Headlights staying on

[paulus]

Has anyone else noticed that in the very unusual event of MANUALLY turning the headlights on (eg motorway, sunny day, heavy rain) when you exit and lock the car the lights DON'T go off!! (Trophy R33)

 

[mg4mc]

Yep, once you switch them on, they stay on until you switch then off again. Daft

 

[BingBong]

Why not leave them on auto?

 

[paulus]

Because under the conditions listed above they did not come on while on auto.

 

[tsedge]

Has anyone else noticed that in the very unusual event of MANUALLY turning the headlights on (eg motorway, sunny day, heavy rain) when you exit and lock the car the lights DON'T go off!! (Trophy R33)

Yes, it is consistent - MANUAL means you have to manually turn them off. I assume this is to allow you to use the car to illuminate an area when you are not in it - eg while camping.

What is needed is a loud buzzer to remind you when getting out of the car.

 

[Kithmo]

It's not the headlights that are staying on it's the LED DRLs, which double up as parking lights.
There is a beep as you get out of the car if you have them on.
It's the same as on a car with a manual light switch, when you turn the headlights on and turn the ignition off the parking lights stay on but the actual headlights go off.

 

[tsedge]

It's not the headlights that are staying on it's the LED DRLs, which double up as parking lights.
There is a beep as you get out of the car if you have them on.
It's the same as on a car with a manual light switch, when you turn the headlights on and turn the ignition off the parking lights stay on but the actual headlights go off.

No, my headlights stay on in manual mode (if I have had them turned on), not just the DRLs and I have to turn them off manually.

 

[Rolfe]

It's not just the DRLs. I had this in a multistorey car park on a sunny evening before I did the headlight fix. The lights came on as I drove into the on ramp, and I swore and switched them off. When I got into my parking space I thought I moved the switch back to auto. I got out and began to walk to the stairs.

I turned to check that the lights were off, because I have form in walking off and forgetting to press the door button, leaving the car unlocked and the DRLs blazing. I could have sworn I had pressed the button, and as it turned out I had. The car was locked. But the lights were blazing and there was a warning message on the driver's screen i hadn't noticed as I left. Turned out that when I thought I had returned the lights switch to auto, I had actually moved it to on. That would have been a nice flat battery if I hadn't looked back, I suspect.

 

[Martinonline]

If you power down the car from the info screen then you will get a warning as you open the driver's door if your lights are under manual control.

 

[Rolfe]

I don't usually bother with that though. To be fair there was a warning, but I only saw it when I went back to the car.

 

[tsedge]

If you power down the car from the info screen then you will get a warning as you open the driver's door if your lights are under manual control.

Yes, you get a warning even if you don't but it is subtle and easy to miss. I have had the neighbours call round because my headlights are on.

 

[Martinonline]

You mean this?

 

[tsedge]

You mean this?

Yes, easy to miss when you are not looking at the dash because you are getting out of the car. It should make a loud and distinctive noise while the door is open with the lights on, you know, like most cars have done for decades.

 

[Rolfe]

My 2009 Golf didn't. Fine when the lights were on auto as they always were, until someone in the garage switched them to manual and I didn't realise when parking the car. I came back to a flat battery at least twice due to that.

 

[Martinonline]

I don't know if your Trophy setup is the same as mine but if you power down there is no 'bong' when you open a door except if you have left the lights on and the 'bonging' goes on for at about 10 seconds.

 

[Kithmo]

Mine must be different then, my headlights definitely go off when I lock the car if I have left the switch in the manual position.

 

[fnegroni]

Guys now I’m compelled to check mine!

 

[fnegroni]

Mine must be different then, my headlights definitely go off when I lock the car if I have left the switch in the manual position.

The headlights sure, but what about DRL and tail lights? Mines stay on if the switch is set to manual

 

[Martinonline]

Unlike some cars where the DRLs are clearly separate from the side lights I cannot tell the difference if I switch on the sidelights manually. Note that I believe that the auto-lights switch on both the sidelights and the headlights when activated. Thus if you only see the sidelights indication on the driver's screen when you prepare to exit the car then the lights are in manual mode.

 

[MartinSEsr]

It's really annoying that

a) The headlights come on automatically when passing through even a tiny bridge
b) they do not come on automatically when it is raining - other cars I have had turn them one once wipers are on.
c) and a bad design that when you turn them on manually, in rain or mist, they don't turn off when the car is powered down.

Some people have said that is how they should work, ie turn them on manually they should stay on. I diasagree - unless you're driving a 1980 Cortina or something else prehistoric. All the modern cars I have had in the last 15 years (Alfa, huyundai x 3, BMW, Golf x 2) ALL turn off manually selected headlights when the ignition goes off.