Automatic lights not responding to rain

[Vlyn]

When keeping the headlights on "Auto" they unfortunately don't turn on on cloudy and rainy days (too much light I guess).

Not a big deal in the front due to the bright daylight LEDs, but the back of the car is totally dark.

Is there any trick to get the lights in the back working? Or do you switch to manual lights for this? Thanks!

 

[webhiker]

Switch on manually, as all my previous cars

 

[Vlyn]

Switch on manually, as all my previous cars

Can do, it's just really risky. When you switch it on manually and then forget to turn it off you don't even get a warning sound :-/

Might drain your battery

 

[ReintjeWA]

Yeah turning on manually is the best option, same with foggy weather. The car will warn you they are left on, but only after shutting down the car, which normally happens when you are locking the door, and you're outside the car, so you won't hear anything. It's a bit of a design flaw I think.

 

[Vlyn]

Yeah turning on manually is the best option, same with foggy weather. The car will warn you they are left on, but only after shutting down the car, which normally happens when you are locking the door, and you're outside the car, so you won't hear anything. It's a bit of a design flaw I think.

Oh, so there is a warning. I tried it out and didn't hear a thing

I have to be careful then, thanks!

 

[ReintjeWA]

Oh, so there is a warning. I tried it out and didn't hear a thing

I have to be careful then, thanks!

I only found out because I left the lights on, came back to the car not long after, and as I opened the door I heard and saw the warning. But like I said it's rather useless as by then it doesn't matter because I'm back at the car and most likely going to drive it.

 

[Panther]

So if you turn the lights on manually, does the car turn them off when it powers down?

 

[Vlyn]

So if you turn the lights on manually, does the car turn them off when it powers down?

Nope! It keeps the daylight lights on in front and the lights in the back.

Not sure if it has a maximum time for that, I didn't wait longer than 2 minutes after locking.

 

[MartinSEsr]

So if you turn the lights on manually, does the car turn them off when it powers down?

Sadly, no. There's a quiet chime, but that is all you get. If you turn the lights on manually they stay on until you return to the car, or the battery runs out.

It is the only car I have owned that has automatic lights but which don't come on when the wipers are in use for rain.

It is also the only car I have ever owned that doesn't turn manually turned on headlights off when the ignition (or car) is turned off and locked.

Along with the handling (ie no understanding of) of music albums / folders on the USB stick, it smacks of poorly thought out software design.

 

[Panther]

Nope! It keeps the daylight lights on in front and the lights in the back.

That's pretty poor, the last car I had that didn't turn the lights off when either the ignition was turned off or the doors locked was about 20 years ago !!

It is the only car I have owned that has automatic lights but which don't come on when the wipers are in use for rain.

My 71 plate Kia Niro rarely puts the auto lights on even in torrential rain unless the light levels drop considerably, and then some days it puts them on when the sun is out !!

 

[JonnyG]

It’s things like this that could be fixed with software updates but hey ho, there are no OTA updates and no free dealer updates, even at the annual service intervals which we pay a fair bit for here in the UK.

 

[Kithmo]

If the auto lights were set to come on automatically in dull conditions or rain then they would be coming on every time you went into the shadow of a building or trees.

It is also the only car I have ever owned that doesn't turn manually turned on headlights off when the ignition (or car) is turned off and locked.

It does turn the headlights off, if you look closely into the headlamp you'll see it's just the DRLs that are left on at the front.

 

[Vlyn]

If the auto lights were set to come on automatically in dull conditions or rain then they would be coming on every time you went into the shadow of a building or trees.

It does turn the headlights off, if you look closely into the headlamp you'll see it's just the DRLs that are left on at the front.

DRLs and the backlights.. which never turn off then. So a perfect way to kill your battery.

Bit of a bummer, but I moved to manually switching on/off my lights. Would have been nice if it's automatic when the wipers are on at least.

 

[SilentlyScreaming]

FWIW, our MG4 XPower (with the lights set to auto!) reacts if we're driving down a road with heavy foliage above us.

I might be thinking of a different MG model, but isn't the light sensor underneath some sort of plastic cover that some people 3D printed a replacement for?
I can't remember if it was to make the sensor less or more sensitive though.

 

[siteguru]

It was done to improve the sensitivity of the sensor - i.e. to allow more light to hit the sensor. After software updates I received at my first service (November 2023) or shortly thereafter (I think) I found that I could put the original cover back on and all was OK. So if your auto-lights are still problematic then it sounds like you're missing a software update.

 

[Kithmo]

FWIW, our MG4 XPower (with the lights set to auto!) reacts if we're driving down a road with heavy foliage above us.

I might be thinking of a different MG model, but isn't the light sensor underneath some sort of plastic cover that some people 3D printed a replacement for?
I can't remember if it was to make the sensor less or more sensitive though.

I was going to print one but mine (23 reg early one) seems to be behaving itself now, probably due to one of the updates the dealer did at the first or second services.

DRLs and the backlights.. which never turn off then. So a perfect way to kill your battery.

Bit of a bummer, but I moved to manually switching on/off my lights. Would have been nice if it's automatic when the wipers are on at least.

These are parking lights, designed to stay on and they are all LEDs so it would take a long time to flatten the 12V, unless it was low to start with.

 

[Vlyn]

These are parking lights, designed to stay on and they are all LEDs so it would take a long time to flatten the 12v, unless it was low to start with.

Of course, but they stay on indefinitely. So if you get home, park your car and don't notice they might be burning all night and day.

 

[Kithmo]

Of course, but they stay on indefinitely. So if you get home, park your car and don't notice they might be burning all night and day.

Yup

 

[Rolfe]

The lights have 20 amp fuses. The amount of power they draw is negligible. I used to leave them on all night with blackout blinds over them when I was camping in the car, before I realised how easy it is just to pull the fuses. Honestly, I don't notice the difference. You'll never flatten any battery with these things.