I was reading my owners manual (finally came - was missing in car and dealer took two months to send) and it said that you should not leave the head light switch in the Auto or ON setting for an extended period of time.

I tend to leave it set to ON always - that way I have daytime running lights (oregon drivers are not that attentive - need all the help I can get) and let the car turn them off when I turn off the ignition.

Does anybopdy know what's up with this?
What is the reason for the added power drain?
What is an extended period of time - If I leave my car at the Airport for a week and forget to turn it to off, am I toast? When I leave it parked for the summer, am I really toast?

Anybody know anything about this???
Thanks

 

I have never changed my setting from the Auto position. Let the light sensor do it's thing, and don't worry about it. If you are concerned about it, switch it to the off position before exiting the car. Otherwise, I wouldn't sweat it.

my 2 cents...

 

I leave mine on auto... it shuts off when you open the door. and will stay off until the key the put into the ignition on position again. So I don't think it would be a problem. Besides, the lights shut off by themself even if you don't open the door, shut off the engine (but leave the key in the on position) and sit for a while. The lights will still shut itself off. I don't rememeber seeing anything about not leaving it on the on or auto position. Isn't that what auto means anyways?

 

I turn it on-off manually. Though it turns on by itself and turns off 45 seconds after the key is off the ignition (2k2's) i'd rather just do it myself.

Why? Because i frequently go through underpasse's and other areas where it's dark for a few seconds. Dark and long enough to let the sensor do its thing. Once i get back on the lighted area the light turns off again. The frequent on-of-on-off cycle in a matter of minutes isn't what i want my HID's to do.

- Mike

 

I want to (and do) leave it in the ON position all the time...the DRL thing I mentioned in the post. But the concern holds for those of you who use the AUTO setting since the manaul warns for both settings.

I just got concerned that the manual says it will drain the battery.

Since I NEVER TOUCH the light switch, remembering to turn it off at the airport if doubtful - just wonder two things....

One - why is this a problem? What causes the power drain?

Two - how long do I have to be out of town before I have a dead battery?

Or is this total BS from Nissan???

 

Well, i already left it on Auto for 2 weeks straight when i went on a vacation just a hundred or so miles after i got the Max. No power drain as far as i'm concerned.

 

total BS i believe

 

for the very same reason (DRL), mine have been in the ON position for 26 months. Since I got the 2k2 HIDs, I now tend to turn them back to parking lights only, then back to ON when the car is on.

I will tell you this... in my 2k max and 99.5 (which is a 2K) Pathfinder, all 4 brake lights have burned out. My wife also leaves her lights in the ON position.

So, I guess the only downside is you will go through $4.25 worth of lights in 2 years No really, watch them after 24 months. thats all they seem to last with the lights on all the time. I assume my marker bulbs will go out soon too, but big deal... beats T-boning some moron that doesnt see you and pulls out.

Oh and the *real* DRL module will reduce your headlights even more than normal. DRL is actually your highbeams and 1/2 voltage. That raises the amperage in the filament and it burns out quickly.. like 40% faster. So, you may be coming out ahead with just using the regular headlights.

 

In my experience using 5500 - 10,000¡K metal hallide (aka HID's) bulbs over salt water reef tanks, long before BMW & others started putting them in cars, I offer the following observations:

¥ burning HID's for many hours / day diminishes the light out put to less than half in as little as 6 months, in almost all lamps, regardless of manufacturer . With this in mind, I have taken photo intensity measurements of my 2k2 max when new, and I will continue taking them every month or so to see how they are doing in an automotive applications, then I can plot them at the end of a year and submit my findings on the org.

¥ soundmike's observations are exactly what I have experienced with the switch on AUTO. Having HID's come on for brief periods of time and then quickly having them go off is not a good idea.

¥ Compared to halogens, cost of HID replacement lamps are HUGE!! (easily 10-15x or more) So it is in your best interest to take care of them.

¥ Daytime running lights are legally required in Canada for newly manufactured cars. As TimW pointed out they run on reduced high beams in many cars. I had my last car for 6 years / 100,000+ miles and it I did not burnout any bulbs, but even if I did, halogens are less then $10, so I'm not too worried.

So if you want to drive with lights on all the time, you may want to consider re-wiring the fog lights so that you can use them independantly and the cost of bulbs are reasonable.

I think the point the Nissan manual is trying to state is that having the heated seats/heated steering wheel/memory seats/main lights/BOSE on AND starting the engine is a huge load and drain on the battery. Such deep discharge cycles may shorten the serviceable life of the battery.