my light symbols are switched?

[savegejon123]

At night my headlights come on and the running light symbol appears. During the day my headlight symbol is on. When I manual turn my lights on the symbol is still wrong. Unless I'm crazy and this is how it's suppose be. The only thing I've done to my car that could affect it is connect interior LED's into an empty fuse.

 

[skipj3]

Was this picture you posted taken in day light or @ night? It looks dark to me. The symbol seen here is the lamps on indicator not the DRLs on indicator.

 

[savegejon123]

I don't want to seem like an idiot if this is how they're suppose to be, but I felt like when I first got the car they weren't like this.

That picture was taken at night. When the car is running during the day the "single bulb with dashes" is lit. If I manually turn my lights one or two clicks right, the symbol in that picture displays regardless of what symbol the button is rotated too. and if I go dark nothing displays.

I've google some more and I think i'm just dumb haha. My old car never had light indicators and for some reason they just seemed reversed to me.

 

[ChrisJ]

I don't want to seem like an idiot if this is how they're suppose to be, but I felt like when I first got the car they weren't like this.

That picture was taken at night. When the car is running during the day the "single bulb with dashes" is lit. If I manually turn my lights one or two clicks right, the symbol in that picture displays regardless of what symbol the button is rotated too. and if I go dark nothing displays.

I've google some more and I think i'm just dumb haha. My old car never had light indicators and for some reason they just seemed reversed to me.

You don't seem like an idiot.
The headlight indicator seemed weird to me too but whatever. I guess in the end it could be a symbol of a piece of toast as long as I know what it means.

One thing that annoys me is the fact that if I turn the audio lights off during the day I also loose DRL. So either I get headlights even if I don't want them, or nothing at all. At first I thought just the indicator went out but it really turns off the DRLs.

 

[savegejon123]

I'm not sure now. I've captioned this to show what I'm seeing.

 

[ChrisJ]

I'm not sure now. I've captioned this to show what I'm seeing.

So technically they display the parking lights (NOT DRL) symbol for headlights.
Technically the parking lights ARE on.

Also notice the headlight symbol has straight lines, if I recall DRL has down angled ones.

It doesn't matter in the end as long as yours is working "normal" for the product, which it is.

 

[savegejon123]

If downward angled lines are DRL then there is now way to "force" on headlights without being set for "auto." haha Regardless my lights seem to be doing everything correctly. Just weird that it's displaying "parking lights" at night and not "headlamps" and stranger that its displaying "headlamps" during the day when they're definitely not on.

 

[EzekeiL]

I have some weirdness involved in the light symbols too, but its not to big a deal, just weird.

Normally, I leave the lights in auto. No matter day or night it will come up with the 'parking lamps' symbol. Which is no big deal since its just the normal headlights. It only gets funny when its alittle rainy or over cast. There must be a sensor somewhere that senses...something...randomly...because it will turn on the headlights symbol under the 'parking lamps' symbol and this also dims the instrument panel. I dun really like it since the headlights are already on and the computer is stupid...but whatever, doesn't really change anything...infact all the 'in the rain' effect does is turn down the instrument panel. Next time I will test switching the lights manually when that happens so I can see if it is an auto only thing.

Small thing, just weird.

 

[River_Rat]

seems to me that the symbol everyone thinks is the parking lamp signal is actually the headlights symbol. it shows lights pointing both ways, indicating that both your headlights and taillights are on.

the other one, which shows light pointing one direction, is the DRL symbol indictating that only your headlights are on, and not your headlights.

and yes, with the switch set to auto, if you are driving around in the daytime with your DRLs on and pass throuh a rain shower, tunnel, or whatever, it will switch to heads and tails.

 

[ChrisJ]

seems to me that the symbol everyone thinks is the parking lamp signal is actually the headlights symbol. it shows lights pointing both ways, indicating that both your headlights and taillights are on.

the other one, which shows light pointing one direction, is the DRL symbol indictating that only your headlights are on, and not your headlights.

and yes, with the switch set to auto, if you are driving around in the daytime with your DRLs on and pass throuh a rain shower, tunnel, or whatever, it will switch to heads and tails.

If anyone is confused it would be GM. Look at the picture and see what they call them.

My main reason if not my only reason for forcing auto headlights off is when they turn on yet its still too bright out to see the display. Probably my biggest complaint about the Sonic is that and depending on the time of year it ends up happening to me a lot.

 

[River_Rat]

fair enough. I had not looked at the manual, or the selector knob for that matter. mine are always on auto and everything just plain works for me.

 

[savegejon123]

Yeah I think looking at the infograph on the driver's manual just makes it more confusing. As long as mines doing roughly the same as everyone elses. Just making sure its not something I should worry about.

 

[Palmaris]

and yes, with the switch set to auto, if you are driving around in the daytime with your DRLs on and pass throuh a rain shower, tunnel, or whatever, it will switch to heads and tails.

Or even if you turn on the wiper blades at any time of day. The full headlights will come on within 1 or 2 minutes when the wiper blades are moving. The dash will dim because it will believe that it is nighttime and you do not need such a bright light to see it.

 

[River_Rat]

I honestly don't have this problem, so I dont know, but does adjusting the dimmer not alleviate the issue of the display dimming when headlights are on?

and yes, turning the wipers on will cause the headlights to come on because it is required in most if not all states to have heads and tails on when the wipers are on.

 

[Swordsmith]

I agree, everything simply works and I very rapidly accepted that and completely ignore my lights except for the rare circumstance where I want high beams. Even then, I ignore the lights button, since the high beams are on the stick.

I have never had my dash lights dim out while it is still bright out (which of course is what would happen if they automatically went to headlight from DRL at inappropriate times). I can see where that would be annoying, but I do not believe that that is normal Sonic behavior, and suspect that you should go in and get it fixed. Particularly if that is your biggest complaint about the car!

 

[ChrisJ]

I agree, everything simply works and I very rapidly accepted that and completely ignore my lights except for the rare circumstance where I want high beams. Even then, I ignore the lights button, since the high beams are on the stick.

I have never had my dash lights dim out while it is still bright out (which of course is what would happen if they automatically went to headlight from DRL at inappropriate times). I can see where that would be annoying, but I do not believe that that is normal Sonic behavior, and suspect that you should go in and get it fixed. Particularly if that is your biggest complaint about the car!

I know for a fact its a normal behavior and there is nothing to get fixed. The only way you could fix it is by getting rid of auto headlights. I just wish I could bypass the dimming of the LCD backlight at those times. The dimmer control on the dash doesn't do it.

One thing you must understand is my commute is mostly east in the morning and west at night. This sets it up so the sun is in my eyes usually in the fall and the spring. Somewhere around this time is when somehow, the ambient light level is low enough that it triggers the headlights when I leave my house, or work and they simply stay on because quick bursts of sunlight through the trees or whatever isn't enough to shut them off. My guess is if the lights are on then as soon as the light level hits a certain amount a timer starts and it drops before thats over the lights stay on.

Either way I end up with a laser beam of sun blinking in my eyes and a dim dash at the same time and it sucks.


Didn't know it would turn the headlights on with the wipers, thats kind of nice as I've been manually turning the lights on when it rains.

 

[EzekeiL]

update: paid attention yesterday and it seems the symbols are fine in right now. DRL symbol comes on for DRL's (the headlight with the broken lines, read as dots, coming out. might have slightly different nomenclature in the manual) and the opposing light symbol thing comes on at night. So it just gets wonky every once and awhile. I agree the dimming of the panel is annoying and seemingly random at times...not as big a deal for me, but i can see how it would be slightly irritating to some!

 

[EzekeiL]

Does anyone know if the DRL's are any different then when the normal headlights are running? Does it run at lower power? or is it exactly the same?

 

[savegejon123]

It seems that during the day when your headlights are on auto and head lamps are on. The DRL are not on, but at night the headlamps and DRLS are on. Not sure if they're dimmer when paired with headlamps.