Disable LED Signature Lights

[jctilton]

My agency just purchased a 2016 Ford Explorer which will be used as a police vehicle. It does not have the "police package" as it will be used as an undercover vehicle. It's just an XLT from the dealer.

I do a lot of surveillance and the LED Signature Lights make that a little bit tough at night. I have read and read on how to disable these and I can't seem to find an answer. I don't care if I have to cut wires...I just need to know which ones to cut

Thanks!
JT

 

[jmr061]

I think you are going to be out of luck....the service manual description leads me to believe those are tied directly in with the low beams and are controlled by network commands.

Those also act as forward facing parking lights unless for some reason you have functional amber parking lights in the front turn signal??

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

I don't think anyone has wanted to disable them (but your reason makes complete sense).

 

[jade97]

My suggestion is to talk to the dealer. They may have the capability to disable via IDS.

 

[jmr061]

My suggestion is to talk to the dealer. They may have the capability to disable via IDS.

I have already been into IDS on the 2016 Explorer and nothing like that exists. There is an option to select headlamp type and there are 4 types. I changed mine to every type and it didn't seem to change anything.

 

[jctilton]

Thanks for the advice everybody. We talked to a few different people at Ford today, but none of them could give us an answer. The only thing left to do is to install an aftermarket switch that allows me to manually kill the headlights. That install is scheduled for tomorrow. I'll let y'all know how it turns out if you're interested.

JT

 

[jmr061]

Thanks for the advice everybody. We talked to a few different people at Ford today, but none of them could give us an answer. The only thing left to do is to install an aftermarket switch that allows me to manually kill the headlights. That install is scheduled for tomorrow. I'll let y'all know how it turns out if you're interested.

JT

Yes I would be interested to know how that goes.

 

[jctilton]

I just ran into something called "dark mode" which apparently disables the courtesy lamps. I'm guessing this doesn't disable the signature lamps though???

 

[jmr061]

I just ran into something called "dark mode" which apparently disables the courtesy lamps. I'm guessing this doesn't disable the signature lamps though???

Dark car will kill the lighting that comes on with opening a door. The signature lights will not be affected.

You would probably want dark car enabled however.

 

[jctilton]

I had the install done this morning and it works like a charm. The guys put a toggle switch to the left of the steering wheel and so far so good. No error codes, warning lights, or annoying dings. From now on I'm just going to leave my headlights on the auto setting and flip the switch when I'm doing surveillance. The switch also keeps the interior lights from coming on when I turn the engine off so that's a plus. I don't know if I would even benefit from the "dark mode" tweak at this point, but if the dealership will do it for me I might as well give it a shot.

Now if I could just get the horn to stop blowing when I walk away with the truck running! I've read the other threads about it, and it looks like my only option there is to just disconnect the horn. That wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for me since I have an air horn on my siren control, but it still seems crazy.

 

[peterk9]

I had the install done this morning and it works like a charm. The guys put a toggle switch to the left of the steering wheel and so far so good. No error codes, warning lights, or annoying dings. From now on I'm just going to leave my headlights on the auto setting and flip the switch when I'm doing surveillance. The switch also keeps the interior lights from coming on when I turn the engine off so that's a plus. I don't know if I would even benefit from the "dark mode" tweak at this point, but if the dealership will do it for me I might as well give it a shot.

Now if I could just get the horn to stop blowing when I walk away with the truck running! I've read the other threads about it, and it looks like my only option there is to just disconnect the horn. That wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for me since I have an air horn on my siren control, but it still seems crazy.

You can hold the keyfob against the 'B' pillar when closing the door and the horn won't sound.

Peter

 

[johnnnyo]

I had the install done this morning and it works like a charm. The guys put a toggle switch to the left of the steering wheel and so far so good. No error codes, warning lights, or annoying dings. From now on I'm just going to leave my headlights on the auto setting and flip the switch when I'm doing surveillance. The switch also keeps the interior lights from coming on when I turn the engine off so that's a plus. I don't know if I would even benefit from the "dark mode" tweak at this point, but if the dealership will do it for me I might as well give it a shot.

Now if I could just get the horn to stop blowing when I walk away with the truck running! I've read the other threads about it, and it looks like my only option there is to just disconnect the horn. That wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for me since I have an air horn on my siren control, but it still seems crazy.

Who did the work? I need this toggle switch for when I go to the drive in.

 

[Napalm]

On my 2016 explorer I got in the veichle settings and under lighting turned off the daytime running lights - this seems to have turned off the LED strip that used to come on with the headlamps all the time.

so now my car is dark on the front - I think. Need to recheck I guess.

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

in AUTO, the LED surrounds will be OFF

in OFF the LED surrounds will be ON

The DRL is separate in the control/action/menu from the surround LEDs

 

[JE]

Who did the work? I need this toggle switch for when I go to the drive in.

Not sure if it's practical for JT, but would setting the parking brake work for the drive-in? It usually shuts off this type of thing.

 

[TinMan4154]

in AUTO, the LED surrounds will be OFF

in OFF the LED surrounds will be ON

The DRL is separate in the control/action/menu from the surround LEDs

I'm pretty sure the LED signature surrounds are on while mine is in AUTO mode. My DRLs are also on.

 

[613GT500]

On my Canadian version, both led accent lighting and low beam headlights are always on; when set to auto.

 

[Sgt1411]

www.intermotive.net

They make an aftermarket Police Interface Module (PIM) that will do several things with lighting. They call their proprietary system "Blackout Mode" Parked or low speed total darkness for Law Enforcement.

Its plug and play.

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

I'm pretty sure the LED signature surrounds are on while mine is in AUTO mode. My DRLs are also on.

They should only be on in AUTO if your headlights are ON (dark enough to trigger them lighting up). In daylight they should be off in auto. (USA model)

 

[edub]

www.intermotive.net

They make an aftermarket Police Interface Module (PIM) that will do several things with lighting. They call their proprietary system "Blackout Mode" Parked or low speed total darkness for Law Enforcement.

Its plug and play.

and he drops the mic and walks off stage!!!