30 replies to this topic

[pes2013]

Hello

Im looking at a car that has automatic light/rain sensors. Are these easy to disable so it can go completely manual?

Thank you

[linsook]

I assumed all cars that come with automatic rain sensors have an option to turn on or off.

[+Brando212]

linsook, on 24 January 2013 - 23:42, said:

I assumed all cars that come with automatic rain sensors have an option to turn on or off.

nope, not at all. many just have the options of auto or on

[Draconian Guppy]

@brando seriously one would think that should be standard!

[Raa]

The ones i've experienced have the normal wiper choices (Off/Int/On/Fast), but include the rain sensing option. The rain sense only works on these when the wipers are switched to anything other than "off". I find it very good in my car.

I imagine it isn't that hard to remove or cut the sensor wire, but i'd advise against it personally.

[+zhiVago]

pes2013, on 24 January 2013 - 23:30, said:

Hello

Im looking at a car that has automatic light/rain sensors. Are these easy to disable so it can go completely manual?

Thank you

Turning either the lights or the windshield wipers to off position usually disables the automatic feature.

The day-time running lights, however, maybe permanent depending on the model and the market.

[Hum]

pull the fuse

[wv@gt]

It depends on the year and make of the car. On my Subie I had to pull a wire harness connector loose under the steering column to disable the drls, another connector next to it was for the auto lights. Some newer cars have a menu option to change the sensitivity as well

[sjms]

can I ask you why you would ask a group of "unknowns" a somewhat technical question about an car (model unknown) that can be more accurately answered by either visiting a dealer or contacting the manufacturer?

[lt8480]

Some countries particularly those in northern Europe require lights to be on all the time, and as such many cars in those countries and from those markets have fixed lights.

The reason these features are being added is for safety reasons so they're not really designed to be turned off.

[HawkMan]

cars with the running lights off are annoying. so my suggestion is to leave them on.

[majortom1981]

I could never figure out why you would want to disable daytime running lights? Unless you have an electric vehicle I do not see the reason to disable them.

[jjkusaf]

pes2013, on 24 January 2013 - 23:30, said:

Hello

Im looking at a car that has automatic light/rain sensors. Are these easy to disable so it can go completely manual?

Thank you

Vague is vague. You're "looking at a car" ... what make/model/etc? Did you ask the dealer...owners manual...etc?

[ajcdotme]

jjkusaf, on 16 February 2013 - 16:32, said:

Vague is vague. You're "looking at a car" ... what make/model/etc? Did you ask the dealer...owners manual...etc?

This... model/make?

In Pennsylvania where I live, if it's raining it's required that wipers are on and if wipers are on, your headlights must be on. It's a pretty nasty fine if you're caught without.

[tsupersonic]

HawkMan, on 16 February 2013 - 16:14, said:

cars with the running lights off are annoying. so my suggestion is to leave them on.

Why are they annoying? I see people driving without lights on at night.

In my car (I'll be just as vague as you OP, and not mention make/model ), I have the ability to turn off automatic lights. I can't turn off rain sensing wipers, but I have the ability to bypass it. My windshield stalk goes like this: Off -> Rain Sense (low sensitivity) -> Rain Sense (high sensitivity) -> slow (intermittent) -> faster (continuous) -> fastest. Or just push in (fast) for manual wipe.