Any way to turn off these?

I don't know. Why do you want to do that? it might be against the law. Seems foolish to me.

 

Depends on the car. Sometimes you can just pull a relay to prevent them from turning off. It's harder to disable on GM cars.

 

Yeah from what io heard daytime running lights don't work too well anyway. There is no evidence that it saved anyone from a single accident

 

In most GM cars, there's a module you can buy (from aftermarket suppliers) to by-pass this and retain normal headlight function. Not sure if it would wise to DIY, but it probably could be done.

C.

 

Leave the damn thing alone
IT BURNS FUEL? are you for real? come on that is a load of bunk and DTRLs have been proven to save lives because you see the car with them on hundreds of feet before you see one without. why do you think they are standard on motorcycles?


On GM vehicles the switch for the headlights goes clockwise to turn on the regular lights if you rotate it to the left you turn the dtrl off. Usually if you just pop on the "park" lights it will also disengage.

All cars sold in Canada and most european countries require the DTRL the US has been fighting it for years. Never did understand why.

 

If you've been having trouble seeing 4000 lb shiny objects in the middle of the day, get glasses. For someone with reasonably good vision, a car that is too far away to see (on a dry day, without its lights on) is a car that doesn't need to be seen. It can only serve as a distraction from closer and more immediately important objects.

It also makes it more difficult to determine what kind of vehicle is approaching and at what speed. For example if you see two pinpoints of light on the horizon, that could be a large truck (far away), small car (closer), or two motorcycles.

You can't even tell if you're in plain view of the police because the glare of the headlights (slightly) reduces the eye's ability to pick up important details, such as a black hood with a white top, a light bar or reflective paint. It's an outrage!

 

Bingo!! Motorcycles are the ones that benefit from it the most. Twin lights are supposed to help the retina judge approach speed by the change in separation over time. A single light, especially a bright one, is harder to judge.

However, they do consume the tiniest amount of fuel. If you multiply that out by the number of vehicles, especially in the US compared to Canada, you will find out that its a very measurable amount for all non-two wheeled automobiles.

Read these two links in this order. At first, its proven that it might use up to two gallons per vehicle here in the US depending on the bulbs, but this second link proves that the actual consumpton is much less, but still measurable, and therefore, still $$$ spent.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question424.htm
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/3714

Sunny

 

There is a way to turn them off in some newer GM vehicles (at least the '99+ trucks and SUVs). I don't remember the exact procedure, but it involves pressing the "dome override" button, and the brake pedal in a particular sequence.

 

Aren't the lights used for DTRLs supposed to run lower wattage, thus making them last longer?

I know all Volvo's after 2001 have the headlights on when the car is taken out of park. What's great about Volvo is, or at least the dealer near me, is that when the lights in the front of back blow, they'll just pop in new ones no questions asked. Even though the warranty is up !

 

It is not my vision nor yours that I am worried about it its the 80 year old buick park avenue pilot who I really want to see me coming...

 

Not really
it is not the industry, for the most part they fight every thing like this. gm did it all by them selves. Usually things like Airbags, seatbelts, and other thing have to be crammed down their throats.

 

you never hear about stuff that doesn't happen

 

That might be true but in all reality how would they save you from an accident anyhow? If you didn't see the car coming in broad daylight then you shouldn't be driving. It might only work on certain color cars and only in certain situations. Useless item IMO. Oh and by the way it would burn more fuel because it makes your alternator work harder to shoulder the load of the lights being on which strains the motor which then burns more fuel.

 

Wouldn't the alternator spin at the same rate regardless of the current draw? Similarly, isn't a water pump is pushing water at the same rate whether the water is hot or cold?

If you're worried about parasitic loss at the alternator, buy a racing-spec alternator.

 

I was wrong.

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?p=135105868#post135105868