Thread: info about headlight switch operation...

Its really a nice feature. Or at least I thought it was until I went to the drive in... I couldnt turn of my lights until i turned the car off >:|

If you turn the dial VERY SLOW you'll find a spot between settings where the headlights turn off. I used it every day going through the gate on base.

I've heard that can burn out your switch, so I wouldn't recommend it for long periods of time (I'm sure going through the gate is fine).

For anyone who wants to take complete control of their headlights:

You can disable the DRL's buy unplugging the DRL module. On your driver's side, there will be a little panel on the side of the dash (only visible with the door open). Pry it up, and you'll see a connector plugged into a black module with a big heat sink, this is the DRL diode. Unplug this connector, and DRL's will go away permanently. (Note: DRL's are required in Canada, so if you live in the great white north I wouldn't do this.)

Besides DRLs, your car also has twilight sentinel (automatic headlights), which will turn the lights on to full brightness when it gets dark out. These can be disabled by installing a resistor in place of the light sensor. The sensor is located under a little panel in the top center of the dash. The panel has two holes, one for the blinking red security LED and one for the light sensor. Pry up this panel, then unplug the sensor and slide a 4.7kOhm resistor in its place (the connector is tight enough to hold it there, or you can use some electrical tape to make sure it doesn't vibrate loose). Your car will now think it's daylight all the time and auto headlights will never come on.

If you don't want do disable these features permanently, you can still disable them at the drive-in. Just park, set the parking brake, turn off your engine, then start the car. If the car is started with the parking brake set, both of these features will be disabled until the parking brake is released.

Originally Posted by Warhellride

I've heard that can burn out your switch, so I wouldn't recommend it for long periods of time (I'm sure going through the gate is fine).

For anyone who wants to take complete control of their headlights:

You can disable the DRL's buy unplugging the DRL module. On your driver's side, there will be a little panel on the side of the dash (only visible with the door open). Pry it up, and you'll see a connector plugged into a black module with a big heat sink, this is the DRL diode. Unplug this connector, and DRL's will go away permanently. (Note: DRL's are required in Canada, so if you live in the great white north I wouldn't do this.)

Besides DRLs, your car also has twilight sentinel (automatic headlights), which will turn the lights on to full brightness when it gets dark out. These can be disabled by installing a resistor in place of the light sensor. The sensor is located under a little panel in the top center of the dash. The panel has two holes, one for the blinking red security LED and one for the light sensor. Pry up this panel, then unplug the sensor and slide a 4.7kOhm resistor in its place (the connector is tight enough to hold it there, or you can use some electrical tape to make sure it doesn't vibrate loose). Your car will now think it's daylight all the time and auto headlights will never come on.

If you don't want do disable these features permanently, you can still disable them at the drive-in. Just park, set the parking brake, turn off your engine, then start the car. If the car is started with the parking brake set, both of these features will be disabled until the parking brake is released.

Great write-up!
It's not like ya "gotta ROLL" at "lights out" anyway really, is it?
Parking break ON!

On some model years, simply pulling the fuse pisses off the BCM. See my web site for disabling the DRLs and Twilight Sentinel feature.

Originally Posted by Jakegday

hi guys, im new to the forum so im not sure what you guys consider worse, bringing a thread back from the dead or creating a new thread on a topic that has been discussed numerous times

anyways, i found this thread through a search and have a couple questions. first of all, where exactly is this drl diode? how exactly do i get to it?? second, in regards to posts 8 and 10, what years would be affected negatively by doing just this??


also, i read the write up on backinblacks site regarding the lights, if you dont want these features at all, instead of installing switches, you can just cut the wires, right? and that wont cause any side effects?

That is all here:
BACKINBLACK's Grand Prix electrical mods page...