13 replies to this topic

[xgman]

Does anyone know of a way to adjust the light sensor for how dark is has to be before the auto headlights come on?  It's raining and way cloudy today and I'm the only one on the road with no lights. I've gotten so used to the auto lights  after so many years that I forget to switch the lights on in the rain.  Seems to me the light sensor is not sensitive enough or should be tied to the rain sensor or something. Maybe a tinted piece of plastic over the sensor or something?  I was hoping there would be a service adjustment for sensitivity, but the dealer said no.

 

edit: seems like a little piece of black tape strategically placed on the dash sensor helps.

Edited by xgman, 07 May 2013 - 09:21 AM.

[klm]

I haven't seen enough rain here in South Texas to have this problem yet, but in my 07 MKX the windshield wipers were tied to the headlights and you could set the delay time from when you turned the wipers on to when the headlights came on down to 10 seconds.  Surely we have the same thing on this car...

[akirby]

They come on automatically when the wipers are on.   For dry weather you have to put tint over the sensor.  There is no software adjustment.

Edited by akirby, 07 May 2013 - 08:48 AM.

[xgman]

thx.

[Stentgraft95]

And they move when turning the wheel as advertised. What a great feature!

[VirtualAmerican]

Are the LED headlights bright enough though? Coming from a Cadillac CTS with HID headlights (xenon), I'm a bit worried that I won't see as well where I'm going at night.

 

I agree Stentgraft95, the swiveling is great, I have that feature on my CTS and love it. Very useful when driving on two-lane winding roads at night.

Edited by VirtualAmerican, 14 May 2013 - 10:40 PM.

[Stentgraft95]

I had the same concern about the level of brightness but I was much more than surprised by how adequate they are. They are a vast improvement over the HID's in my LS.

[VirtualAmerican]

I had the same concern about the level of brightness but I was much more than surprised by how adequate they are. They are a vast improvement over the HID's in my LS.

 

Thanks for your input!

[xgman]

I stuck a spare sunglass lens over mine and it now is at least sensitive to dark overcast days or dusk.

[VirtualAmerican]

I have to say that I'm now experiencing the same issue with the automatic lights not coming on early enough (at dusk) to my taste in the MKZ. Can anyone post pictures of what they did to the sensor on top of their dash so that I know what to do to fix the issue? I'm especially interested in a quick, easy fix with black electrical tape or something to that effect (I don't want to cover the whole sensor or too much of it and end up with having the auto lights always come on). I tried finding translucent black cellophane in my area but wasn't too lucky in that department. I also bought "magic" scotch tape (the one with a matte finish), so hopefully that can darken the sensor's surface just enough to produce a noticeable change.

Edited by VirtualAmerican, 18 June 2013 - 09:03 PM.

[akirby]

What's wrong with window tint film?

[VirtualAmerican]

What's wrong with window tint film?

 

Probably nothing, I just wouldn't really know where to find that or how to set that up. And it's probably expensive, I don't want to buy a whole roll of it just to cover my sensor.

Edited by VirtualAmerican, 19 June 2013 - 06:51 AM.

[akirby]

Probably nothing, I just wouldn't really know where to find that or how to set that up. And it's probably expensive, I don't want to buy a whole roll of it just to cover my sensor.

 

I'm sure any automotive window tint retailer would gladly give you a 1 square inch piece of several different strengths at no charge.

[VirtualAmerican]

I'm sure any automotive window tint retailer would gladly give you a 1 square inch piece of several different strengths at no charge.

 

Yeah, that sounds like something I should try if the "magic"/black electrical tape fails. Thanks for the suggestion.