daytime running lights

[vett93]

How do I turn on the daytime running lights? According to the user manual, one just turns on the ignition and selects the lighting control to "off", "auto", or "parking lamps". However, I cannot turn on the daytime running lights with this instruction.

 

Did I miss something on the manual? 

 

 

[murphy]

Only cars that are shipped to Canada and fleet vehicles have DRLs.  Ford, for some unknown reason, will not allow their dealers to enable the DRLs.  A few people have found dealers that will deviate from the Ford party line and enable them.  It may be that they have to be a Ford / Lincoln dealer.  There is a very long thread on DRLs already discussing the problem.

[vett93]

Thanks for the comments. I found another thread with 4 replies. Is there a different thread on this subject?

[murphy]

Thanks for the comments. I found another thread with 4 replies. Is there a different thread on this subject?

Sorry, I forgot it was on the Hybrid forum.

 

http://fordfusionhybridforum.com/topic/5650-daytime-running-lights/?do=findComment&comment=38936

[vett93]

Thanks for the link. Long thread indeed!

[SteveEnergi]

I'll add this since the other thread is the hybrid thread.  Maybe the reason for not adding DRL's is to reduce the amount of battery consumption during the day?  Why unnecessarily drain the battery running headlights during the day?

 

Steve

[vett93]

Some of us believe DRLs can help make our cars more visible. This, in turn, may help reduce crashes. I bought FFE so that I can drive on the HOV lane during commute hours. It is scary to get other cars pulled in front of me from the non-HOV lanes. So I usually drive with headlights on, even in day time. If I can use DRLs, it will help me reduce energy use.

 

Ideally, it should be an user selectable item. On my wife's Lexus, you can choose if you want DRLs on or off. So did my previous car, a Mitsubishi Evo MR.

[vett93]

Okay. I have some good news to share.

 

I first took my FFE to the Ford dealer where I bought the car from. They told me that it would be illegal for them to turn on DRLs for me in California. They stated that turning on DRLs would be considered as modifying lighting equipment. This sounds like a BS to me....

 

So I took my FFE to a Ford dealer near my work one afternoon. The service writer had to go in to talk to a few folks. He came out and told me that it is not standard work they do but if I pay them $75, they would gladly do it for me. But he told me that I had to make an appointment to perform the service.

 

So on my way home, I stopped by the Ford dealer near my house. The service writer asked me why I wanted to turn on DRLs. I told him that DRLs may avoid crashes and I feel safer with them on. He told me that he is a certified master technician and he can direct a technician to do that for me. I, with good intention, informed him that it might be against Ford's policy. He politely replied and told me that he cared more about what customers want.

 

So they turned on my DRLs free of charge. I also got a free car wash. Nice folks!

Edited April 8, 2014 at 10:44 PM by vett93

[SteveEnergi]

Some of us believe DRLs can help make our cars more visible. This, in turn, may help reduce crashes. I bought FFE so that I can drive on the HOV lane during commute hours. It is scary to get other cars pulled in front of me from the non-HOV lanes. So I usually drive with headlights on, even in day time. If I can use DRLs, it will help me reduce energy use.

 

Ideally, it should be an user selectable item. On my wife's Lexus, you can choose if you want DRLs on or off. So did my previous car, a Mitsubishi Evo MR.

 

I agree that it should be a user setting.

 

Glad it worked out for you.

[EnergiCCAATS]

IMHO, Ford should have LED DRLs on ALL hybrid and Energi models (at least at Titanium trim level).  LEDs will use negligible energy and give a distinctive look to the "electrified" models.  Heck, Priii and Volts have LED DRLs.  Also, should have HID or LED headlamps on Titanium trim for the price point.  

[meyersnole]

IMHO, Ford should have LED DRLs on ALL hybrid and Energi models (at least at Titanium trim level).  LEDs will use negligible energy and give a distinctive look to the "electrified" models.  Heck, Priii and Volts have LED DRLs.  Also, should have HID or LED headlamps on Titanium trim for the price point.  

 

Can not say I disagree. Was very disappointed that this car did not have them and have looked at some after market, but nothing that I am willing to buy.

[Eric4539]

I agree that the Fusions should have LED DRLs.

 

I had my DRLs turned on by my dealer about 3 weeks ago, and I don't think they even knew that the Fusions had them.

 

I think all Fusions have the same headlight unit.  There are 3 bulbs; the large projector is the headlight, the inboard bulb is the high beam, and the small upper bulb is the DRL/parking light.

[vett93]

The DRLs are the reduced light low beams.

[murphy]

After going 16 months without DRLs and trying to remember to turn on my parking lights because my dealer refused to enable the DRLs as a result of Ford's idiotic policy, I modified my car.

 

I cut the two wires to the front parking lights and connected the lights to the feed for the windshield wiper motors.  That feed is hot whenever the car is in RUN mode.  I now have DRLs whenever the car is ready to drive.

:)

[FusionEnergi]

Wouldn't the bulbs, since they are not led, use up some of your batteries range.

Mine now after a full charge reads 34 EV miles when I do not use the lights, ac, or the vents.

I usually only drive during daylight hours and use the windows to create airflow.

[murphy]

The bulbs are 5 watts.  The side marker lights appear to be LEDs (they are not shown in the wiring diagram).  10 watts is negligible when compared to the heater or the air conditioner.  Besides I've been driving with the parking lights on for a year so now the tail lights won't be on.

[FusionEnergi]

The bulbs are 5 watts.  The side marker lights appear to be LEDs (they are not shown in the wiring diagram).  10 watts is negligible when compared to the heater or the air conditioner.  Besides I've been driving with the parking lights on for a year so now the tail lights won't be on.

While driving a work vehicle on the highway in the evenings I often have had vehicles pass me. Sometimes its very dark out. You see them coming with some lights on, but when they pass no lights are on in the rear. Feel that may be a safety issue.

Is that DRLs?

[murphy]

While driving a work vehicle on the highway in the evenings I often have had vehicles pass me. Sometimes its very dark out. You see them coming with some lights on, but when they pass no lights are on in the rear. Feel that may be a safety issue.

Is that DRLs?

Yes, that is DRLs and an indication of a driver that needs to be retrained.  In that situation they are driving without dashboard lighting.  It should be obvious that the headlights need to be turned on.

[Russael]

Yes, that is DRLs and an indication of a driver that needs to be retrained.  In that situation they are driving without dashboard lighting.  It should be obvious that the headlights need to be turned on.

 

That's just it - the dashboard lights are always on.  That is actually a bit of mild annoyance to me, but since everything is LED lighting now, I'm not worried about them burning out.  And most people drive with the dash lighting on full power.  I have them set to where they're a few steps above almost off. 

[Ben Bruce]

Does anyone here know what Ford does to enable the DRL?  Do they use a programmer to toggle a setting or is it adding a fuse(jumper) somewhere?

 

Ben

[murphy]

They use their computer to toggle a setting in the body control module.

Edited August 18, 2014 at 04:49 PM by murphy

[Hybridbear]

Yes, that is DRLs and an indication of a driver that needs to be retrained.  In that situation they are driving without dashboard lighting.  It should be obvious that the headlights need to be turned on.

That's just it - the dashboard lights are always on.  That is actually a bit of mild annoyance to me, but since everything is LED lighting now, I'm not worried about them burning out.  And most people drive with the dash lighting on full power.  I have them set to where they're a few steps above almost off. 

I'm young so I've only been driving for 10 years but in that time I've noticed a change on the roads. More people now drive at dusk/dark without their lights on. I believe there are 3 causes behind this:

1. proliferation of auto headlights
2. proliferation of dashboards which are always lit up
3. proliferation of DRLs on certain car models

When I comment about this phenomena to other people, their reply almost always is: I have DRLs on my car so I don't need to turn my headlights on. Or, I have automatic headlamps so I never need to turn my headlights on.

 

My wife & I took a drive last night around 7:30. It's already getting dark at 7:30 and I turned the headlights on manually. The Ford auto headlamps would not have turned the lights on for our entire drive. Most of the other cars on the road with no headlamps at dusk are Toyotas & Hondas. Toyota & Honda have for many years included DRLs as a standard feature on their cars along with dashboards that are always lit. Both Toyota & Honda do not include auto headlamps except on high trim level vehicles. This leads to many Honda & Toyota owners driving at night with just their DRLs. They don't realize there is an issue because they see lights in front of them and their dashboard is lit up.

 

GM has also included DRLs as standard for many years. However, I believe all GM cars, no matter how cheap, have auto headlamps. My 1998 Chevy Lumina (my first car) had auto headlamps standard. At night it didn't matter where I set the headlight switch, my lights were always on. The only time I see GM cars driving without lights in the rain. Many GM owners I've talked too when commenting about the fact that the law in most states requires the use of headlamps in the rain respond that they don't need to turn their lights on because their car has DRLs.

 

However, the worst of all are the Ford drivers since they have auto headlights that don't turn on until it's pitch black out along with no driving lights so they drive around at dusk in complete darkness.

 

Overall these attitudes show that many people are not thinking for themselves when they drive. I almost never see drivers of older cars (without always lit dashboards) driving at dusk without their lights on because they're accustomed to turning their lights on manually so that they can see their dash. But, modern drivers seem to rely too much on the technology in their cars and don't think for themselves.

[blars]

However, the worst of all are the Ford drivers since they have auto headlights that don't turn on until it's pitch black out along with no driving lights so they drive around at dusk in complete darkness.

 

My auto headlamps turn on WELL before it's completely dark...they'll even come on on an overcast day sometimes.

[HotLap]

Agreed, the Ford auto headlamps take a long time to activate and it is usually darker out than I like driving without lights so I'll have to manually turn them on.  I've owned about 8 Ford/Lincoln vehicles all with the auto headlamp function over the past decade and it always frustrates me the elongated delay built into the Ford systems.  My German cars on the other hand, as soon as I enter a traffic tunnel they switch on (which is GREAT as being a motorcyclist one of the things you learn is that visibility is critical).  My Ford Products won't even come on when going through most traffic tunnels.  I actually put a small piece of electrical tape over part of the dash sensor to help the auto lamps come on when I think they should.  I wonder if the delay/sensitivity is adjustable in these systems?

[EnergiCCAATS]

No excuse in my opinion for AUTO headlamps to not be standard in ALL vehicles and not defeatable.  GM has had this feature in almost all but the most stripped down models for 15 years or so.  It amazes me how many people accept a luxury vehicle such as Lexus/Acura that doesn't even have that as a basic feature.  And the previous poster is correct, many of these "import luxury cars" and even most Toyotas/Hondas have backlit dashboards and DRLs, so these folks will drive around in the pitch dark not even realizing they have NO tail lights on!