My headlights stay on when the car is started.
high beam indicated light is glowing on dash at all times when key is engaged.
this started after my 2 year old started fiddling with buttons and switches last fall, so I've thought it was some trick that I could overcome. But I haven't been able to figure it out.

fuses are fine, lights work fine. stalk is not broken.
headlights are working like daytime running lights, but I drove the car for a year or so without the lights coming on when the car was started, so Can't imagine that they are daytime running lights.

Please help. I've googled the topic to death. I don't want to appear like I'm in a funeral procession when I'm not.

 

I don't know much about anything - but when I picked my MINI up my MA did some settings for me. He asked if I wanted daytime running lights and I said yes. Turns out that the daytime running lights are the headlights. They are just on all the time (not high beam though). The only thing that changes when I turn the headlights on with the stalk is that the interior lights come on.

 

DRLs are the high beams, but at a lower level of intensity

 

well, however the kid turned on daytime running lights on a 2004 cooper, anybody know how to turn them off again? he was hitting all sorts of switches and button combinations, but I don't know the combination to turn them off again.

 

If your high beam indicator is on, then it really might be your high beams rather than daytime running lights. In a 2004, the DRLs can only be turned on and off with dealer programming.

Does it shine like high beams at full intensity at night? Can you make it go on and off when you pull on the stalk? It sounds like your child managed to get the switch stuck in the "flash to pass" position.

 

I do not believe it is the high beams on. the headlights that come on automatically are just the main centered headlights in the headlight pod. the hi-beams are the smaller more intense lights located directly above the main headlights-those function normally when i turn the lights on and pull back the hi-beam switch.

the lights come on when the car is started.

the stalk control has full functionality:fog, headlights, hi-beams. tried all sorts of pulling, pushing stalk, holding button combinations, can't get them to turn off.

haven't heard of the flash to pass before. if that is turned on, is there a way to turn it off?

 

All I meant by "flash to pass" is pulling on the stalk partway without fully clicking for the high beams.

Well then, it doesn't sound like your high beams that are on, and it isn't the DRL either. It's very odd if your high beam indicator is on but the high beam actually isn't.

I'm pretty much out of ideas. Maybe reset your electronics by disconnecting the battery for 20 minutes.

 

tried disconnecting the battery for awhile. no luck.
checked all fuses again, unplugged the headlights and plugged them back.

I'm thinking that it is the high beams that are on all of the time. the only difference between normal "lights on at all time" mode and "turning lights on on light stalk" is the accessory lights. so what I've been thinking are my regular lights are just the high beams. there is a slight level of intensity between the 2.

all this would indicate, that indeed the Daytime running lights are on, and that my son discovered the dealer trick setting for turning them on.

I have a fairly high tech scan tool which which I might try to reset the DRL, unless someone knows the trick to turning them off.

 

Beavr, I have a 2010 MC cabrio and here's what the manual says for "Activating/deactivating daytime running lights" (I hope it's the same for your car):
1. Switch on the ignition.
2. Briefly press the button in the turn indicator lever repeatedly until "SET/INFO" is displayed.
3. Press and hold the button until the display changes.
4. Breifly press the button repeatedly until the symbol (car key with a check mark) and the word "SET" are displayed.
5. Press and hold the button until the display changes.
6. Briefly press the button repeatedly until the display shows what looks like a star inside of a box (I think it may be a sun to represent daytime) and the symbol for a headlamp with the word "on" imediately after.
7. Press and hold the button until the display changes.
8. Briefly press the button to select "on" or "off". In your case, you want off.
9. Press the button for a longer period. The setting is stored.

I hope this helps!

 

I wasn't paying attention to details while reading this earlier. The hi-beams on the car are the lower lights. The main beams are the upper lights.

However, even if it is your DRLs that are on now, the hi-beam indicator shouldn't be on unless your full hi-beams are on.

A 2010 is a 2nd gen with different procedure. On a 1st gen, the DRL setting is normally possible only by dealer programming.

 

Sorry about that

 

Hey beavr, did you ever get your light problems resolved?

 

no, never did figure it out. I at least was observant of the issue so I would fiddle with the light switch and the key till it went out when it did happen that the lights stayed on. If that didn't work, I would sometimes just unplug the headlights. Probably had a short somewhere cause it happened more often when it was humid.
After I sold the car to my brother-in-law, he ran the battery down a few times, as he didn't pay attention to the quirk so much.