FORSCan to *enable* always-on DRLs in Canada

[somnambulant]

I just moved back to Canada from the US and brought my 2019 Ford Ranger along with me. I'm trying to register it here, but Canada requires always-on DRLs (including when the headlight switch is set to OFF). I've tried every relevant sounding setting in FORScan, but so far I've had no luck. I've tried with the truck in gear and turned on, but still nothing. Lights obviously come on when I turn them to park/on/auto, but that's not enough in Canada.

Has anyone else done this?

Screenshot of my FORScan settings:

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[somnambulant]

Yeah, I see a bunch of settings in BCM via FORScan (in the screencap I showed), but nothing seems to do the trick, unless there's something missing from FORScan that IDS can see.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

Welcome back to the land of folks driving at night with their lights turned off because their “always on” DRLs have them thinking all their lights are on. That’s scary enough on the well-lit 400 series highways here in the GTA but could be absolutely catastrophic in places like Squamish.

I recall this exact thing this being discussed in a Forscan thread - keep searching.

 

[somnambulant]

Yeah, I found a bunch of places where people were changing which lights came on for DRLs, but I suspect those were mostly the DRLs that come on when the physical switch is set to Auto (but it's still daylight conditions), as none of them seem to enable any lights when the physical switch is set to off.

ps. I saw multiple vehicles with ZERO lighting on in Seattle literally every time I was out at night. The dingdongs can't help themselves. Nobody seemed to know what a quick flick of the headlights means down there either. I eventually gave up trying.

 

[Trigganometry]

I don’t think you can do that with a stock truck. Pretty sure you have to be in auto all the time to control DRL configurations.

 

[BettaRanga]

I keep my truck in auto all the time and my DRLs stay on as stock config.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

Yeah, I found a bunch of places where people were changing which lights came on for DRLs, but I suspect those were mostly the DRLs that come on when the physical switch is set to Auto (but it's still daylight conditions), as none of them seem to enable any lights when the physical switch is set to off.

ps. I saw multiple vehicles with ZERO lighting on in Seattle literally every time I was out at night. The dingdongs can't help themselves. Nobody seemed to know what a quick flick of the headlights means down there either. I eventually gave up trying.

The dealer may have to program it. Just curious - is there a requirement to do something with the cluster to show km/hr or are they fine with the digital display changing from mph in settings?

 

[somnambulant]

They don't care about mph, as long as kph is also shown on the analog gauges, but there's also a setting you can switch in the display settings in Sync that let's you switch to metric for temperatures, speed and distance.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

I keep my truck in auto all the time and my DRLs stay on as stock config.

That’s not enough to meet the Transport Canada requirement - they must be “always on” when the vehicle is on, regardless of the switch position, including “Off”. It’s been this way since 1989.

In addition to “always on” DRLs, as of September 2021 the Canadian Vehicle Lighting Regulation requires that all new vehicles sold in Canada have one of the following:

• tail lights that come on automatically with daytime running lights
• headlights, tail lights, and side marker lights that turn on automatically in the dark
• a dashboard that stays dark to alert the driver to turn on the lights

 

[Bob902]

Isn't that an option in the settings menu on the dash? Let me take a look.

 

[Bob902]

Owners manual shows it can be configured through the information display on the dash. Go to the lighting section and it gives information on the two types of DRL'S

 

[somnambulant]

Owners manual shows it can be configured through the information display on the dash. Go to the lighting section and it gives information on the two types of DRL'S

The only setting I know of in the dash is a setting for having the lamps come on during the day when the lighting switch is set to the Automatic setting. That isn't good enough in Canada.

In Canada a vehicle cannot allow you to turn off your headlights ever, while in-gear with the e-brake disengaged, in order to be legal to drive. That's been true since 1990 or something.

 

[Wytchdctr]

Owners manual shows it can be configured through the information display on the dash. Go to the lighting section and it gives information on the two types of DRL'S

That is how I set mine to be on all the time. I keep it on auto but the headlights are on as soon as I am in gear/ebrake off.

 

[Big Blue]

Have you tried changing the "DRL Conditions" setting? My US Ranger is set to "Option A" maybe "Option B" is what you need.

 

[somnambulant]

Have you tried changing the "DRL Conditions" setting? My US Ranger is set to "Option A" maybe "Option B" is what you need.

I did try that and didn't notice any difference. I'm also not 100% sure what the conditions are for the DRLs to even come on in a car with them fully enabled (Canada-style). Truck running, or just in the "on" position? Does the parking brake need to be disengaged? Sounds like they don't work in Park, so I tried with the truck in Drive and Neutral, but so far I haven't found anything that works.

I think I need to start over from zero and try each setting one at a time. But then I wonder if I need a combination of settings.

I'm about to head out of town though, but thankfully I also got an extension from RIV on registering my vehicle in Canada.

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