Interesting malfunction: No DRLs! I like it!

[Jimmmmbo!]

This just started happening to me over the last few days. I suddenly noticed that my 2012 daytime running lights are no longer on when I'm driving with the headlights off. The brights were fine, though. Car has 13K on it, been with me since July 2011.

Here I was lamenting over having no way to kill the DRLs, and then they just decided to do it for me. Cool!

Of course, it makes me wonder what else is wrong or about to ...

 

[IBJanky]

I thought the DRLs only come on when you're in "D" and actually driving?

 

[Jimmmmbo!]

I can see the reflection of my car in another car in front of me and see that they are not on, say at a stop light or as I'm passed by a polished gasoline tanker semi (talk about speeders ).

Of course, the reason I noticed it originally is because I didn't see the DRLs on when I started my car in the garage. The DRLs have always come on once the car is started on my 2012.

Incidentally, the DRLs go out when you apply the emergency break. I've noticed this several times, and may be an opportunity to defeat the DRL on late models if that's what you're interested in.

 

[scottdk]

I can see the reflection of my car in another car in front of me and see that they are not on, say at a stop light or as I'm passed by a polished gasoline tanker semi (talk about speeders ).

Of course, the reason I noticed it originally is because I didn't see the DRLs on when I started my car in the garage. The DRLs have always come on once the car is started on my 2012.

Incidentally, the DRLs go out when you apply the emergency break. I've noticed this several times, and may be an opportunity to defeat the DRL on late models if that's what you're interested in.

This reminds me of some of the oldish GM cars in the late 90's and early 2000's. The DRL's could be defeated if the parking brake was pulled up one click. Weird.......

 

[Mark63021]

This reminds me of some of the oldish GM cars in the late 90's and early 2000's. The DRL's could be defeated if the parking brake was pulled up one click. Weird.......

Scott, your post gave me an idea that led me to a handy discovery -just now tested/confirmed.

If this is in the manual, I missed it... but with the car started/DRLs on, application of the parking brake will turn the DRLs off! Honestly that is specifically something I had wished I could do -turn all exterior lights off while the car is running. Very cool.

So Jimbo, check your parking brake, it might be partially depressed (assuming you have the manual foot pedal brake) as Scott implied. If not, I'll sugguest you have a bad brake position sensor/switch.

 

[Gurkha]

Could also be a faulty ground wire as was my case in a 2009 Canadian model with DRL's.
The manual foot parking brake with turn off the DRL's, when released they go back on.

 

[Jimmmmbo!]

...

So Jimbo, check your parking brake, it might be partially depressed (assuming you have the manual foot pedal brake) as Scott implied. If not, I'll sugguest you have a bad brake position sensor/switch.

Actually, I already knew this, which is what Scott was responding to ...

Since the DRLs appear to be controlled by the computer (from what I can deduce from the schematics at hmaservice.com), my theory is that the same switch in the e-brake circuit is used to control both the DRLs and the IP brake lamp. The IP brake lamp is not illuminated.

It is possible that they are using two different switches, but when I played with this in the past I noticed that the DRLs would go out at exactly the same travel point of the e-brake as when the IP brake lamp would go on.

 

[R-SpecTom]

I just tried that last night on my 2012 R-Spec and it works with the e-brake, then i turned the headlight switch one turn and just the led accents came on without any other lights, man, it looked so badass...