I have an 04 SL and this is about the 3rd time ive caught the headlights not turning off. Anyone have this happen before? Its set to Auto and they dont dont turn off.

 

How long are you waiting for them to turn off? Have you checked the personal settings? You can have the delay before they turn off set as high as 3 minutes I think.

 

Set it to off in the settings and they turn off when you close the door.

 

Auto or not they will turn off after 5 minutes...

 

they stay on til the battery runs down.

 

go to the dealer....

 

Yeah that's not right. Go to the stealership and have it checked, never heard of that. Or save yourself the trouble and just turn off your lights...

 

have you tried different AUTO time settings? "door close, 30sec, 2 min, etc?" like Jay said, if you watch it for 5 minutes even if "ON". if they don't shut off, you gotta see a dealer.

 

thanks for the input guys. As a mechanic.. i couldnt bring myself to pay another tech to touch my shiat.... especially at $105 Hr. lol... i did figure out what was going on. Apparently on these cars, the lights dont shut off if you dont exit the vehicle. I found that if i remote start the car, then shut it down with the remote or let it time out,, it leaves the headlights on until you exit the vehicle or cycle the headlight switch. Well, since the door never opens, it never turns the headlights off. I dont know why this is, but i called the stealership just to see what load of crap they would feed me. Apparently they have replaced a few BCMs blaming remote starts as the culprit. Now... maybe im wrong here and something is wrong with the bcm. Any way i can get one of you guys to get in your car, set your headlights on AUTO & delay for 45 seconds, start the vehicle at night so the lights are on, then turn the car off without exit & tell me if your lights go out? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

I have exactly the same issue. I installed the remote starter and after RS shuts off, the lights will not turn off, draining the battery. I don't think it is the remote start.

 

im pretty sure it is.

 

Try locking the car after you turn it off via remote. It might start the timer for the headlight shut off... just an idea.

 

Was there any real resolution to this?


We just purchased a 2006 Nissan Maxima, and it seems to have the same issue.


What appears to be random, the headlights stay on, and it drains the battery. This is in auto lamp mode.


I will use the vehicle using the on/off lamps instead of auto lamp and see if that gets around the issue.


I'm seeing reports that it could be the body control module, but I really doubt it. Also, there is an aftermarket car starter installed. I have to wonder if that isn't causing havoc.

 

I had a similar issue and found out the timer only starts if the drivers door is opened then closed

 

I'll see if I can re-create the exact steps that make the headlights stay on tonight.


Thanks for the reply. It seems odd. My wife is clearly exiting the car when she gets home. Autolamp set to on. Might be as simple as the door switch not working, or working intermittently based on your response.

 

Ok, battery was dead as a door nail, but it did take a charge.


Here is what I observed.
1. both battery terminals were really loose. It looks like it was a new battery, and the guy before me didn't exactly tighten things down. The neg side is still not as tight as I would like. As soon as I get the other issues sorted out I will look at replacing the neg cable.
2. As the battery took a charge the headlights came on. Odd behaviour, as the headlights were shut off, and the key was out. This must be part of the reset procedure on the ecm? This car is a USA car that was imported to Canada. I wonder how the drl's were installed? Ah, the fun of buying someone elses problems.

The door switch is working perfectly, so that isn't it.

I'm hoping that the loose battery terminals were causing the headlights to turn on. With the battery charged, and the terminals tight I hope this issue is fixed.

 

I have the same issue after having an Astrostart remote starter installed.
Apparently, when the lights are on "Auto", and it is dark outside (or in the garage), they come on when the car is started, and will not begin the turn-off cycle (after the car shuts off) until the car senses a door opening.
The only time this matters is when I let the remote starter 'time out' and shut the car off.
If I drive the car (before the remote times out), shut it off with the ignition switch and open a door, all is well.
I read somewhere that in order to 'fool' the car, you need to supply a negative pulse to the Door Pin Switch (or open a door).
The Astrostart has outputs that can be configured to "pulse after shutdown".
The only question I have is, "can it be a direct-connected wire, or does it need to be accomplished with a Relay?"
As soon as I know this, I may go ahead and try it.
Until then, I will run them manually.

 

My headlight issue came back.

I shut the lights off (I tried both off and auto). The headlights shut off, as they should. Then, 10 to 15 minutes later I go back out to the car (parked in the garage) and the headlights are on.

It can't be the headlight switch, as this happens in both auto, and off headlight switch position. This is what has me stumped. Off should be off, no matter what.

I'm in Canada, so could it be the drl's? That doesn't make sense to me either. What module turns the headlights on?

 

sheesh, none of this would be a problem if you owned a 4th gen like me. i don't have an auto headlight dimmer, i just turn them off.

 

We definitely made a bad purchase on this car. Lots of issues to work thru.


I don't feel good about dumping this car on someone else either. I'm betting it has a pretty spotted history. This car was a USA car that was imported in to Canada, so its possible that someone added a relay for DRL that isn't wired very well. I'll have to look for a non factory relay some where. Hopefully I can see some patched wiring starting at the battery, and going to a relay. I guess If I can't figure it out, I'll take it to an auto-electric shop and let them take a run at it.

 

Okay, so after leaving the negative battery cable off overnight, then going for a drive, the headlights are working as they should. This sure points to the body control module (bcm), or a intermittent wire to it.
Anyone know if you can just swap out bcm's on a 06 Maxima, or are they married to the vehicle by the dealer?