LED Headlamps - Owners Help Please

[nashdm2]

Guys, can people with LED headlights check this for me please:

When you turn the light switch onto manual headlights, and then switch manually between high beam and low beam, the high beam LED's go on and off immediately.

When you then turn the light switch onto auto high beam, and then drive, the car switches the high beam on and off for you (nice feature!) However, when the car switches on and off the high beam, the high beam LED's switch on and off gradually (like a home dimmer switch).

Is this what they should do please, as it seems quite strange to me. Can LED owners check theirs for me please?

Thanks, Dave

[DG97]

8 minutes ago, nashdm2 said:

Guys, can people with LED headlights check this for me please:

When you turn the light switch onto manual headlights, and then switch manually between high beam and low beam, the high beam LED's go on and off immediately.

When you then turn the light switch onto auto high beam, and then drive, the car switches the high beam on and off for you (nice feature!) However, when the car switches on and off the high beam, the high beam LED's switch on and off gradually (like a home dimmer switch).

Is this what they should do please, as it seems quite strange to me. Can LED owners check theirs for me please?

Thanks, Dave

I know you aimed this at LED owners but I have the Halogen’s with auto high beam and that is exactly what happens on mine. 

Manual high beam - instant on/off

auto high beam - gradual

nice feature if it is one, shame it doesn’t do the same on manual high beam but is perfectly normal

[nashdm2]

Thanks DG97, this is really strange. Thanks for the confirmation. I wonder if it is to protect the life of the bulbs/LED's?

We have a number of Ford's (Mondeo/Galaxy) at work and they have this auto high beam. They switch on and off instantly, not fade on and off.

Now I know that it is how it is meant to be, but, it is a little strange. For example, I was driving home last night. The system was in auto and I was going through some country roads. When cars came towards me it would fade off, then fade on after the car has passed. BUT, due to how dark it was and the nature of the road, it would have been a lot safer for it to come on instantly to assist me in seeing ahead. If you manually switch on and off whilst it is in auto mode, the same fade on and off happens. Switch it to manual and it works really quickly. Strange. 

[Jonro2009]

Why does it do that, and why is it preferable to instant on/off?

[nashdm2]

As above, I can only suggest its to protect the life of the bulbs/LED's when on auto, as they are on and off all the time.

[Jollyandy]

The Mondeo/Galaxy probably have Bi-Xenon lights which change to high beam by moving a flap, rather than switching extra lamps on.


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[DG97]

3 hours ago, nashdm2 said:

Thanks DG97, this is really strange. Thanks for the confirmation. I wonder if it is to protect the life of the bulbs/LED's?

We have a number of Ford's (Mondeo/Galaxy) at work and they have this auto high beam. They switch on and off instantly, not fade on and off.

Now I know that it is how it is meant to be, but, it is a little strange. For example, I was driving home last night. The system was in auto and I was going through some country roads. When cars came towards me it would fade off, then fade on after the car has passed. BUT, due to how dark it was and the nature of the road, it would have been a lot safer for it to come on instantly to assist me in seeing ahead. If you manually switch on and off whilst it is in auto mode, the same fade on and off happens. Switch it to manual and it works really quickly. Strange. 

Possibly, my other guess would be that as the auto high beam works with the light sensor, I wonder if because it is the sensor that triggers the lights coming on and that causes the fade in and out effect. 

As nice of an effect it gives I suppose, I do agree with you, it would be safer for an instant on and off, especially as sometimes when the lights come on, due to them fading in, I sometimes don't actually quite acknowledge they're on. Obviously the road is lit ahead a bit more and the high beam light appears on the instrument cluster, I find that as it fades in, it's somewhat weirdly easy to miss that they have actually came on. 

Saying all of that though, I find the auto high beam to be more of an annoyance than convenience. Where I live, there are plenty of hills and twisty roads where the system is just too delayed sometimes in turning the lights off. Similarly, the high beams come on in un-lit or poorly lit built up areas which i don't want it to do and also, on an unlit carriage way, if a car coming from an opposite direction is far enough for my car to not quite see it yet, the high beams will remain on blinding the poor bloke coming my way. All those reasons are why I tend to just switch the auto high beam function off.

[nashdm2]

Interesting, thanks for your reply. I have only driven the car at night a couple of times, so, still getting used to it. For me, there are flaws in how the auto high beam (AHB) works, as like you, mine can get confused easily. So, the decision comes down to do you find the AHB too annoying and turn it off, or, leave it on and accept its flaws.

Time will tell with me on this, will need to do a few more miles first. I also find like you that the high beam comes in so gradually, it hard to see that it has come on lol.