Fog Light Question

[peterk9]

My dealer told me they tried, but could not get it programmed for the amber lights to stay on as DRL's. I'll try again at next service.

Not looking for brighter lights, just want to be seen in the daylight as I live in a rural area with a lack of stop lights, have seen too many accidents where one car didn't see the other.

The LED fog lights turn off when the HID's come on, so not an issue when dark.

Not worried about lack of heat melting snow or ice as it does not snow here. California central coast- today about 80F

Lucky you. It's 40 F here today. It has been above average for most of Winter. Average should be about 28 F. My sister and her family live in San Jose.
The ambers should be programmable. As I mentioned several members have had it done. One mentioned that the service guy couldn't do it but did eventually get it done. See the thread DRL on which tropicvi posted the following;

daytime running light are available on ALL 2011 explorers. Your dealer will say no. However i followed another thread here, and went to the dealer armed with information. the tech fought me with the "module is not included" routine. I said hook up your laptop and we'll see. he said it will cost you... I said do it. In the choices after verifying the VIN is a selection called "exterior lighting". Enter that and select Daytime running lights ... two choices exist... enable - disable (default is disabled) so I had him select enable... at that point he said done, unplugged... we check, they did not work... he said that was because the "module" was not there. I asked him to do it again, only don't be so stubborn, and follow my requests since you are billing me... So, back through the same routine, only after selecting enable, he has to go back in and do the second line which is to chose which lights are to be activated. In my case the only choice was parking lights, since the headlights are HID (not shown as such on my option sheet). After doing that, bingo... DRL working. the tech was amazed... did not charge me, because he said he learned something he had not know from FORD U... So it really IS just a software switch.

Hope that helps.

Peter

 

[ExploreThis2012]

Spent the last hour on phone with dealer then Ford. Short answer, yes amber lights can be enabled to act as DRL's. They are set for Canadian and fleet vehicles.
However, USA dealer is not authorized to make this option to be enabled. Does not mean it can't be done, it's just not an authorized procedure by Ford.

Why? More phone calls. Find out that in some states driving with amber parking lights is illegal. Why?
More calls and Googling. Find out the amber lights may be confusing to some drivers.

Solution- Remove drivers from road that get confused by seeing car with amber lights on during the day.

It is refreshing to know that nanny state is alive and well in not giving us this option in the U.S. Next on the agenda, place driver in soundproof cone so as to not become distracted by other occupants in vehicle. Um, come to think of it, that might not be a bad option.

In the meantime, my LED fog lights will do as I intended.

Incidentally, Corvette utilizes amber parking lights as DRL's

 

[peterk9]

Spent the last hour on phone with dealer then Ford. Short answer, yes amber lights can be enabled to act as DRL's. They are set for Canadian and fleet vehicles.
However, USA dealer is not authorized to make this option to be enabled. Does not mean it can't be done, it's just not an authorized procedure by Ford.

Why? More phone calls. Find out that in some states driving with amber parking lights is illegal. Why?
More calls and Googling. Find out the amber lights may be confusing to some drivers.

Solution- Remove drivers from road that get confused by seeing car with amber lights on during the day.

It is refreshing to know that nanny state is alive and well in not giving us this option in the U.S. Next on the agenda, place driver in soundproof cone so as to not become distracted by other occupants in vehicle. Um, come to think of it, that might not be a bad option.

In the meantime, my LED fog lights will do as I intended.

Incidentally, Corvette utilizes amber parking lights as DRL's

I have scanned the Internet and saw other forums, reports that U.S. vehicles are using amber DRL's. I doubt that the Canadian models have the Enable/Disable feature since here it is the law to have them. Also, the amber DRL's on the Explorer are brighter than then when they are used as parking lights. They have 2 levels of brightness.
After reading about others on this Forum having the ambers Enabled as DRL, this is the first time it has been suggested that it is not allowed. They can be enabled simply by having the dealer plug in their laptop and selecting that feature. I would suggest visiting another dealer if you want it done.

NOTE: I did a quick Internet search and found that in 1993 the NHTSA approved the use of DRL's in ALL 50 states although I believe I read that yellow headlights are not allowed in California. Perhaps you can check with the local police or CHP just to be sure.

Peter