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Plug N Play Auto Headlights for the Prius C

Discussion in 'Prius c Accessories and Modifications' started by WD0AFQ, Jun 6, 2013.

  1. C4me

    C4me Junior Member

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    Plus if you just left a 2 martini meeting w/friends, and your messing with entune and your iphone, and it suddenly starts to rain real hard........auto headlights and wipers are a huge plus ;) but i being responsible would never ever do that!



     
  2. ztanos

    ztanos All-around Geek!

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    All new cars have their dashboards lit... it's not the cars responsibility to turn it's lights on...

    Automatic wipers are a nice "luxury", but so is automatic headlights. Not having them isn't a safety concern as you still have headlights and wipers.

    You will, hopefully, only run at night without your headlights once. After that first ticket, you might start paying attention to your driving and what is going on around you.

    Would it be nice to have both of these features? Absolutely, but so would having a rear-camera. Is not having a rear camera a safety issue? No, but it sure would be nice.
     
    #22 ztanos, Jun 10, 2013
    Last edited: Jun 17, 2014
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  3. ztanos

    ztanos All-around Geek!

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    The only safety issue I see is the nut behind the steering wheel. :)
     
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  4. WD0AFQ

    WD0AFQ Active Member

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    I don't know about that. I know that this unit will turn the lights on if wipers are on, if you want it to. I did not use that wire. All I wanted was for the lights to come on when dark so I don't drive around town with no lights because of the street lights. this is a slick little unit and easy to hook up.
    Dan
     
  5. BigWIll

    BigWIll Junior Member

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    All new cars definitely don't have their dashboard backlit whenever the ignition is on.

    I'd agree that automatic wipers aren't a necessity. For that matter, intermittent wipers could be considered a nice "luxury", so why are those on virtually every car now? Because it costs virtually nothing. Which was and still is my point about automatic headlights - it's absurd that Toyota can't add a 50-cent sensor to enable auto headlights, especially on a car that starts at $20K MSRP like the c.

    As for the "paying attention" crack, you obviously don't live someplace with excellent street lighting. Where I live it's possible to drive for miles without seeing the road as that dark, even more so when there's traffic and the additional lighting from the other cars around. It happened 2-3 times primarily because I switch between multiple vehicles. All of them except the hybrid I've only driven a few times:
    Night + no dash backlight = no headlights on.
    Night + dash backlight = headlights and/or parking lights on.

    One more thing - if having lights appropriately on isn't a safety issue, then explain the existence of mandatory DRLs in certain places. After all, every car in a place with mandatory DRLs has a light switch that the driver can flip on and off manually, so why mandate DRLs?

    Not a safety issue? Tell that to the parents of a child who was backed over and killed because the driver couldn't see the child in the rear view mirror. You can find a bunch of those kids here:

    Kids & Cars - Backovers

    FYI, the Feds disagree with you as well and rear view cameras are coming - eventually. They were supposed to be mandatory on all cars built after September 2014, but NHTSA delayed the rules to implement the mandate twice. As soon as someone famous has a kid backed over and killed, it'll probably put a fire under their nice person. Besides, again, it's not that expensive; once the car has an Display Audio/Entune-type display or the 4" to 5" sub-displays that are becoming more common - a rear view camera doesn't cost a whole lot to implement.
     
  6. WD0AFQ

    WD0AFQ Active Member

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    Just came in from driving through town at dusk, with my 10 yr old grandson. We enjoyed the lights coming on and going off by themselves. At least once a week I see a vehicle running through town using the street lights instead of their headlights. Won't happen to me now. Glad the other guy in Missouri told us about the mod. I emailed him but he never responded, a couple of months back. He probably traded his C for a Ford Fusion.
    Dan
     
  7. ztanos

    ztanos All-around Geek!

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    I wrote this and then edited it as most... for some reason my internet hates me and kept the original. I realize that not all of them have it. But most do. That said... I have been in both well lit and non-lit places and haven't ever had an issue knowing that my headlights were on. But that may be more to do with my astigmatism than anything else. When it gets remotely dusk, I know it. :)

    DRLs are used during the daytime to let people judge the distance of an oncoming car. They aren't required for night time driving, although, if you do forget to turn your headlights on, you can at least still see.

    I'm a HUGE advocate for the back up camera. Mainly for the reasons that you linked... but I don't think that they are a safety issue. Would they help, absolutely...

    If you keep adding all of the $30 and $40 parts, it will eventually add up.

    All that being said... :) I would love to have all of the above. :D
     
  8. BigWIll

    BigWIll Junior Member

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    Double post
     
  9. BigWIll

    BigWIll Junior Member

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    We can disagree, but if keeping at least 2,500 kids a year from getting run over by a car isn't a safety issue then I don't know what is.

    The cost "thing" is the reason NHTSA is stalling. They're evaluating monetary values and IIRC at this point they astoundingly don't think the value of the dead kids' lives exceeds the cost of the cameras. I can't comprehend how one assigns monetary value to the guilt a parent feels about accidentally killing their own child. The law requiring those cameras passed in 2008, and if NHTSA had acted quickly the cameras would have been on most cars already simply through redesign cycles.

    BTW I call BS on the cost "thing" for the mere fact that on eBay one can find rear view cameras with wiring for Camrys that fit without drilling for $17 = I find it hard to believe it'll cost Toyota $50-100 to add a camera to a Display Audio/Entune radio. Or that it would cost Toyota more than $2 to add automatic headlights to a Prius c.

    I'm a little sensitive (can't you tell?) about cheaping out on stuff like this, especially on a $20-24,000 car.
     
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  10. BigWIll

    BigWIll Junior Member

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    Definitely a bargain for the $20-30. Speaking of, did you get the swap straightened out with Sonic or did you just buy a second kit?
     
  11. WD0AFQ

    WD0AFQ Active Member

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    Yes, I waited them out. They finally shipped me a new sensor. Sorry I made everyone wait so long for the writeup. But, everything works as it should. Hope lots of folks add this feature if they want it. Anyone can do it.
    Dan
     
  12. ztanos

    ztanos All-around Geek!

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    The C doesn't start at $20, it's under $20 for the C1, but that is semantics at this point. You are right that they can add it for cheaper than we can.

    Where are you getting your numbers for run over kids? I'm only seeing much lower numbers online.
     
  13. BigWIll

    BigWIll Junior Member

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    Math class day ... :)
    From the SEToyota sticker of a base c One with no options at the inventory function of Toyota.com: $19080 + $860 Freight = $19,940 MSRP. Rounding by thousands, that's way closer to $20K than $19K, but since it's a distraction I won't round numbers for the rest of this post. I was definitely wrong on the $24K upper price limit for a c. A quick visit to local dealer inventory at the Toyota site shows a loaded c Four with an Toyota sticker - not dealer sticker - of $27,146. Dealer sticker was $28,045.

    The same link I gave before. Quote from site:
    In the U.S. at least fifty children are being backed over by vehicles EVERY week. Forty-eight (48) are treated in hospital emergency rooms and at least two (2) children are fatally injured every WEEK.
    50 kids backed over per week x 52 weeks per year = 2,600 kids backed over per year.
     
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  14. steelrain

    steelrain Junior Member

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    Nice writeup on the auto on lights I see that as a weekend project when I get home in a few weeks, probably will order them before I get released from duty so they arrive about the same time :). So I skimmed over the thread (and auto wipers are nice but not necessary however it might go on the list) however in case I missed it, will this still work with the switch on DRL all the time? If so, I'm putting this at the top of my list next to cruise control.
     
  15. WD0AFQ

    WD0AFQ Active Member

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    Yes, I keep my switch on DRL all the time. I like having lights showing during daytime. This is a slick little mod and well worth money and time spent. Anyone can hook this up.
    Dan
     
  16. steelrain

    steelrain Junior Member

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    Awesome, appreciate it, going on my todo list for next month when I get home :)
     
  17. tk1971

    tk1971 Active Member

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    Just finished this on a C1. I'd like to thank the OP for this thread and the picture of the connector indicating which wire to tap into.

    Like the OP, I used the 12V from the cigarette lighter and connected both batt/ign wires to it. I cut the switch off the 545T unit and soldered a OEM looking switch from Radio Shack (inspired by another Priuschat post for the GenIII auto headlight mega thread). I used the DPST version without the white dot "On" indicator because as mentioned earlier in this thread, the "On" position of the switch actually turns the 545T off. I heated a piece of metal and made my own dimple and filled it with liquid paper.

    Switch: 16A 125V or 10A 250V DPST AC On/Off Round Rocker Switch : Rocker Switches | RadioShack.com

    I used a drill press with one of those stepped bits (gets bigger in steps) on the blank from the position next to the interior light wheel. I stopped at 3/4" and the switch fit very snug (not worried about it moving). I didn't use the nut from the switch because there's no room for it on the back end of the blank.

    [​IMG]

    This is a very worthwhile mod.
     
  18. PRIUSrays

    PRIUSrays Junior Member

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    Thanks for the write up on this I am going to do it next week.I am assuming with this mod when you turn off the Prius it automatically turns off the lights?I am coming from other cars that the lights automatically turn off when the car is turned off and it really suprises me that my PC dosen't do this.
     
  19. tk1971

    tk1971 Active Member

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    I think the OP covered this already. By connecting both Batt and Ign to the cigarette lighter 12V, when you turn off the car, the headlights turn off immediately. If Batt is connected to the battery (on all the time) and Ign to a 12V that is on only when the car is on (ie. cigarette lighter), then there is a timer built into the 545T module to turn off the lights after you turn the car off (don't remember, but 30 sec sounds familiar).

    If you're surprised that the Prius C doesn't already have auto headlights, read up on the Prius Gen III and Prius V forum discussions on auto headlights. Those guys really get the shaft. On the V, the sensor is there and wired up. The ECU has the programming present. The only thing missing is the headlight switch stalk with the "Auto" setting, which grounds one wire to activate auto headlights.

    On the Gen III it's even worse. Earlier ones have the programming / sensor, but missing the wiring from the sensor to the ecu, from stalk connector to ecu and missing the proper stalk switch. They have to remove the entire dash to connect the sensor to the ecu. Then as stated by others attempting to install this, later cars don't even have the programming in the ECU. Not to mention little things like the unavailability of the custom stock connector pins, etc.

    For $28 shipped from Amazon, I think the 545T is quite the bargain, since it's so easy to install. The only easier install was in my sister's V, which required installing a switch to connect that one wire on the stalk connector to ground, in order to activate the auto headlight feature.
     
  20. PRIUSrays

    PRIUSrays Junior Member

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    I read the OP several times and I didn't see anywhere that it states it turns the lights off when the car turns off but thanks for clearing that up. I was asking because that is the feature I want most. I left the lights on one time while I went in a store assuming it was on a timer and would shut off like my wife's Kia Soul and it didn't.It is my own stupidity to think that new cars should have these features.But in a world where car mats have become a $200 add-on/ extra I guess that pretty much says it all.On all the other models you spoke of,it is just plain sad that pretty much the features are there but not hooked up.I just feel lucky that people like the OP can figure out all this stuff and I can then at least follow directions to do it myself to my own car. Your right though,for under $30 bucks and a little time this is awsome.