Automatic driving lamp control

[JoePeddos]

Now the evenings are darker and I am using my lights more I am still not 100% sure what the automatic driving lamp controlle does. I have read the handbook (as in when all else fails) and still don't understand why when I turn the side lights on then switch to automatic the sidelights go out. Must be 2 many years with only a sidelight and dipped headlight switch never had this problem with the acetylene lamps Joe

[JoePeddos]

Now the evenings are darker and I am using my lights more I am still not 100% sure what the automatic driving lamp controlle does. I have read the handbook (as in when all else fails) and still don't understand why when I turn the side lights on then switch to automatic the sidelights go out. Must be 2 many years with only a sidelight and dipped headlight switch never had this problem with the acetylene lamps Joe

[CapstanPlug]

Now the evenings are darker and I am using my lights more I am still not 100% sure what the automatic driving lamp controlle does. I have read the handbook (as in when all else fails) and still don't understand why when I turn the side lights on then switch to automatic the sidelights go out. Must be 2 many years with only a sidelight and dipped headlight switch never had this problem with the acetylene lamps Joe

 

 

When you say the "sidelights go out", Joe - do you mean the Headlights come on?  On Auto - you get DRL during the day, and then when the light level drops, Auto puts on dipped Headlights and dims the DRL LEDs to a lower intensity (i.e. the sidelights ).  

I do hope you're not talking about driving with sidelights only, Joe???  

[rum4mo]

Oh dear, some misinformed person will probably come back with "they are XENON lights not acetylene lights!"  My father had a pair of old carbide lights stashed away in a workshop, pity that when he went to grab them before leaving that job, some other lucky person had found them!

 

I'm a bit mistrustful of these auto lights in certain conditions, so tend to play safe, and they are annoying when you park in your garage.

Edited 14 September, 2015 by rum4mo

[JoePeddos]

Oh dear, some misinformed person will probably come back with "they are XENON lights not acetylene lights!" 

Well you have to be of a certain age to know what acetylene or carbide lamps are

I really need to park behind a nice shiny car in the dark to see exactly what happens when switched to automatic. As far as I have seen so far putting the switch to the first position I get the normal orangey side light and same colour with the dipped headlamps.

Joe

[alltorque]

Oh dear, some misinformed person will probably come back with "they are XENON lights not acetylene lights!" 

Well you have to be of a certain age to know what acetylene or carbide lamps are

I really need to park behind a nice shiny car in the dark to see exactly what happens when switched to automatic. As far as I have seen so far putting the switch to the first position I get the normal orangey side light and same colour with the dipped headlamps.

Joe

Put the switch to "Auto" and leave it there. During the day you will just have the front DRLs on. When it starts to get dark the automsystm will switch on the dipped headlights and rear lights....you will see the green "sidelights" lamp illuminate. System will also bring on the dipped headlights and rear lights when the auto windscreen wipers start due to rain. You only ever need to leave the light switch in "Auto" in normal circumstances. No point in having a dog and barking yourself.

[Amartha]

Of course, if you don't have auto wipers, determining when it is the right time to manually turn on your lights remains your decision. Personally, I found that I was constantly looking at the green 'tell tale' by the side of the light selector to make sure that it had turned on the lights when I judged that they should be on as frequently they weren't when I judged that I required either the rear lights or additional front lighting. I now leave it in auto for normal use so as to be sure of having at least the daytime running lights, but positively (manually) selecting lights (ie dip beam/rear lights) 'on' whenever I consider the conditions require it to be required. My paranoia may have something to do with having survived 40 years of motorcycling, I suspect!

[alltorque]

Of course, if you don't have auto wipers, determining when it is the right time to manually turn on your lights remains your decision. Personally, I found that I was constantly looking at the green 'tell tale' by the side of the light selector to make sure that it had turned on the lights when I judged that they should be on as frequently they weren't when I judged that I required either the rear lights or additional front lighting. I now leave it in auto for normal use so as to be sure of having at least the daytime running lights, but positively (manually) selecting lights (ie dip beam/rear lights) 'on' whenever I consider the conditions require it to be required. My paranoia may have something to do with having survived 40 years of motorcycling, I suspect!

Must admit to a similar slight paranoia. Last car was a Volvo and everything was on all the time, so could be ignored. Fabia is only just a week old so building trust. Auto lights come on just about when I'd like them to - they are set on Medium - but I may change setting to Early or whatever it is just to bring them on a little sooner. Will have a play.

[rum4mo]

On the subject of trusting "auto-lights", I was out yesterday in poor conditions, "white sky with mist and later some rain" - I checked the car on "auto-lights" against a shop window, at the beginning of the journey, ie before it started to rain, only DRLs on, so I switched the lights on manually. As far as I could work out, quite a lot of people were driving on only DRLs, which is not good on fastish roads with no rear lights on, though maybe that was just down to the normal "I can see without the lights being on" rather than "auto-lights" being a bit lazy, I think that on some module versions, you can increase/decrease the "auto-light" function using VCDS etc if you find your car is not switching early enough. All I can say is "take care and make sure that that your car auto-lights switching is okay for where you live (local weather conditions) and where you are travelling to".

[JoePeddos]

Thanks rum4mo if I understand it correctly turning the lights on manually turns on the rear lights as well but using auto lights you could be in a situation where the front DRL's are on and ideally the rear lights should be on for the road condition but the sensor is only looking at the light intensity so does not turn them on. I checked my car tonight it has a sensor on the back of the mirror but going through the settings on the car I could not see an option of adjusting the light sensitivity. I have read on other posts of readers who have 3 settings early, a standard setting and late. Maybe I am looking in the wrong place. I found a tick box to turn the DRL's off but no other settings Joe

[EdinKent]

Does anyone remember a couple of decades ago when we only switched our headlights on after we spotted that the streetlights were on? I remember. We had pea souper fogs and Vera Lynn was still played on crystal radio sets in the dining room, while digesting lard roasted meat and potatoes. Dark days they were.

But still, we managed to spot cars on the street through the gloom, and only occasionally squished the odd stray dog on our front chrome bumpers..

But in those dim distant memories I recall being taught to keep my distance and look through the windscreen for any signs of danger.. and stay awake..

Not necessary these days with all our automated safety features .. We can hurtle straight into one another safe in the knowledge that we can't possibly be to blame because our DRL's were on, or auto lights, or adaptive idiot controlled cruise features, or auto park assist while we sleep, driver fatigue sensing auto face slap paddles, bouncy castle shaped child friendly air bags front, rear and boot for when the dog tags along, auto pause rewind and try that again time machine...

Let's get it over with and bring on the driverless cars please, because we've obviously got bored of having to do it ourselves..!

Edited 16 September, 2015 by EdinKent

[rum4mo]

Thanks rum4mo if I understand it correctly turning the lights on manually turns on the rear lights as well but using auto lights you could be in a situation where the front DRL's are on and ideally the rear lights should be on for the road condition but the sensor is only looking at the light intensity so does not turn them on. I checked my car tonight it has a sensor on the back of the mirror but going through the settings on the car I could not see an option of adjusting the light sensitivity. I have read on other posts of readers who have 3 settings early, a standard setting and late. Maybe I am looking in the wrong place. I found a tick box to turn the DRL's off but no other settings Joe

 

Hi Joe, yes that is right, I stupidly left the lights on my Audi S4 on manual when I bought it and once or twice found that in the darker mornings moving into winter that year, I thought my lights were on as the DRLs were that bright - big mistake luckily caught in time and switched lights either on manually or to auto! I've forgotten where to find and change "when" they come on in the Polo SEL, but I see that some cars do have access via the MMI unit.

[alltorque]

Hi Joe, yes that is right, I stupidly left the lights on my Audi S4 on manual when I bought it and once or twice found that in the darker mornings moving into winter that year, I thought my lights were on as the DRLs were that bright - big mistake luckily caught in time and switched lights either on manually or to auto! I've forgotten where to find and change "when" they come on in the Polo SEL, but I see that some cars do have access via the MMI unit.

Setting for sensitivity is built into the Bolero infotainment unit. On that unit select CAR tHen SETTINGS (gearwheels symbol) then LIGHT. You now have all sorts of options to play with. EARLY, MEDIUM, LATE adjust the sensitivity of the auto lights sensor. EARLY is more sensitive = comes on earlier/sooner, LATE is less sensitive = come on later. All the other light settings are in the menu also. All explained on Page 51 of the Bolero Operating Instructions booklet. The Bolero unit really is the heart of the car's systems and the booklet is a must read.

Hope this helps.

[D4V3]

Turning lights on is something that should happen only once or so a journey, so I don't think it's worth the hassle to have it automatic if there's any doubt over their effectiveness

 

My (limited) experience of rain-sensing wipers also suggests they are more effort than they save

[rum4mo]

I've tended to stick with what the rain sensing wipers want to do, I've had them in cars since 2000, the only time they get annoying is when they go onto fast speed just when the rain is easing off and seem to take ages to slow back down. Of course on all the newer VAG cars, you can leave them on, the previous models we had needed the system resetting after you cycled the ignition, which was a bit of a pain to remember.

[Joe_Peddos]

Setting for sensitivity is built into the Bolero infotainment unit. On that unit select CAR tHen SETTINGS (gearwheels symbol) then LIGHT. You now have all sorts of options to play with. EARLY, MEDIUM, LATE adjust the sensitivity of the auto lights sensor. EARLY is more sensitive = comes on earlier/sooner, LATE is less sensitive = come on later. All the other light settings are in the menu also. All explained on Page 51 of the Bolero Operating Instructions booklet. The Bolero unit really is the heart of the car's systems and the booklet is a must read.

Hope this helps.

 

Hi Alltorque looked where you suggested everything but the Early Medium and Late settings are there. Looks as if it has been missed off when the car was set up should not take a techy with a laptop long to fix. Went to Beamish open air museum in the old garage there was a display case of bits and pieces including a stethoscope wonder if a techy would have a clue what to do with it. I suppose it was the USB cable of its day just plug it into a brain instead of a laptop Joe 

[ME@DK]

Hi Alltorque looked where you suggested everything but the Early Medium and Late settings are there. Looks as if it has been missed off when the car was set up should not take a techy with a laptop long to fix. Went to Beamish open air museum in the old garage there was a display case of bits and pieces including a stethoscope wonder if a techy would have a clue what to do with it. I suppose it was the USB cable of its day just plug it into a brain instead of a laptop Joe 

 

First, do you have rain sensor?

 

The settings are only available, via Bolero, at cars with auto wipers / rain sensor.

Edited 16 September, 2015 by ME@DK

[JoePeddos]

Hi ME@DK if this is a paid for extra no I don't have the rain sensor that would explain why I don't have the extra light settings.

I was driving home in the dark tonight on some unlit roads with automatic lights switched on, the dipped headlights were working ok. Joe

[alltorque]

First, do you have rain sensor?

 

The settings are only available, via Bolero, at cars with auto wipers / rain sensor.

Apologies, Joe. Made a wrong assumption. At least the auto lights are working to your satisfaction.