New Yeti Owner ... couple of questions on lighting ...

[Cornish_Lad]

Hi all,

Finally succumbed and bought a 2015 2lt Diesel Yeti last weekend (only £30 road tax ).  Reluctantly traded in the 2007 Octavia, which although was fine, was starting to cause me problems access wise due to a hip injury that is now limiting my access / movement :(

Have a couple of queries about the lights etc, hoping someone more knowledgable will be able to answer ?

• When on dipped beam, there is no 'warning' light in the dash (no green dipped beam symbol) ?
• Accidentally left my lights on one night, but didn't hear any 'lights left on alarm' ? Mind you, with the ignition off - the headlights were off anyway, maybe that's why ?
• Up above my head, where the lighting console / sunglasses holder sits, there are what looks like 2 little led lights, either side of the microphone ? Are these lights, or are they sensors for something ?
• Dashboard / instrument lighting ... I noticed that when driving though a dark, tree covered road last night, the dashboard lights (instrument cluster) dimmed automatically, so I could only see the needles ?? Not sure why ? Headlights weren't on - and I would have thought they would have gone brighter in the temporary darkness, not dimmer ?

Any thoughts ?

Cheers

[Kenny R]

1) The headlights on tell tale is on the light switch 

2) You don’t say what model you’ve got, but if you’ve got auto light there isn’t a problem.

3) Very useful “ cat’s eye “ lights that provide subtle lighting at night

4) The dash lights going dim are Skodas gentle reminder that it’s dark enough to have you headlights on, again if you have auto lights and leave the switch in auto you won’t see this again.

[J.R.]

I dont think that mine has dash lights, just illuminated needles and figures, they probably seemed brighter in the dark conditions. I find them too bright but there is no dimmer.

 

The Yeti has a very intelligent body control module, if you leave your headlights switched on and lock the vehicle they will shut down after a short period, if you leave the sidelights on they will remain on as they are for emergency use. The interior lights also shut down after a timed period in case the rear hatch was not properly closed.

 

So you can leave headlights or interior lights on with no risk of flattening the battery but sidelights can as they should, none of us should be driving on sidelights so there is no risk.

[KenONeill]

26 minutes ago, J.R. said:

none of us should be driving on sidelights

You never drive in nighttime tailbacks where the traffic speed is under 15mph? Or use single track roads?

Edited 18 July, 2021 by KenONeill

[Schtum]

5 minutes ago, KenONeill said:

Or use single track roads?

 

Why would you drive on sidelights on single track roads?  Aye, I might well switch to sidelights if I pull into a passing place at night to let an oncoming vehicle pass.  However, I can't think of a circumstance, other than that, where I'd be on sidelights.

[KenONeill]

2 minutes ago, Schtum said:

 

Why would you drive on sidelights on single track roads?  Aye, I might well switch to sidelights if I pull into a passing place at night to let an oncoming vehicle pass.  However, I can't think of a circumstance, other than that, where I'd be on sidelights.

Exactly. So you need the ability to explicitly select "sidelights only".

[Frenchtone]

The 2 items above your head could be movement sensors for the alarm system!

[TruckbusUK]

Quote

• Up above my head, where the lighting console / sunglasses holder sits, there are what looks like 2 little led lights, either side of the microphone ? Are these lights, or are they sensors for something ?

 

Re the 2 small led's you mention only work if you dont have a pano roof, if you do then they are disabled ... it is mentioned in the owners handbook.

[J.R.]

46 minutes ago, KenONeill said:

You never drive in nighttime tailbacks where the traffic speed is under 15mph? Or use single track roads?

 

Never in the country from which I presume you are quoting the highway code

 

And even if I did on getting to my destination or home at night and forgetting to turn the light switch off, which was the object of my comment, the headlights would be turned on and not the sidelights.

[ejstubbs]

50 minutes ago, J.R. said:

Never in the country from which I presume you are quoting the highway code

 

I can find no specific reference to either of the situations Ken mentions in the UK Highway Code.  AFAIK there are no circumstances in which you are obliged to use only sidelights, although in situations such as being parked or broken down at night - when you are recommended to leave your sidelights on - it certainly wouldn't make a lot of sense to leave your headlights on as well (unless the visibility was really bad).

 

For parking, the Yeti has a feature whereby you can use the turn signal stalk to switch on the sidelight and rear light on the side of the vehicle adjacent to passing traffic.  Not everyone will necessarily be aware of this, however (I don't think I've ever seen it used) and TBH I think its usefulness is questionable.  (For those not familiar with the feature, the car pings at you when you move the turn signal stalk after you've turned the ignition off, in case you just nudged the stalk by mistake.  It turns the ping off when you close the doors and lock the car, but pings again when you unlock the car and open the door, to remind you that the parking lights are on.)

 

I wouldn't as a matter of course switch my headlights off if I was pulling in to a passing place to allow another vehicle to pass on a single track road.  I might make an exception if the topography meant that they were effectively approaching from downhill of my position and there was a risk that even dipped headlights might blind them but I'd imagine that sort of thing would occur pretty infrequently.

 

Where the 15mph traffic reference arises from I'm not at all sure.  Maybe someone can enlighten?  (See what I did there!)

[Cornish_Lad]

Cheers folks ... you've cleared up my queries

I don't have auto-lights, or a Panoramic Roof .... still intrigued by these small 'cats-eyes' lights .... Under what circumstances would they light up ?

When dipped beam is on, and door(s) are open ?

I honestly thought they were sensors for the interior alarm ....

[Cornish_Lad]

Re - driving on sidelights ... I was always under the impression that you can drive on sidelights in a built-up area ?  The highway code would seem to suggest this is allowed ...

[J.R.]

They are illuminated all the time, I am partially sighted and find them usefull to be able to guide my hand to the non illuminated switches for the map reading and interior lights.

 

I need to check my car because I think that it behaves differently to what has been stated here, I am certain I dont have panel lighting other than the LED light that bleeds through the legends and instrument needles.

 

I am also sure that if I switch off after a run leaving the headlights on that it doesn't beep to warn me because I had been driving a few days on headlights without realising, that said I was getting warning chimes when testing the trailer lighting, it was after switching the ignition off and getting out, it may have been because I had not run the engine.

 

More things to discover, from this forum I learned after 15 years that it is actually possible to deglaze my brakes by balancing the throttle against them, I had never learned the magic word!

[KenONeill]

@J.R. @ejstubbs - OK, what do you gain by potentially or actually dazzling oncoming traffic when you're stationary, or when you're following closely in slow moving traffic?

[Frenchtone]

My car beeps at me when only the side lights are left switched on when the ignition is turned off and the key removed, when the headlights are left on switching the ignition off and removing the key kills all lights left switched on!

Edited 18 July, 2021 by Frenchtone

[weasley]

On 18/07/2021 at 15:28, KenONeill said:

@J.R. @ejstubbs - OK, what do you gain by potentially or actually dazzling oncoming traffic when you're stationary, or when you're following closely in slow moving traffic?

Dipped beams are focussed to avoid dazzling.  It’s a requirement of Lighting regs and the MOT.

[J.R.]

On 18/07/2021 at 15:28, KenONeill said:

@J.R. @ejstubbs - OK, what do you gain by potentially or actually dazzling oncoming traffic when you're stationary, or when you're following closely in slow moving traffic?

 

Potentially dazzling?

 

How can you dazzle oncoming traffic with dipped headlights especially when you are following closely and slowly the car in front?

 

Have you expanded your conditions now from the single track roads which dont exist where I live?

[J.R.]

On 18/07/2021 at 15:46, Frenchtone said:

My car beeps at me when only the side lights are left switched on when the ignition is turned off and the key removed, when the headlights are left on switching the ignition off and removing the key kills all lights left switched on!

On reflection that must be exactly what mine does, and it makes sense, there is no risk of discharging the battery if the headlights are left on but there is if only sidelights.

[KenONeill]

1 hour ago, J.R. said:

single track roads which dont exist where I live

What does or does not exist where you live is not relevant to my point that there are nighttime conditions where dipped headlights are not needs, and can dazzle other drivers.

[J.R.]

Rightyho!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[J.R.]

On 18/07/2021 at 11:26, KenONeill said:

You never drive in nighttime tailbacks where the traffic speed is under 15mph? Or use single track roads?

 

[Urrell]

4 hours ago, KenONeill said:

What does or does not exist where you live is not relevant to my point that there are nighttime conditions where dipped headlights are not needs, and can dazzle other drivers.

If they dazzle other drivers they are damaged/adjusted wrong.
The idea several years ago of all cars fitted with dim/dip was to stop people driving on sidelights, there are no conditions for safely driving on sidelights.

[J.R.]

Mine only potentially dazzle but they can also transmit light through the slow moving car in front that I am following closely and potentially dazzle oncoming motorists.

 

I never used to drive at night but now I go out and travel a long way to find slow moving traffic in urban areas and single track roads in order to petentially dazzle any oncoming cars with my dipped beam headlights, I gain much pleasure from this new activity.

[Yety]

54 minutes ago, Urrell said:

The idea several years ago of all cars fitted with dim/dip was to stop people driving on sidelights, there are no conditions for safely driving on sidelights.

 Hehe - my Suzuki has dim/dip as OE, still working and confuses the hell out of the MoT man every year.

I think the idea was a UK initiative, but then the EU came along to say the idea was stupid, and then came out with DRL on only the front.

I sort of think the dim/dip was a better innovation in it's day, but then of course we all had to follow the "Scandinavian model" of driving around in daylight with lights on, which at the time was thought "funny" by southern Europeans with long daylight hours. 

Politics 

[Frenchtone]

2^  Thank you M Macron for my recently restored late night freedoms

Edited 21 July, 2021 by Frenchtone