How to turn lights off when idling

[cwescapexlt4x4]

Most vehicles if you apply the e brake or parking brake it will kill the drl's. Canadian ones too.

I was thinking this as well.... Our VW works this way.

 

[jmr061]

Kinda related to this...anyone with the Sport...do you have any amber parking lights to the front besides the two little amber LEDs on each side of the headlight assembly?

 

[Bill #5 Explorer]

Most vehicles if you apply the e brake or parking brake it will kill the drl's. Canadian ones too.

I tired this on the Explorer. The DRL's did not turn off with the e-brake.

 

[jdgohus]

Kinda related to this...anyone with the Sport...do you have any amber parking lights to the front besides the two little amber LEDs on each side of the headlight assembly?

It is the same for my Sport, just the 2 LED's on the side. The front turn signal bulbs do not come on when set to parking, only when turning. The big amber reflector on the sides of the headlight assembly must be for looks only, never lights up.

 

[jmr061]

It is the same for my Sport, just the 2 LED's on the side. The front turn signal bulbs do not come on when set to parking, only when turning. The big amber reflector on the sides of the headlight assembly must be for looks only, never lights up.

Thanks for checking...after posting I search for a couple hours and found videos of the Sport and Platinum and same thing, no front facing amber.

I pulled out the turn signal bulb and the parking light filament is there and the wiring under the hood for it exists...they choose just not to use it. How thoughtful.....Even the service manual shows all the wiring exists and has a complete troubleshooting guide for if they don't work.

My guess is they have them shut off in the programming somewhere.

 

[613GT500]

When I pull into a parking lot and want to just idle, waiting for someone, how can I turn my lights off? I have a 2016 Ford Explorer Sport. The daytime running lights are set, I turn off the lights (take it off auto). I have even gone into settings and turned off auto daytime running lights and that didn't make any difference. My outside edge lights are still on. How can I turn them off when I am just idling??? HELP....

Bumping this thread for you,as I was able to see the LED accent light and low beams turn off while the car was running.
While the car was running I had to step back into the house and to prevent the double horn honk, I left the door slightly ajar and when I returned about 5mins later; all lights were off.

When I got back in and closed the door, both LED accent and low beam turned back on (lights set on auto).

 

[peterk9]

Bumping this thread for you,as I was able to see the LED accent light and low beams turn off while the car was running.
While the car was running I had to step back into the house and to prevent the double horn honk, I left the door slightly ajar and when I returned about 5mins later; all lights were off.

When I got back in and closed the door, both LED accent and low beam turned back on (lights set on auto).

You mean you didn't try holding the fob against the 'B' pillar when closing the door to prevent the double honk as suggested in another thread?
It works on my MKT.

Peter

 

[iwaldrum]

awesome information!

Great clarification... Anyone figure out if there is a way to only have the signature lamps on at full brightness during the day while driving? Looks great on my tahoe.. Wife just got the 2016 sport and was hoping to get the same look..

 

[peterk9]

Great clarification... Anyone figure out if there is a way to only have the signature lamps on at full brightness during the day while driving? Looks great on my tahoe.. Wife just got the 2016 sport and was hoping to get the same look..

Welcome to the Forum.:wavey:
I believe the signature lights only have one level of brightness. They are used as the DRLs here in Canada.

Peter

 

[jmr061]

Welcome to the Forum.:wavey:
I believe the signature lights only have one level of brightness. They are used as the DRLs here in Canada.

Peter

They are? I thought the led lowbeams were?

 

[peterk9]

They are? I thought the led lowbeams were?

So did I until I saw an oncoming Explorer the other day and it only had the Signature lights on. No LED low beams. As far as I know there is no way to turn DRLs off here. I have also seen the Signature lights and LED low beams on during the day.

Peter

 

[613GT500]

So did I until I saw an oncoming Explorer the other day and it only had the Signature lights on. No LED low beams. As far as I know there is no way to turn DRLs off here. I have also seen the Signature lights and LED low beams on during the day.

Peter

This topic is hilarious...good humor.
In Canada, the setting to disable the lowbeam (daytime running lights), is not present, thus why our vehicles always have both signature and lowbeams on; at all times.

Daytime= signature+lowbeam (at a reduced intensity)
Nigh=lowbeam+signature (at a reduced intensity).

Via IDS programming, or forscan; it appears that we can disable the lowbeams.

 

[peterk9]

This topic is hilarious...good humor.
In Canada, the setting to disable the lowbeam (daytime running lights), is not present, thus why our vehicles always have both signature and lowbeams on; at all times.

Daytime= signature+lowbeam (at a reduced intensity)
Nigh=lowbeam+signature (at a reduced intensity).

Via IDS programming, or forscan; it appears that we can disable the lowbeams.

That is what I thought but as I said, I saw one with just the Signature lights on.

Peter

 

[jdgohus]

I have found that if you only want the signature lamps on during the day, you must have DRL disabled and have your lamp switch set to OFF. If you have DRL enabled and in drive, the LED low beams will also come on with the signature lamps.

 

[peterk9]

I have found that if you only want the signature lamps on during the day, you must have DRL disabled and have your lamp switch set to OFF. If you have DRL enabled and in drive, the LED low beams will also come on with the signature lamps.

Canadian models don't have the DRL disable function as has been mentioned. The use of DRL is mandated by law. I realize the ones manufactured for the U.S. are different.
Thanks.

Peter

 

[chazglenn3]

I have found that if you only want the signature lamps on during the day, you must have DRL disabled and have your lamp switch set to OFF. If you have DRL enabled and in drive, the LED low beams will also come on with the signature lamps.

And the LED low beams are at a reduced intensity.

 

[wizardeye]

Hey I think I've got a solution for everyone.
The key was the notes above indicating that the headlights (including the signature LED's) were off when in autolamp during the day.

To achieve the same thing at night you need to trick the light sensor that it's day.
Just did this by putting a small LED flashlight on the light sensor. In my case a cheep small flat rectangular light with the LED's on the flat side. It lies pretty flat and there's little light bleed (maybe cover it with a dishcloth to stop the little bit of light bleed)

Now when in autolamp there is NO lights while the engine is running at night (That in combo with enabling the police dark car feature that disables the interior\exterior courtesy lighting when opening\closing doors or rear hatch) and now I think I'm FINALLY ready for the drive-in..... Last trip out there got me several visits from staff about the signature lights. It's embarrassing to be the only car at the drive-in with illumination (from doors or running the engine)... Every other car manufacture seems to have it figured this out but for our brand new 2016 XLT Explorer it was glowing like there is no tomorrow until now.

I've got half a mind to investigate if there is any way to just make the light sensor always think it's day... (adjust sensitivity so a light reading of 0=day)
Then autolamp (in my case) would always mean headlights OFF... where as all other light settings (including off) has some form of front-end illumination while the engine is running.

 

[peterk9]

I believe that the sensor also determines the brightness of the dash lights. If that is so, you'll have to adjust those as well as the MFT, I think. Good idea though that want a completely dark car at night.

Peter

 

[wizardeye]

Excellent observation.
Yes If I could trick the light sensor into thinking that it's day all the time it would effectively also mean disabling all of the auto dimming dash\radio displays as well. (which I could live with in my case) Also a lawyer I'm sure could argue that it's "hazardous" to anyone relying on the autolight selector to enable the headlights. (which I could NOT live with if not disclosed, but as long as it's just my vehicle I know what I'm getting into and as long as its disclosed to the person I may or may not sell sell the car to I hope it's ok.)

In my specific case where I go to the local drive in often (just parked, no significant driving vibration) this will work for me. Most any other time I like the signature lights because they look pretty cool.

I also attend the occasional star party (they hate light more than the drive in) and the same stuff applies... I need try to lay off the brakes (stay in 1st gear) around the star party folks when showing up or leaving (all light = bad) at least the tail lights are red but its a bright red when applied. Once you get away from the observation site no one cares but any light near a star party when people are observing or imaging is VERY impolite! Most people spend the night so they don't need to worry about it but in my specific case local star party's is when I can meet immediate relatives who live out of state so it's a convenient get together. Also if you ever get a chance to see a star cluster (M13) with your own eye's with good magnification on a clear night take it up. It's VERY impressive!

 

[VDub18]

When I pull into a parking lot and want to just idle, waiting for someone, how can I turn my lights off? I have a 2016 Ford Explorer Sport. The daytime running lights are set, I turn off the lights (take it off auto). I have even gone into settings and turned off auto daytime running lights and that didn't make any difference. My outside edge lights are still on. How can I turn them off when I am just idling??? HELP....

My husband and I ran into this problem just last night. We took our children to the drive-in where we needed to simply be in park with the lights off as to not bother those around us and inhibit the screen view. We looked at many many sites with no such luck as to how to turn off the white light strip around the headlights. That's when my husband had the idea to simply pop the hood and unplug the lights for the time being while we watched the movie. I don't think that's the best solution for each and every time that you'd like the lights off completely. But I know that is the solution we will use the next time we go to the drive-in. I hope that helped.