Drive In movie

[Vdel]

So now that the weather is nice I decided to take the family in the EX to the local drive in. We parked so that the rear of the EX faced the screen and we would have the hatch open so the kids can lay out. Well I couldnt get the interior lights to turn off and have the radio on to listen to the broadcast of the movie over FM. Eventually the lights went off along with sound the only way to accomplish having the radio on without the EXs engine running was to have auxiliary power on but with the unfortunate byproduct of the interior and puddle lights on. At this point as a courtesy to the other patrons I shut the EX off and we listened to the movie through the car next to us. So you're at the drive in and you want to have the radio on and no lights...what do you do hotshot? What do you do?

 

[2000ExpSprt]

Don't know if its the same, but I know in my 2000 only thing I have to do is roll the dash light dimmer wheel all the way down, then when it clicks into place all the interior lights are off, even when a door or hatch is open.

Works great at the local drive-in here.

 

[spitfisher]

It seems to have come up in a couple of different discussions about the interior lights NOT having a kill switch for them, why such a simple action was over looked is beyond me. Lights are either on or off, the dimming feature is nice but not at the expense of ON or Off.

Yet somewhere, somehow inside of ford someone wrote off the fact that you would not be able to turn the interior lights off, probably the same team that decided not to have daytime running lights......

 

[waskly]

We parked so that the rear of the EX faced the screen and we would have the hatch open so the kids can lay out.

Every time I read this, and know the ex is running with kids with in 2 feet of the exhaust pipes makes me sick to my stomach.

CO is lighter then air, with the hatch open it will act like an umbrella, some will go to the atmosphere, some will go into the car, and with kids 2 feet away of the exhaust pipes, what you are doing is CO poisoning your kids.

 

[blwnsmoke]

Every time I read this, and know the ex is running with kids with in 2 feet of the exhaust pipes makes me sick to my stomach.

CO is lighter then air, with the hatch open it will act like an umbrella, some will go to the atmosphere, some will go into the car, and with kids 2 feet away of the exhaust pipes, what you are doing is CO poisoning your kids.

The OP didn't say the EX was running. He stated the only way to accomplish it is to have it in aux position (aux is with the Ex off but radio on) but is complaining the lights stay on in this position.


To the OP, all you have to do is tweak your body under the dash to the fuse panel and pull the fuse for the interior lights lol..

On a serious note, I can't believe they overlooked this either.. I enjoy going to the drive in and the one time I went since having my Ex, we took someone elses car.. Now I'm glad we did!!! I would have enjoyed the Sony sound system for the movie but not with the lights on...

 

[Tbars4]

..:scratch:..With the use of the search function at the top of the page I quickly found this answer to have the hatch open and the radio on at the drive in..
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2784543&postcount=28

..It is from this discussion thread..
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=324665

 

[snoranger]

Local drive-in?!?! The last one of those in NJ closed in 1991.

 

[harlenm]

Just cover the lights with electrical tape.

 

[Kevman44]

It seems to have come up in a couple of different discussions about the interior lights NOT having a kill switch for them, why such a simple action was over looked is beyond me. Lights are either on or off, the dimming feature is nice but not at the expense of ON or Off.

Yet somewhere, somehow inside of ford someone wrote off the fact that you would not be able to turn the interior lights off, probably the same team that decided not to have daytime running lights......

Actually a dealer can activate daytime running lights for you. I did it on my 13 limited,in the programmable parameters, I'm in California. You need the dealers computer though. All explorers should be able to. There my also be some programming for the interior lights, I will have to check.

 

[spitfisher]

Good to know thanks

 

[Vdel]

Every time I read this, and know the ex is running with kids with in 2 feet of the exhaust pipes makes me sick to my stomach.

CO is lighter then air, with the hatch open it will act like an umbrella, some will go to the atmosphere, some will go into the car, and with kids 2 feet away of the exhaust pipes, what you are doing is CO poisoning your kids.

Are you bananas man! never said the car was running, But thanks for the lesson in umbrella nature of the rear hatch and CO

 

[Vdel]

..:scratch:..With the use of the search function at the top of the page I quickly found this answer to have the hatch open and the radio on at the drive in..
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2784543&postcount=28

..It is from this discussion thread..
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=324665

Thanks for this. I'll give it a try. Should have searched for "drive-in"

 

[Cole C]

If you are going to the driven movie theater and want to sit in the back with the tailgate up unfortunately your overhead dome lights will stay on and its very distracting

You’ll have to trick your car into thinking the tailgate is shut so follow these steps

1. Turn car off and leave the keys in the acc
position in the ignition ( you’ll need to do this so your radio can still be on to tune into the movie audio )

2. Step out and shut your door and walk to the tailgate

3. Open the tailgate which will cause the lights to come on

4. Take a flat head screwdriver or some other rod and on the latch to the tailgate push it up to the closed position

( Closed position )

5. Manually shut the tailgate ( it will not latch because its now in the locked position ) this will trick the sensor into thinking it’s closed

6. Manually open your tailgate and your dome lights should be off


To close the tailgate once finished with the movie do the following

1. Press the tailgate button on your dash this will unlock the latch but the tailgate will remain open

2. The latch should now be in the open position

(Open position)

3. Manually shut the tailgate

4. Get back in your explorer and start it and watch for warning lights indicating that a door is open ( if it is then step back out and give the tailgate a shove to ensure its latched )

5. All done head on home.

 

[J_C]

Can't you just hit the button on the light or press the indentation or something to have it shut off? My '14 owners manual mentions a few of these things but doesn't elaborate on whether it applies with the key in the run position. Wait, don't you mean the aux position instead of run? Heh, you can tell I haven't watched a movie at a drive in... in... ages, like the mid '80s or so.

 

[Cole C]

Can't you just hit the button on the light or press the indentation or something to have it shut off? My '14 owners manual mentions a few of these things but doesn't elaborate on whether it applies with the key in the run position. Wait, don't you mean the aux position instead of run? Heh, you can tell I haven't watched a movie at a drive in... in... ages, like the mid '80s or so

Yeah aux couldn’t think of the name but yes unfortunately at least for my 2012 if any of the doors are open the interior dome lights will come on and stay on. Pressing the button on the lights does nothing which is kinda dumb but oh well. So youve got to trick the car into thinking all the doors are shut.

 

[peterk9]

All lights should be turned OFF by the Battery Saver program after 10 minutes. However, if a door is closed and opened again the 10 minute timer will restart.

Peter