Parking lights were on instead of the main lights

shazcan · 10-22-2009, 07:13 AM

Hi, I've read threads about lights going off one by one but this seems to be a new one.
I was driving home last night when I noticed a couple of people flash me. As I'd been travelling in the city and on well-lit roads, the first thing I did was to double check was that the lights were on, which, of course, they were. As a sub-concious thing, I check at the same time to twist the switch all the way, just in case they are simply on the parking lights instead, and check where the switch is visually.
I presumed that a light was out and that was confirmed on the back roads when my visibilty wasn't as good as normal.
When I got back I looked to see which light was out. Both lights were on, but something seemed to be up. Not knowing which was which, it seemed to be that the parking lights (the top ones) were on but the bottom ones weren't.
I switched off and got my partner to come out and have a look. I put the headlights on and this time both sets of lights were on. Switching to parking lights, I saw what I saw before.
So now my partner thinks I just didn't check properly, which is a fair assumption in the circumstances (and it was a long journey late at night) but I know that I checked!
So am I going mad and managed to turn them back to parking lights at some point or is this something electrical?
Sanity at stake here!

patsparks · 10-22-2009, 09:20 AM

Sorry!

Mike Dimmick · 10-22-2009, 06:18 PM

The parking lights are always on when the tail lights are on - in the 'headlamps on' position the parking lights remain on. It could be a bad contact in the stalk, a bad relay, an intermittent fuse, etc. It's most likely to be the relay or one of the connections before that, though, as I'd expect only one lamp to be out if it were a fuse - the headlights are fused separately.

Power for the lighting relay doesn't go directly through the stalk, the stalk's position is monitored by the Body ECU which controls various relays (the wiring diagram for North American cars is pretty complex due to the option of HID headlights, which I don't think were ever an option here, and daytime running lights and Auto On/Off for Canada).

shazcan · 11-01-2009, 07:27 AM

Thanks for that. I tested what driving with parking lights was like on a dark (and empty) bit of road for a second a couple of days ago. There's no way I could have driven like that- it was pitch black!The lights were dimmer that night though. Maybe I had a temporary problem with one light which resolved itself by the time I got back. There are threads about that, I see.
Do the lights go into parking light mode automatically when the power is off? That might explain why I saw just the parking lights on when I got out and checked. (unless I knocked the stalk somehow when I got out...not ruling out human error here!)

qbee42 · 11-01-2009, 08:18 AM

There are three light positions: 1) Off; 2) Parking lights only; 3) Parking lights and head lights.

Position #3 with failed head lights looks identical to position #2.

Tom

BAllanJ · 11-01-2009, 09:34 AM

I don't know about the UK model, but in Canada we also have an auto position where the lights switch from drl to proper lights when it's dark enough.

qbee42 · 11-01-2009, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BAllanJ

I don't know about the UK model, but in Canada we also have an auto position where the lights switch from drl to proper lights when it's dark enough.

Sure, go ahead and rub it in. My ancient POS Ford van had this feature, but not my high tech Prius.

Tom

10-22-2009, 07:13 AM	#1
shazcan Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: UK Posts: 5 My Car: 2006 Prius Model: N/A Package: T3 Thanks: 4 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	Parking lights were on instead of the main lights Hi, I've read threads about lights going off one by one but this seems to be a new one. I was driving home last night when I noticed a couple of people flash me. As I'd been travelling in the city and on well-lit roads, the first thing I did was to double check was that the lights were on, which, of course, they were. As a sub-concious thing, I check at the same time to twist the switch all the way, just in case they are simply on the parking lights instead, and check where the switch is visually. I presumed that a light was out and that was confirmed on the back roads when my visibilty wasn't as good as normal. When I got back I looked to see which light was out. Both lights were on, but something seemed to be up. Not knowing which was which, it seemed to be that the parking lights (the top ones) were on but the bottom ones weren't. I switched off and got my partner to come out and have a look. I put the headlights on and this time both sets of lights were on. Switching to parking lights, I saw what I saw before. So now my partner thinks I just didn't check properly, which is a fair assumption in the circumstances (and it was a long journey late at night) but I know that I checked! So am I going mad and managed to turn them back to parking lights at some point or is this something electrical? Sanity at stake here!

11-01-2009, 07:27 AM	#4
shazcan Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: UK Posts: 5 My Car: 2006 Prius Model: N/A Package: T3 Thanks: 4 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	Re: Parking lights were on instead of the main lights Thanks for that. I tested what driving with parking lights was like on a dark (and empty) bit of road for a second a couple of days ago. There's no way I could have driven like that- it was pitch black!The lights were dimmer that night though. Maybe I had a temporary problem with one light which resolved itself by the time I got back. There are threads about that, I see. Do the lights go into parking light mode automatically when the power is off? That might explain why I saw just the parking lights on when I got out and checked. (unless I knocked the stalk somehow when I got out...not ruling out human error here!)

11-01-2009, 08:18 AM	#5
qbee42 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Northern Michigan Posts: 10,474 My Car: 2006 Prius Model: Package: #7 Thanks: 94 Thanked 387 Times in 289 Posts Friends: 10	Re: Parking lights were on instead of the main lights There are three light positions: 1) Off; 2) Parking lights only; 3) Parking lights and head lights. Position #3 with failed head lights looks identical to position #2. Tom

11-01-2009, 09:34 AM	#6
BAllanJ Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Kingston Ontario Posts: 187 My Car: 2009 Prius Model: N/A Package: C Thanks: 10 Thanked 9 Times in 8 Posts Friends: 0	Re: Parking lights were on instead of the main lights I don't know about the UK model, but in Canada we also have an auto position where the lights switch from drl to proper lights when it's dark enough.

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10-22-2009, 09:20 AM	#2
patsparks An Aussie perspective Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Adelaide South Australia Posts: 9,219 My Car: 2004 Prius Model: N/A Package: Base Thanks: 124 Thanked 180 Times in 138 Posts Friends: 33	Re: Parking lights were on instead of the main lights Sorry!

10-22-2009, 06:18 PM	#3
Mike Dimmick Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Reading, UK Posts: 698 My Car: 2008 Prius Model: Package: T3 Thanks: 7 Thanked 108 Times in 69 Posts Friends: 0	Re: Parking lights were on instead of the main lights The parking lights are always on when the tail lights are on - in the 'headlamps on' position the parking lights remain on. It could be a bad contact in the stalk, a bad relay, an intermittent fuse, etc. It's most likely to be the relay or one of the connections before that, though, as I'd expect only one lamp to be out if it were a fuse - the headlights are fused separately. Power for the lighting relay doesn't go directly through the stalk, the stalk's position is monitored by the Body ECU which controls various relays (the wiring diagram for North American cars is pretty complex due to the option of HID headlights, which I don't think were ever an option here, and daytime running lights and Auto On/Off for Canada).