Daytime lights

Discussion in 'General Motoring' started by R Blaine, Jul 6, 2004.

  1. R Blaine

    R Blaine Guest

    I'm sure this topic has been covered here before, but can anyone tell me how
    to disable the daytime running lights on a 2004 XC70, US version?

    Thank you,
    Rick
     
    R Blaine, Jul 6, 2004
    #1
  2. R Blaine

    Tony Penner Guest

    Same with 2002 s80 english version please
     
    Tony Penner, Jul 6, 2004
    #2
  3. R Blaine

    Jfet Guest

    It is illegal to do so in Canada, but you'd probably never get a ticket for it. However,
    if in an accident and the insurance company can prove that your modification attributed to
    the accident, Canadian (at least Ontario) insurance companies can and will deny the claim,
    or 2nd to worst, never insure you again (which means your blacklisted and can't get
    insurance anywhere else or instead pay a super high premium).

    To have them running isn't a big deal, very small load on the battery/alternator, and
    makes you more visible to drunk oncoming traffic (yep, seen daytime drunk drivers!!!, in
    Florida with those mini cans of beer in the cup holders, hehe, crazy stuff).

    Cheers.
     
    Jfet, Jul 6, 2004
    #3
  4. R Blaine

    Bonnet Lock Guest

    In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
    This sounds very unlikely unless it is a requirement for *all* vehicles to
    have daylight running lights - as it probably is in Sweden.

    In UK, there is no requirement to do so, but Volvos are set up to have them
    on by default. On my 1999 V70, the main lighting switch has a small screw in
    one corner which can be turned to three different positions to invoke
    different lighting regimes - some of which have the lights off unless
    expressly switched on. The driver's handbook explains the options. I fail to
    see how any insurance company could wriggle out of their obligations simply
    because someone chose a perfectly legal, but non-default, option as
    explained in the driver's handbook!

    Not all models work in the same way for selecting lighting options. I have a
    feeling that V80s and the new V70 require a code to be changed in the
    on-board computer, which is not really a DIY job. Pity!
     
    Bonnet Lock, Jul 6, 2004
    #4
  5. R Blaine

    Gunner Guest

    03 XC70. I have been here before.

    Faced with an option I decided not to have daylight running lights on.
    Instead I have my lights on all of the time. It sure cuts down on the
    preflight check list ;-)> For the comedy impaired. 1. Selt Belt 2. Turn
    key 3. Go . You can leave out PoorVisiibility; Turn on lights

    Please tell me why anyone with his or her mind engaged would buy a vehicle
    renown for innovation in automobile safety would want to disable features
    they paid for. If oncoming drivers object they can start driving on the
    other side of the road!

    G
     
    Gunner, Jul 6, 2004
    #5
  6. R Blaine

    Bonnet Lock Guest

    In an earlier contribution to this discussion,

    It probably makes sense in northern Scandanavia - where it is dark round the
    clock for weeks on end in winter to have lights which come on automatically
    with the ignition.

    It makes a lot less sense in other parts of the world - but it is probably
    easier and cheaper for Volvo to use the same systems worldwide. Daylight
    running lights are not a legal requirement in UK and only Volvos (and maybe
    Saab?) have them. Indeed, Volvo drivers are sometimes ridiculed for their
    inability to turn off their lights on a bright summer's day. One comic even
    did a sketch about an old Volvo being compressed into a cube of scrap metal
    *still* with its light on!

    There has been a lot of discussion in the past in this NG about the merits
    or otherwise of daylight running lights - and it invariably polarises into
    two camps. I am firmly in the camp which favours giving the individual
    driver control of his lights.

    [Similarly there has been a lot of discussion about one or two rear fog
    lights - since Volvo only implements *one* on the basis that this is
    *safer*! In my view, Volvo have very weird ideas on lighting philosophy even
    though all other safety aspects of their cars are excellent].
     
    Bonnet Lock, Jul 6, 2004
    #6
  7. R Blaine

    KerbKlipper Guest

    I wish life was that simple.

    Here in the UK, although bordering illegal, it is common practice to 'flash'
    your lights at someone to invite them to pull out in front of you. Sadly,
    the roads in Wiltshire where I live are heavily pot-holed in the Swiss
    cheese style ( the only flat road surfaces are called puddles). Brilliant
    though my V70 suspension is, it can't stop the car being bounced around and
    hence waving the daylight running lights up and down.

    After my third emergency stop in one week, I asked the dealer to turn the
    dangerous life threatening things off. It's a shame because I believe
    running lights to be a good thing - shame I have to go without. I drove
    dim-dipped running lights for 10 years with my previous 740, and not once
    did anyone mistake them for an intentional flash.

    Preferably please reply to the newsgroup. If you need to write direct,
    please reply to Dom131pointnewsatstapldmpointdemonpointcopointuk.
    Sorry for the antispam measures, but that's modern life!
     
    KerbKlipper, Jul 6, 2004
    #7
  8. R Blaine

    G Klein Guest

    Only the dealer can reset this for you they may charge a fee for this it
    depends on the mood of the service manger

    --
    "*-344-*Never Forgotten"
    Is for the New York City Firemen who lost their lives on September 11,2001.
    The official count is 343, but there was also a volunteer who lost his life
    aiding in the initial rescue efforts. And I will never forget them as long
    as I live,
    nor should any American.
    "Mow Green"
     
    G Klein, Jul 7, 2004
    #8
  9. R Blaine

    jel183\(UK\) Guest

    On my 2002 S40 (UK) they are turned off by a combination of the turning the
    light switch and turning the key - instructions were in the manual..
     
    jel183\(UK\), Jul 7, 2004
    #9
  10. R Blaine

    Bob Noble Guest

    Hi, Rick - - -

    Whatever opinions folks may have on the "morality" of lights-on driving,
    the operation in *all* current production Volvo's (US, anyway) is:

    Computer selectable only - default is "on." Also, the current computer
    configuration of all individual onboard computers is mirrored on the big
    computer in the sky in Sweden - for whatever that may be worth.

    Dealers charging or not is, actually, an issue. Volvo activates the
    daylight lights in countries where their use is perceived to be a
    safety-related issue. Most of your friendly Dealers are reluctant to
    fool with a "safety related" item. In the US, we seem to believe that
    any problem we encounter is somebody else's fault, so the court system
    is kept busy - very busy. Figure the odds that your Dealer should be
    looking at, if not you, too.

    bob noble
    Reno, NV, USA
     
    Bob Noble, Jul 28, 2004
    #10
  11. R Blaine

    Chip C Guest

    In fact there are bright-sunlight conditions in which daytime running
    lights make an oncoming car visible from a distance when an unlit car
    is lost in the glare of the sun on the road. I believe Volvo is using
    fairly solid research in defaulting to DRL's even where they are not
    mandated (and add VW to that list, at least in the U.S.) This is not
    to suggest that drivers ought not to have a choice where the law
    doesn't require them.

    However, I do believe that the widespread use of DRL's puts unlit
    vehicles at a disadvantage, in that drivers don't look for cars any
    more - they just look for headlights. DRL's have been mandated here
    since 1990 and, given the very small percentage of vehicles that
    survive salted roads for 14 eastern-Canadian winters, it's very rare
    to see a car today without them.

    (Sadly, in mandating DRLs the gov't didn't bother to specify what
    colour they should be, resulting in several makers implementing them
    by slightly intensifying their amber parking lights. I think this
    shows a fundamental ignorance of the principles involved.)

    The rear fog lights question has come up here before; as I understand
    it it boils down to (a) with two fog lights on, your brake lights
    would be less disctinctive, and (b) Germany mandates it that way.

    Chip C
    Toronto
     
    Chip C, Aug 3, 2004
    #11
  12. R Blaine

    Gunner Guest

    Thank you

    But you preaching from the choir loft!

    G
    (Canada Safety Council - Defensive Driving Instructor)

     
    Gunner, Aug 3, 2004
    #12
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