Black Yeti on a (very) Black night!

[Ooopnorth]

Week 3 of ownership and I drove the Yeti for the first time in the dark yesterday on the way back from Keswick over the Pennines. This turned out to be quite memorable!

Leaving Keswick with the light switch in the 'auto' position, this allowed the xenons to fire up nicely as we climbed Kirkstone Pass - all going well. It was lovely cruising along the A66 eastwards (but what are those two tiny very bright LEDs up by the mirror? And I seem to have an inverted reflection of the speedo at the top of the windscreen and driver's side window - no major hassle) and we then turned off onto the small, steep, winding, snow-poled, B-road just after Brough to begin the long solitary climb over pennines fells.

All went very well until encroaching banks of fog began to rear up. No hassle...I'll switch on the fog-lights, although my first attempts to tug on the switch (in the auto position remember) drew a blank as it refused to pull out (as it used to do on the old Octy and does on the Fabia - without the auto). Ah ha! Me thinks. I simply need to flick the switch one more notch to the right and pull again, right? (WRONG!!!), Which plunged the entire car interior plus occupants and what seemed to be the whole western world into a totally, complete, your worst-lunar-eclipse-type-of-nightmare level of utter darkness, which at 50 mph on a v curvy unfenced moorland road caused quite a stir from those onboard (think primal we're-all-going-to-die screams). Fortunately, apart from my now ex-friends (who will be sending me their laundry bills) there were only a few scattered sheep to witness the near catastrophe, and my idiocy, before what seemed like many tortuous aeons, and I eventually realised that..yes... it had to go one more notch again to the right!!!! Note to self - use the bloody good-old-fashion manual switch position next time (and fortunately there will be a next time). Hey ho, you live (sometimes) and learn

Edited 14 October, 2012 by Ooopnorth

[The Plumber]

Great post made me

Yes one of the daftest designed switches I've ever come across. Had similar with the previous Yeti, in that the lights would go out for a split second as you transited from auto to the second position, unless you turned the switch with some speed.

TP

[weasley]

I've done it in the Yeti and the B Class, which uses exactly the same layout. The Merc at least gives you a second or so before lights out (enough time to switch through to 'on', if you're thinking about it).

[dbg400]

Discovered the same thing last week, though at dusk rather than when it was pitch black! Glad you kept it together!

[oriki]

Brilliant,ooopnorth.When you decide to take up writing seriously and publish something,I shall be your most faithful reader!

[900000]

I also discovered this with the fogs. They are so rarely used and the Auto switch just allows you to never need think of the lights that I was a but baffled at first as to how to switch the fogs on too! But at least I was not donig 50mph on a winding road!!!

[yetifabia]

Having read this I decided to try it out! Last night on a pitch black but dead straight country road doing 20mph. Even though I was expecting it, it was seriously alarming! I think the worst thing was the loss of all the interior lights, including of course, the illumination on the light switch.

I think this is downright dangerous.

[JCP]

I agree, poor and thoughtless design with a real safety problem. We will have to wait until, in some more litigious society, VAG are sued after a foreseeable accident.

[domhnall]

a friend of mine did this when he was driving a mini bus full of us (mainly drunk) on a similar road. He yelled "engage romulan cloaking device" before turning the lights off.

Maniac

[domhnall]

PS the passengers were mainly drunk, he and I were not

(just to be clear)

[JCP]

I was once pillion on a 250 British bike in the middle of the countryside in pitch darkness-in that case it was "Joe Lucas, Prince of Darkness" at work. Spontaneous total light failure, effectively instantaneous blindness....

[weasley]

I had a motorbike headlight bulb blow at <ahem> mph on a totally unlit, pitch black A road in the middle of December. Luckily it was a straight bit (and I know the road well) but it took me by surprise and it felt like ages before I had the idea to flick the main beam on. Oddly I never braked or even eased off.

[Sandy.Rogers]

Leaving Keswick with the light switch in the 'auto' position, this allowed the xenons to fire up nicely as we climbed Kirkstone Pass

Being 'local' I'm a tad bit confused how you would leave Keswick and go over Kirkstone Pass to the A66 - unless of course you meant Kendal?

[Brijo]

Being 'local' I'm a tad bit confused how you would leave Keswick and go over Kirkstone Pass to the A66 - unless of course you meant Kendal?

Surely via Ambleside and Ullswater - why take a short cut when you have the chance to 'do' Kirkstone in a Yeti?!