Are low beams supposed to auto dim?

Zanardi

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I was driving my XLT a couple nights ago. It was after dark. Edge of town where there are not many street lights or other significant ambient light.

As a car approaches in the other lane coming at me my headlights dim significantly. The instant the other car passes they brighten up again. Didn't pay much attention until it did it again a short time later. My first thought is I must have my high-beams on. I look at the dash and no - my high beam indicator is not on. I cycle my brights on and off and the dash indicator works fine. I leave them off. By the time I get home I probably pass a half dozen more cars and my low beams dim each time.

Are the low beams supposed to do this? I know the truck has auto dim for high beam. If the low beams do auto dim my follow up question would be why on earth would it be a desirable feature to have low beams auto dim?

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Mobius97

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Hmm interesting. My low beams don't dim. Head lights will automatically switch between hi and low based on what the camera see's i.e. other vehicle tail or headlights lights etc. I do however get the auto high beams icon on the dash. I also see the high beam icon switch on when the high's come on. Mine is a Lariat so perhaps the XLT operates a little different?
 
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Zanardi

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Thank you Mobius. My XLT will operate as you describe. If I turn my Hi Beams on manually they will automatically switch to low as a car approaches then back to high. I expected that as I knew that was a feature of the truck.

One thing I don't recall is if my headlight switch was turned to full "on" or "auto" mode. I generally like to run full on and not mess with the auto daytime running lights and all of that. I may have had it on auto on the fateful night in question.

I know the auto headlight system has a daylight sensor somewhere. During typical daylight it turns on the running lights only. In very cloudy, declining light or dark conditions it turns the headlights on. I notice it the sensor will also cause my sync screen to switch from day mode to night mode.

If I have my headlights on auto mode - is it possible the light from on coming cars is hitting the daylight sensor and causing my low beams to dim a bit? I don't know if that is even possible or if the auto setting is "all or nothing" - headlights are simply on or off with no in between.
 

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Thank you Mobius. My XLT will operate as you describe. If I turn my Hi Beams on manually they will automatically switch to low as a car approaches then back to high. I expected that as I knew that was a feature of the truck.

One thing I don't recall is if my headlight switch was turned to full "on" or "auto" mode. I generally like to run full on and not mess with the auto daytime running lights and all of that. I may have had it on auto on the fateful night in question.

I know the auto headlight system has a daylight sensor somewhere. During typical daylight it turns on the running lights only. In very cloudy, declining light or dark conditions it turns the headlights on. I notice it the sensor will also cause my sync screen to switch from day mode to night mode.

If I have my headlights on auto mode - is it possible the light from on coming cars is hitting the daylight sensor and causing my low beams to dim a bit? I don't know if that is even possible or if the auto setting is "all or nothing" - headlights are simply on or off with no in between.
Having the headlight switch in auto mode won't affect this. The headlights have a pretty significant delay between when they sense sufficient light and when they turn the lights off. Somewhere in the range of 30secs or so. I doubt the light from oncoming headlights would cause this issue, even it were a sustained beam for a long time. After all, people drive in dense traffic under streetlights all the time without this issue. By the way, the daylight sensor is the black pyramid in the center of the dash up against the windshield I do believe.

It's interesting, because the DRLs (which I'm not sure if you have turned on or not, the DRLs are separate from the auto headlight setting, there's actually a setting in the menu for them) on the XLT are just a dimmer setting on the low beams. Maybe there is actually something wrong with your truck that the sensor thinks it's bright enough out all of a sudden and turns off the headlights, leaving your dimmer DRLs the only things on. A good check for that would be if the green headlight indicator on the dash turns off when you see the headlights dim.

My first stupid question is, are you sure this isn't a case of eyes playing tricks on you? Having a bright light coming at you does make the light you are emitting seam dimmer and less effective. Stupid thought, I know, but someone has to ask.
 
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Zanardi

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Having the headlight switch in auto mode won't affect this. The headlights have a pretty significant delay between when they sense sufficient light and when they turn the lights off. Somewhere in the range of 30secs or so. I doubt the light from oncoming headlights would cause this issue, even it were a sustained beam for a long time. After all, people drive in dense traffic under streetlights all the time without this issue. By the way, the daylight sensor is the black pyramid in the center of the dash up against the windshield I do believe.

It's interesting, because the DRLs (which I'm not sure if you have turned on or not, the DRLs are separate from the auto headlight setting, there's actually a setting in the menu for them) on the XLT are just a dimmer setting on the low beams. Maybe there is actually something wrong with your truck that the sensor thinks it's bright enough out all of a sudden and turns off the headlights, leaving your dimmer DRLs the only things on. A good check for that would be if the green headlight indicator on the dash turns off when you see the headlights dim.

My first stupid question is, are you sure this isn't a case of eyes playing tricks on you? Having a bright light coming at you does make the light you are emitting seam dimmer and less effective. Stupid thought, I know, but someone has to ask.
No offense - I know for a fact the lights were actually dimming (or shutting off as you suggest leaving only the DRLs on). I would watch carefully.
Having the headlight switch in auto mode won't affect this. The headlights have a pretty significant delay between when they sense sufficient light and when they turn the lights off. Somewhere in the range of 30secs or so. I doubt the light from oncoming headlights would cause this issue, even it were a sustained beam for a long time. After all, people drive in dense traffic under streetlights all the time without this issue. By the way, the daylight sensor is the black pyramid in the center of the dash up against the windshield I do believe.

It's interesting, because the DRLs (which I'm not sure if you have turned on or not, the DRLs are separate from the auto headlight setting, there's actually a setting in the menu for them) on the XLT are just a dimmer setting on the low beams. Maybe there is actually something wrong with your truck that the sensor thinks it's bright enough out all of a sudden and turns off the headlights, leaving your dimmer DRLs the only things on. A good check for that would be if the green headlight indicator on the dash turns off when you see the headlights dim.

My first stupid question is, are you sure this isn't a case of eyes playing tricks on you? Having a bright light coming at you does make the light you are emitting seam dimmer and less effective. Stupid thought, I know, but someone has to ask.
 


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Zanardi

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Sorry my message posted before I finished! I was going to say I watched I carefully. The lights would dim significantly (or shut off). The exact instant the passing car would be "even" with my car so the lights were no longer shining at mine - my lights would brighten back up. Did it about a half dozen times.

Now I'm not even sure what DRLs are. I assumed DRLs just meant all of the amber running lights and such on the front were on (basically everything except the headlights). In DRL "mode" do the headlamps come on - just less bright? Your thought that it may be my DRL coming on and off may be true.
 

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Sorry my message posted before I finished! I was going to say I watched I carefully. The lights would dim significantly (or shut off). The exact instant the passing car would be "even" with my car so the lights were no longer shining at mine - my lights would brighten back up. Did it about a half dozen times.

Now I'm not even sure what DRLs are. I assumed DRLs just meant all of the amber running lights and such on the front were on (basically everything except the headlights). In DRL "mode" do the headlamps come on - just less bright? Your thought that it may be my DRL coming on and off may be true.
The DRL - Daytime Running Light - uses the low beam, only dimmer than normal. They have to be initialized in the menu setup and the Auto Headlamp used (dial turned all the way to the right). They light up when you take the truck out of Park. You may have a defective daylight sensor. Take it to the dealer and explain the problem. It's under warranty.
 

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You can confirm whether that's the problem by seeing if the green headlight indicator goes off in the situation you describe--that shows whether the headlights are on, and will turn off if only DRLs are on.
 
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Zanardi

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Thanks guys. First thing I'll explore is if the green light indicator is coming in and off as it happens. I didn't think to look for that as I was focused on if my brights were on while it was happening. I also didn't realize there was a menu section/selection tied into the DRL. I'll check that as well. It's sounding more like the issue is tied into the DRL feature somehow. If it keeps happening I will take it into the dealer. I drove it at night prior to this (I've only had the truck about a month) and don't recall it happening. Could indeed be a sensor issue.
 

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No offense - I know for a fact the lights were actually dimming (or shutting off as you suggest leaving only the DRLs on). I would watch carefully.
I figured you'd be smart enough to know the difference between lights dimming and eyes playing tricks, but hey, a guy's gotta just ask to make sure. You never know. haha
 
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Zanardi

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Looks like I did misunderstand the system. It likely has nothing to do with DRL but with automatic high beam control. I assumed that if I turned my brights on manually, automatic high beam control would dim them as cars approached. Simple enough. I just read the following on page 71 of the owners manual:

The system turns on high beams if it is dark enough and no other traffic is present. If it detects an approaching vehicle’s headlamps or tail lamps, or street lighting ahead, the system turns off high beams before they can distract other road users. Low beams remain on.

Not sure if I'm one of the few that didn't know this but there you have it. The focus on high beams is always to dim them so as to not blind oncoming traffic. I never imagined there would be a system to automatically turn them on.

Now I just have to confirm if the blue high beam indicator on the dash display comes on when the brights turn on automatically and I just missed it. If the dash indicator light is tied into the manual high beam switch on the stalk it's possible it does not light when the high beams are switched on through the automatic system.

Thanks for all of the suggestions. Hopefully the above info helps others who weren't aware of it.
 

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Yes, the high beam indicator will light if they come on automatically. There's an additional indicator showing whether auto high beams are enabled. (It's a high beam symbol with an A in it.) If you manually turn highs on, I don't think it will turn them off automatically. If you manually turn them off then they won't turn on unless you cycle back to auto and make that indicator return.

I've found that the auto setting works well in urban and rural environments and awkwardly flashes the lights in low density suburban environments. (So knowing how to turn it off is useful.)
 

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I was driving my XLT a couple nights ago. It was after dark. Edge of town where there are not many street lights or other significant ambient light.

As a car approaches in the other lane coming at me my headlights dim significantly. The instant the other car passes they brighten up again. Didn't pay much attention until it did it again a short time later. My first thought is I must have my high-beams on. I look at the dash and no - my high beam indicator is not on. I cycle my brights on and off and the dash indicator works fine. I leave them off. By the time I get home I probably pass a half dozen more cars and my low beams dim each time.

Are the low beams supposed to do this? I know the truck has auto dim for high beam. If the low beams do auto dim my follow up question would be why on earth would it be a desirable feature to have low beams auto dim?

Thanks!
Apparently your delivery consisted of “Your new truck is over there”
 

Deleted member 1634

Apparently your delivery consisted of “Your new truck is over there”
I've noticed that a lot on this forum (and I'm sure it's a systemic problem over all brands and types of vehicles) that a lot of questions and misunderstandings would be easily remedied/avoided if people 1) got a good intro to the vehicle from the dealer during delivery (or paid attention during the orientation) and/or 2) would read the manual (both soon after taking delivery and reference it first when there is a question).
 

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It's interesting, because the DRLs (which I'm not sure if you have turned on or not, the DRLs are separate from the auto headlight setting, there's actually a setting in the menu for them) on the XLT are just a dimmer setting on the low beams. Maybe there is actually something wrong with your truck that the sensor thinks it's bright enough out all of a sudden and turns off the headlights, leaving your dimmer DRLs the only things on. A good check for that would be if the green headlight indicator on the dash turns off when you see the headlights dim.
The DRL on the XLT are full voltage. If they were reduced voltage, our LED swaps would flicker when DRL is activated.
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