I have a 2010 MCS. It has auto headlamp control. It basically can switch on the headlamps when it is dark. Does anyone know if it is possible to adjust the on/off light condition. You have some control in other cars with this feature. There is nothing in the manual about it.

 

There's nothing in the manual because there's nothing you can adjust. They turn on when it's getting dark outside, that's why they call it automatic. Works for me.

 

I find mine hardly ever turn off. Thats why I would like to adjust the sensitivity. They are still on at 10am and can go on as early as 2pm. So.....mine don't really "turn on when its getting dark".....Like I said my wifes car has the same "automatic" feature but you still have a late/early setting.

 

Sounds like there may be something wrong with your system. I don't think I have ever needed to touch the switch for my headlights. They always work when I need them.

I take that back! Every time MINI of Sterling touches my car, they turn the auto lights off. I touch the switch to turn them back to auto.

 

Nav-equipped cars can adjust the sensitivity.. is this left out of non-nav?

I have it but don't use it. Does a lousy job of deciding when to turn on/off, which I can do fairly easily all by myself (imagine that!). Reaching up for the turn signal stalk and twisting the switch hasn't caused a hernia yet or any other grief. Plus I don't want the xenons turning on/off every time I fire the car up in the dark garage.. not good for the life of the igniters.

 

Where is it in the Nav settings? I've never seen it in my 07's Nav.

 

If there is an adjustement in the non-nav, it is hidden very well.

 

It's in the downloadable pdf owners' manual page 74. Under "Vehicle & Tires", then "Lighting" on the menus, the first option is Auto headlamps - sensitive (apparently the default setting). But in my '10 manual, this setting is missing, so it's apparently been removed. But you have an '07, so it may be there, as the pdf manual has a publish date of 01/07.

 

It probably one of those things that never got implemented even though it was in the manual.

Non NAV cars do not have an adjustment for this.

The sensor is in the little round spot just behind the center vent onthe top of the dash.

 

My auto on/off works great! Same with my F150. They both come on slightly before dusk or a mid overcast day. Ditto on the HIDs turning on and off every time I pull into the garage - oh well. That's something like 3000 - 5000 ignitions over 5 years. It can probably handle that.

 

Do you use daytime running lights? If you're running with your DRLs on I think basically all it affects are the inside mood lights and the dash lights...at least from what I've read on other threads.

 

Not me, plenty of data suggests they're no help.. but they do burn more fuel, and cause your lights to burn out sooner. So I pass.

 

Not true since the igniters are just simple capacitors. I have looked and can find no evidence that igniters are prone to failure no matter how often they are used. Please provide some proof of this statement (and not just a couple of isolated cases).

 

There is an even more convincing body of data that suggests DRL reduce accidents. Guess it just boils down to what you want to believe. As for the burns more fuel argument I call that FUD. While as a nation the amounts may sound impressive in actuality it's less than a drop in a large bucket. Much more fuel could be saved by just proper tire inflation or removing unneeded (weight) items from cars by everyone. You as an individual could never procive or caluculate any actual savings. The amount would likely be far, far less than a gallon a year. As for headlight life, unless you daily commute for more than 25 miles and plan on keeping your car over a decade it's highly unlikely that you will ever replace your HID lamps.

 

I agree that the ignitors themselves are not as likely to fail as the bulbs are. There is no filament in HIDs, just two electrodes on opposite sides and xenon gas. The ignitors create a very high voltage to create an arc and then lower the voltage applied to the electrodes to sustain the glowing plasma field. This is why sometimes the light looks brighter when it first turns on. Eventually, the ends of the electrodes inside the bulbs erode away (also increasing the spacing between them) until they can no longer fire. I'm not sure the electrodes wear more from the initial HV firing to ignite the bulbs or if it is from accumulated run time at the lower voltage?

 

Good question and because of the super low failure rate of HID's there dosn't seem to be a lot of info. In the HT world of Xenon lamp based projectors (little different technology) there is a rule of thumb that 1 on/off cycle is equal to about an hour of use. The same may (or may not) apply to HID's. Just to give an idea HID's have been avalable for a decade. Out of all the cars with a headlight out how many have you seen that were HID's? I can't think of a single time I've seen a 1 headlight HID car.