding with the light on gets lots of attention: pedestrians yell and gesture about the light on and drivers beep horns and flash lights plus yell and gesture too. I don't know why a headlight being on disturbs them so much.
In Japan car drivers stopped at traffic lights at night routinely shut off their headlights until the light turns green. This is a bit startling for us foreign jaywalkers (I sometimes bypass those "30 steps up - walk across - 30 steps down" pedestrian flyovers endemic to Asian cities) when 6 lanes of cars simultaneously light up and race toward you.
Note: don't try jaywalking in Japan until you're very familiar with the left side driving situation! (you UK types can ignore that advice, but be careful if you visit us)

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Daryl C. W. O'Shea
Film God

Posts: 3977
From: Midland Ontario Canada (where Panavision & IMAX lenses come from)
Registered: Jun 2002

posted 06-17-2005 03:42 PM

Daytime running lights were mandated in Canada in 1989 as a safety measure to protect pedestrians around dusk.

DRLs were illegal in some US states until they were declared legal by federal law in 1992.

Technically it's not legal to sell a vehicle with stock DRLs that are disabled in Canada. Actually, it's one of the checklist items on the Ontario Drive Clean (i.e. money grab) program. A vehicle with disabled DRLs isn't supposed to pass, but very few shops would fail you for it.

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Sam Graham
AKA: "The Evil Sam Graham". Wackiness ensues.

Posts: 1431
From: Waukee, IA
Registered: Dec 2004

posted 06-17-2005 05:44 PM

I was sitting in an obscenely expensive GMC pickup at the Twin Cities Auto Show this year when I noticed the headlight switch had a "don't" position (the circle slash mark). It was a snap-back type deal where if you selected it, it didn't stay there...it snapped back to the previous position.

So I asked the GM rep about it. "Well," she said, "some people just don't think they should have the daytime running lights on all the time, so this is a way to turn them off temporarily."

"Why not just use an icepick?" I asked.

She turned and walked away.

The "one tick of the brake pedal" deal works on my Beetle. I may yet order the European switch and get rid of the damn things. I go through headlight bulbs about every 20,000 miles (common in Beetles). Good thing they're cheap.

[ 06-18-2005, 10:43 AM: Message edited by: Sam Graham ]

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Jeremy Jorgenson
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1002
From: Chicago, IL, USA
Registered: Feb 2005

posted 06-17-2005 07:33 PM

I run my headlights all the time (day or night) even on cars that don't have DRL. Back in '95 or '96 when GM was making the switch, I read some of the before / after statistics from countries that mandated it (Canada... maybe Sweden? I forget which others) and the decrease in accidents was significant... now, whether that is directly attributed to DRL or not, who knows, but I figured it couldn't hurt. I have run with my lights on since.

BUT, I do disagree with not being able to control my lights (parking lights, or completely off). I drive a Jetta now, with DRL, and there is only an On/Off switch, no parking lights (that is only controlled via hand brake)... I find that tremendously annoying.

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Oscar Neundorfer
Master Film Handler

Posts: 275
From: Senoia, GA
Registered: May 2000

posted 06-17-2005 08:31 PM

I find it tremendously annoying when my computer software (or my car, if I had one where it turns the lights on for me) tries to do the thinking for me. For example, if I start a letter in Microsoft WORD, the little paperclip guy pops up and says something like, "I see you're trying to write a letter. Would you like some help with that?" What I would like is to pop the paperclip guy with a hammer, but I know that would cause major aches and pains on my monitor. (And yes, I DO know how to turn him off except for when I really want to see him.)

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John Walsh
Film God

Posts: 2490
From: Connecticut, USA, Earth, Milky Way
Registered: Oct 1999

posted 06-18-2005 08:59 AM

I agree with Oscar; I'm sick of products thinking they know what I want better than I ...

When the DRL thing first came out, I breifly thought it was a plot to sell more headlamps, reduce the visibility of people 'flashing' their lights to warn other drivers of a speed trap ahead, and for car manufacturers to save money on a lamp switch. All of this under the guise of 'safety.'

My better half has a 1995-ish Oldsmobile. The damn doors lock themselves all the time. When you put in into drive, they lock. When a passenger gets out while the engine is running, they have to unlock their door. When they close the door behind them, it locks again.

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Steve Guttag
We forgot the crackers Gromit!!!

Posts: 12814
From: Annapolis, MD
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 06-18-2005 10:10 AM

The auto locking thing does tick me off. On our most recent purchase...I informed the dealer that if it was not disabled before we took possesion of the car, we would not buy the car...the feature was disabled (Saturn). Normally there is a sequence of button pushes that will change the lock/unlock mode...however, I've found they are very poorly published (like the DRL "Features")

Anyone remember the Crysler products where you had to hold the door open button on the outside to lock your car without the key? This was to prevent you from locking your keys in the car. The problem is...out of habit you would push the button in every time and still lock your keys in the car.

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Sam Graham
AKA: "The Evil Sam Graham". Wackiness ensues.

Posts: 1431
From: Waukee, IA
Registered: Dec 2004

posted 06-18-2005 11:00 AM

quote: Jeremy Jorgenson
I run my headlights all the time (day or night) even on cars that don't have DRL. Back in '95 or '96 when GM was making the switch, I read some of the before / after statistics from countries that mandated it (Canada... maybe Sweden? I forget which others) and the decrease in accidents was significant... now, whether that is directly attributed to DRL or not, who knows, but I figured it couldn't hurt. I have run with my lights on since.

I agree that they can help when designed correctly. But I have a huge beef with GM's original DRL's...the seperate units from the headlights that were extremely bright. Beady little things that I have to switch my rear-view mirror to night mode on when a GM vehicle is behind me, or face green dots in my eyes. Those things are dangerous. GM has improved their DRL's in later years (while steadfastly claiming there was nothing wrong about the old ones to critics), but those older cars...

I personally don't know why "drl's" weren't just made the parking light markers. They are much less intrusive and would provide the same effect around the entire vehicle, unlike headlight-only DRL systems.

quote: Jeremy Jorgenson
BUT, I do disagree with not being able to control my lights (parking lights, or completely off). I drive a Jetta now, with DRL, and there is only an On/Off switch, no parking lights (that is only controlled via hand brake)... I find that tremendously annoying.

Check out the aftermarketers on the web. You can get VW's European headlight switch starting around $40 to replace your stock one. That adds parking lights with nothing more than unplugging the stock one and plugging in the new one and maybe replacing a relay...but I think the relay replacement is only required if you want to disable the DRL's.

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Oscar Neundorfer
Master Film Handler

Posts: 275
From: Senoia, GA
Registered: May 2000

posted 06-18-2005 01:47 PM

Steve,

I both like and dislike the automatic door locks thing. I dislike it for myself, but I like it for when my young kids are in the car. It removes the burden from me of having to remember to lock the doors, which I would try to remember to do any way with the kids in the car.

BUT, if I drive my wife's Caravan, and then park it in the garage without remembering to UNLOCK all the doors, the next day as she is trying to load all the kids in, she gets ticked at me for leaving the doors locked. She usually has her hands full and has to fumble around to get the keys and unlock the doors for the kids. So I get to hear about it.

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Monte L Fullmer
Film God

Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004

posted 06-20-2005 12:53 AM

I believe that the DRL concept came from the motorcycle, since I'm also a biker.

Back in the early 70's most bikes didn't have the DRL thing. You did have an actual light switch to turn on for night. But when the increased rise of motorcycle accidents due to vehicle drivers claimed that they didn't see the motorcycle, it was apparent that the manufacturers like Honda, Suzuki, and others needed something to make the motorcycle been seen by idiot motorists who can't seem to see anything past the front of the hood. Thus, having the headlight turn on with the key began this area of driver safety.

I can testify to this, for when I started biking back in the early 70's when bikes didn't have their headlights on, I almost met my maker due to a frustrated mother with a carful of kids that was testing her patience out real well. This was early evening traveling down a tree lined country road with the sun to my right, thus I was riding partly in the shade. I was approaching an intersection and noticed this car in front and to the left of me wanting to make a left. With me in the shade and her not paying attention, she started to turn in front of me, but saw me about a second early. She slammed on the brakes, sent two kids almost through the front window busting the windshield, and the rest of the kids in the back flew over into the front seat. With me, my heart was up in my throat after laying a good 50 ft patch of rear tire rubber and finally laying the bike down ripping my pants, shirt and scarring up my helmet up pretty bad on the asphalt. She was doing a healthy clip doing that left turn for the reason of dumping her kids like she did.

Due to this, I always turned my headlight on my bike so I can be seen, for if I had my headlight on back then, she would have seen me better and yielded to me passing through the intersection.

Later on is when the motocycle makers put the headlight on the key so the light was on at all times.

I remember seeing GM ads that advertised the DRL concept and it paralleled what happened to me with that bike accident-vehicle was in the shade in a sharp turn and a car about hitting the vehicle rounding the corner in the shade. Later on, the ad showed the same vehicle rounding the corner in the shade with DRL's on and it made a difference.

If I need to bring down the lights in a drive-in (in which I worked at one Saturday night on relief running projectors and flipping burgers...), I tick up the E-Brake one knotch from bottom rest. This kills the lights, yet the brakes haven't engaged still allowing the free movement for the car.

-Monte

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