Infiniti7

Quick question. I always leave my headlights on thr auto setting so they turn on and off when its dark and light. Well this morning around 7 am I turned the car on and the headlights were off I'm pretty sure and I went under the underpass to pick someone up and it was dark enough for the lights to go on I'm sure. Well I drove away and the lights still stayed on and the car was in the night mode like it is when its dark out. I'm wondering why the light and node didn't go back to the day mode? I waited for like 10mins and I turned the headlights off and then put them back on auto and everything was fine. Why did it not switch back like it always does in about 10-15 seconds?

TinsleyC

Not much use of the auto headlights here, either.

For me, even in the daytime, they come on in my garage whether I'm pulling in or out, they come on under bridges, and don't come on when it's raining (I think we have a law that requires headlights use in windshield wiper type weather). They also come on later than when I prefer - almost dark - after most all other cars have theirs on.

The Sentitivity setting seems to have little effect.

So I just turn the **** the old fashioned way, manually. The manual recommends reducing the number of ons and offs, so it seems better doing it manually than having them cycle power each time I enter of leave the garage or go under a bridge.

Infiniti7

so how come u think they didn't turn back off right away after i left the little over hang. i mean it was sunny out so wouldn't u think they would go off within 10-15 seconds of leaving the over hang?

JMacsG37

iTrader: (2)

every over pass during the day I've gone under it'll go on, once I go back into the light...it'll go back off. You said it was 7am, my guess is that it wasn't bright enough to definitely turn the lights back off, so they stayed on until you turned them off and back to auto. They are reluctant to turn on for dark, but once on they are reluctant to go back to light. Unless of course it is very dark or very bright.

Infiniti7

i mean it was not completely sunny at 7am either. so how come when i started the car up this morning they were off then when i went under the pass they went on and didn't go back off if they were off when i started the car up?

Infiniti7

anyone else experience thisd at all with their headlights set to auto?

mossman

This is correct. The lights are reluctant to change (either on to off, or off to on) once they are in a mode. This is actually a good thing to eliminate a lot of on and off cycles. I think the sensor actually measures the percentage of light change in a given time. I also found the sensitivity adjustment doesn't make much of a difference.

The auto on lights in this car are actually very good. If you guys have ever experienced Ford's auto lights. I was behind a buddy of mine for a 5 hour drive. He was in a Ford. His lights went on and off over 20 times in the drive. Every time we went under an under pass, or through some shade from trees, or a cloud passes by. Mine only turned on once when it got dark enough. Then they stayed on until I was home. As it should be. My buddy commented that you don't hear a loud click (relay sound) when the lights come on..

As far as what I do, I leave the lights in auto all winter. Basically, if it's dark enough for them when I leave work (around 5-6) I use auto mode. During summer, when I can leave work and drive all the way home without needing them, then I set to manual so I can save them coming on when I pull into my garage. Actually, with daylight savings time today I think I'll be putting them to manual soon. Yeah.... So in winter they do come on in the morning in the garage then quickly shut off. However, all summer they are basically off unless I am out later. So I sorta split the difference between lots of cycles and manual use. Hope that helps.

15951

Sounds normal. The threshold for the lights turning on is likely higher than for turning off, likely for safety reasons.

That is, it might need to be "more dark" for them to turn on than for them to turn off. Was it cloudy/rainy or early morning/dusk when this happens? If so, that's likely the reason. If it was bright and sunny, you should probably get it checked out the next time you're at the dealer.

mossman

You just reminded me of one other thing. I find the angle of the sun makes a big difference. It can be bright and sunny, but if the sun how much sun is directly hitting the sensor?? I know in the morning it has taken a long time for the lights to go off and I think it had to do with the angle of the morning sun and the direction I was heading.

Infiniti7

ya that sounds correct. when they didnt go off it was not that sunny out and it was early morning

SM_Shadowman

If I have them in auto, I've found they go on when I go slowly through an underpass because of bumper-to-bumper traffic. Which is frequent in my area. If I'm stopped under the bridge for more than a few seconds, the lights will come on. However, I've had the opposite experience as you.

Mine always turn back off after about 15 seconds or so in once I'm in daylight again. I've found this even happens when it's overcast or getting late in the afternoon. Maybe mine are slightly more sensitive. Sometimes I've noticed at dusk they come on a bit later than I'd expect.

da mayor

iTrader: (2)

do you have anything like an ez-pass blocking the sunlight sensor on the rearview mirror?

x95stacey

The sensor is in the dash.

ultraD

I see here that you can adjust the sensitivity of the automatic headlights. I looked in the manual yesterday for that adjustment, but did not find it. Can anyone point me in the right direction??

Thank-you

x95stacey

What year do you have? For 2009 it starts on page 4-16. For 2008 it also starts on 4-16. If you have 2008 v2, it starts on page 4-18.