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Probably a Stupid Question

M

MattF

New member
I've noticed that some Grand Prixs have their headlights off during the day. However in the 9 months I've had mine I've never seen a headlight switch to turn off the lights. Am I blind?
 


There is a thread somewhere on here about it, I don't think you can just pull the fuse in 01+ cars though but I could be wrong.
 


FFS people... daytime running lights are a safety feature.. why in hell are you disabling them? thats dumb... pure dumb...


-_=
 
Mad Monkey said:
FFS people... daytime running lights are a safety feature.. why in hell are you disabling them? thats dumb... pure dumb...
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if you're not smart enough to turn on your headlights when it's foggy, raining, snowing, etc. then you deserve to get in a wreck.

if you're not smart enough to turn on your headlights when it's dark outside then darwin is failing terribly.
 


DRL's are disabled for a number of reasons.
1. it will keep less of a constant strain on the alternator giving you very slightly better MPG's.
2. You will go through headlights less often.
3. Your headlamp housings should last a lot longer without getting foggy. Ever notice that on GP's, the headlight assembly is completely fogged over (plastic yellowed/deteriorated) by 100k, but the turn signal lights that are right next to it and made of the same material are still fine?
4. While the key is in the run position, the DRL's are already permanently on. This means you can't have it in this position with the engine off for very long or you will kill the battery.
5. When upgrading to HID's, you don't want them on all day (especially through a resistor)
That's what I came up with off the top of my head. Of course there is that 1 good reason for having them; decreasing your chances of getting into an accident by 0.01%. They don't do crap on a sunny day, and only help when it's raining/snowing or foggy (which is probably 5% of my total driving). In those situations, I turn the headlights on myself.

So are they really good to have? Not in my opinion. I don't mind the newer cars having LED's around the headlights as DRL's, that's a great idea. Low power consumption and just as noticeable during the day.
 
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I get that you older body style guys have headlights on all the time. But reroute em or something. I know if my 05 had em on in headlights if move em to the fog spot in a heart beat.
Thankfully they are built that way so I'm good LoL
 
02NavyBlue said:
DRL's are disabled for a number of reasons.
1. it will keep less of a constant strain on the alternator giving you very slightly better MPG's.
2. You will go through headlights a lot less often.
3. Your headlamp housings should last a lot longer without getting foggy. Ever notice that on GP's, the headlight assembly is completely fogged over (plastic yellowed/deteriorated) by 100k, but the turn signal lights that are right next to it and made of the same material are still fine?
4. While the key is in the run position, the DRL's are already permanently on. This means you can't have it in this position with the engine off for very long or you will kill the battery.

Thats what I came up with off the top of my head. Of course there is that 1 good reason for having them; decreasing your chances of getting into an accident by 0.01%. They don't do crap on a sunny day, and only help when it's raining/snowing or foggy (which is probably 5% of my total driving). In those situations, I turn the headlights on myself.

So are they really good to have? Not in my opinion. I don't mind the newer cars having LED's around the headlights as DRL's, that's a great idea. Low power consumption and just as noticeable during the day.
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1. Headlights on all the time when I ran the Stealth and I still got 26 mpg daily driving in a car rated 19/24
2. I ran the headlights on full power all the time on my Stealth and went two plus years on the same bulbs
DRL's don't use full power consumption of normal headlights
3. Headlights being fogged and hazed has nothing to do with DRL's and everything to do with being cheap GM crap.
4. parking brake on + key on= no DRL

DRL's DO help on sunny days. Shadowy areas still exist on sunny days and I have seen cars "disappear" when hitting the shadows. The car behind them was visible, because it had DRL's.
 
stealthee said:
1. Headlights on all the time when I ran the Stealth and I still got 26 mpg daily driving in a car rated 19/24
2. I ran the headlights on full power all the time on my Stealth and went two plus years on the same bulbs
DRL's don't use full power consumption of normal headlights
3. Headlights being fogged and hazed has nothing to do with DRL's and everything to do with being cheap GM crap.
4. parking brake on + key on= no DRL

DRL's DO help on sunny days. Shadowy areas still exist on sunny days and I have seen cars "disappear" when hitting the shadows. The car behind them was visible, because it had DRL's.
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Ok well I'll re-comment.
1. I said very slightly, as in probably not a full mpg. The lights need power from the alternator, which needs power from the engine.
2. Yes they do run at 2 volts below system voltage. They will have a lifetime in hours, so use it as you want. During the night or constant.
3. I don't understand how that deems the headlight assembly crap but the turn signal lamp housings fine.
Here's a good craigslist example. I found this on the first link I clicked, I'm not kidding. Look at the headlight and the parking lamp, only the headlight is really fogged. Same plastic, same exposure to natural elements. One had a light on constant, one didn't. I don't know what else to make of it.
3M73I93Je5G85Fd5J1d586d0eec58685a14df.jpg

4. Yes the parking brake does disable it, but when pressing the parking brake on a car that hasn't had it pressed in years, negative things may occur, like dragging for a while. Mine did that when I first hit mine, but I waited to test it until I was about to do a brake checkup, so I used lithium grease on where the lines enter the shielding. Edit: After pressing the parking brake for the first time, I still hear a little scrape....scrape...scrape at low speeds from a bit of rust contacting the parking brake shoes.

DRL's can help in very few situations. But remember not all cars in our GP's time came with DRL's, and it's not a law in Michigan. It's just my decision to have them disabled, If I was concerned about things like those extremely rare situations, I'd wire my parking lamps, or fog lamps as the DRL's instead. Or just turn them on on my own. I'm much more worried about getting into an accident from other people's stupid decisions or mistakes, not from my headlights not being on. But with a car like my color in the winter, you cant miss it. Even in the summer, it doesn't quite match anything else. Red, silver, light blue, or gold GP's are hard to miss in any good weather. It's all about opinions.
 
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02NavyBlue said:
DRL's are disabled for a number of reasons.

Thats what I came up with off the top of my head. Of course there is that 1 good reason for having them; decreasing your chances of getting into an accident by 0.01%. They don't do crap on a sunny day, and only help when it's raining/snowing or foggy (which is probably 5% of my total driving). In those situations, I turn the headlights on myself.
Click to expand...

I have to respectfully disagree with you. In my MSF Rider Course we were taught that having your lights on is much safer (DRL's or regular). Unless there is a difference between running DRL's or your regular lights I am not sure on. This is for motorcycle safety and trying to be as visible as possible but can still apply to 4-wheeled vehicles.
 
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