Headlights always on while engine is running

[FreshPete]

Hello,

I'm a fairly new driver and I just recently bought a Ford Fiesta mk6. Where I live we have a law where the headlights need to be always on. I've read the manual and apparently there is a way to use automatic headlights, however according to the manual they only turn on under low light conditions. I'm a bit forgetful and I tend to forget to turn on my headlights quite a bit during the day. Is there a way to set it up somehow so the lights will always be on when the engine is running without draining the battery? The only solution I can think of is a bit of a hacky way to trick the auto headlight feature by blocking the sensor, but I don't know where the sensors are located.

In short; I want the headlights to turn on/off automatically when I start/stop the engine because I often forget to do it manually.

Thanks,
Pete

[TomsFocus]

Not all of the Mk6 Fiestas have auto lights.  If yours does, it'll say 'AUTO' on the light switch and have auto wipers as well.  If you block or disable the sensor to keep the lights on, you'll lose the auto wiper function also.

Do the lights not switch off on the Mk6 when you remove the ignition key?

[robbyvrs]

Could wire the lights to an ignition live feed instead of through the switch so as soon as ignition is switched on they come on then go off when ignition is switched off

[FreshPete]

21 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Not all of the Mk6 Fiestas have auto lights.  If yours does, it'll say 'AUTO' on the light switch and have auto wipers as well.  If you block or disable the sensor to keep the lights on, you'll lose the auto wiper function also.

Do the lights not switch off on the Mk6 when you remove the ignition key?

Says in the manual that to use the automatic headlights, I have to turn my headlights on/off within 2sec. I haven't tried it yet. My car has slightly different controls from the manual. No "AUTO" switch and no front fog lights among a couple of other missing features. I tried leaving the lights on and removing the key. The headlights turn off but the indicator stays on. My wife said that position lights stay on. I wasn't able to see them clearly during the day so I'll have to double-check tonight about the park lights.

I have no idea how auto-wipers work either. The manual just says that when the feature is enabled, it will automatically wipe when it detects raindrops on the windshield. It doesn't explain how to enable/disable the feature. They never wiped my windshield automatically. Mine is either disabled, not included or not working.

[TomsFocus]

9 minutes ago, FreshPete said:

Says in the manual that to use the automatic headlights, I have to turn my headlights on/off within 2sec. I haven't tried it yet. My car has slightly different controls from the manual. No "AUTO" switch and no front fog lights among a couple of other missing features. I tried leaving the lights on and removing the key. The headlights turn off but the indicator stays on. My wife said that position lights stay on. I wasn't able to see them clearly during the day so I'll have to double-check tonight about the park lights.

I have no idea how auto-wipers work either. The manual just says that when the feature is enabled, it will automatically wipe when it detects raindrops on the windshield. It doesn't explain how to enable/disable the feature. They never wiped my windshield automatically. Mine is either disabled, not included or not working.

I think you're looking at the 'coming home' light feature, which puts the headlights on for 30 seconds or so when you switch the engine off and then flick the headlight switch within 2 seconds so you can see your front door.  Ford also call this automatic lights which can be confusing!

Your car doesn't have auto lights (ones that come on in the dark) without the auto switch.  So you also won't have auto wipers either.  The manual just covers all models and options.

 

Ah that's a shame, I'd forgotten the parking lights weren't separate on the Mk6 otherwise you could have just left them on permanently.  

[FreshPete]

7 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

I think you're looking at the 'coming home' light feature, which puts the headlights on for 30 seconds or so when you switch the engine off and then flick the headlight switch within 2 seconds so you can see your front door.  Ford also call this automatic lights which can be confusing!

Your car doesn't have auto lights (ones that come on in the dark) without the auto switch.  So you also won't have auto wipers either.  The manual just covers all models and options.

 

Ah that's a shame, I'd forgotten the parking lights weren't separate on the Mk6 otherwise you could have just left them on permanently.  

Unfortunately the park lights do stay activated. If I open the drivers door, it'll even start beeping. I probably wont be modifying the car to have the lights turn on automatically at ignition. For now I just have a sticky note as a reminder. It's a bit of an inconvenience.

[Tiexen]

On 3/13/2019 at 11:42 AM, FreshPete said:

Hello,

I'm a fairly new driver and I just recently bought a Ford Fiesta mk6. Where I live we have a law where the headlights need to be always on. I've read the manual and apparently there is a way to use automatic headlights, however according to the manual they only turn on under low light conditions. I'm a bit forgetful and I tend to forget to turn on my headlights quite a bit during the day. Is there a way to set it up somehow so the lights will always be on when the engine is running without draining the battery? The only solution I can think of is a bit of a hacky way to trick the auto headlight feature by blocking the sensor, but I don't know where the sensors are located.

In short; I want the headlights to turn on/off automatically when I start/stop the engine because I often forget to do it manually.

Thanks,
Pete

Normally when a country introduces a law that cars must have lights on all the time it only applies to vehicles built after a set time:

Designed to make cars more visible to other road users in daylight conditions, they have been required on all new EU cars and small vans since early 2011 to improve road safety. The lights automatically switch on when the engine is running and switch off when the main headlights are turned on

so here in the UK if you have a 2010 car ir doesn't need daylight running lights.