[AT] driver convenience systems

Wed Jan 22 14:33:53 PST 2020

I have no answer; doesn't seem like there'd be any federal requirement, so
I'd guess it's the whim of the Ram product and marketing people. I think it
would bug me enough to shut it off, and I guess I find it interesting that
you like it enough on the open road to deal with it below 15mph.

SO

On Wed, Jan 22, 2020 at 3:43 PM Spencer Yost <spencer at rdfarms.com> wrote:

> You can toggle a setting that allows the lighting stalk to be “normal”
> brights on/off or be auto dim on/off.  But it’s a touch screen setting and
> 3 menus down....
>
> I live on a private road that is dark and unlit.   It also has speedbumps
> (don’t get me started on that - crazy neighbors insisted when we finally
> paved it).   Slowing down for the speedbumps triggers this behavior.  I
> also have a long dark drive to the shed with the baler and the Ford and
> continues down to one barn. My speed on that driveway  is too slow for them
> to even come on.
>
> Also, sometimes you just want to be stopped but still have the bright
> lights on.
>
> Funny thing is, if It didn’t do such a great job on the road in normal
> circumstances, I’d turn autodim off and leave it off. But I really like it
> under those normal circumstances.  So I find myself doing without bright
> lights in slow/stopped circumstances or fumbling with a touchscreen.
>
> Seems ridiculous. Why would I not want bright lights below 15mph?
>
> Spencer
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Jan 22, 2020, at 1:53 PM, Stephen Offiler <soffiler at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> 
> Spencer:  presumably one can shut the auto-dimming function off?  I can
> totally see the 15mph irritation.  My tractor-hauling rig is a '16 F-250
> but it's pretty basic "XL" trim level.  Not much auto-anything beyond the
> transmission.  Which is fine with me!
>
> Steve O.
>
> On Wed, Jan 22, 2020 at 1:30 PM Spencer Yost <spencer at rdfarms.com> wrote:
>
>> My 2016 Ram antique tractor hauling truck has auto dimming and clearly
>> uses a camera and AI to recognize headlights AND taillights.  Does really
>> well.   Only  issues are some security/street lights will fool it and they
>> turn off.  Even then the truck has to be approaching at just the right
>> vector.  Minor thing in my mind.
>>
>> Other one is speed.   Below 15mph the brights go off.  This is a bigger
>> deal and pisses me off driving on the beach or a gravel rd when I am
>> traveling between 12-18 mph and they turn on and off and on and off and
>> ......
>>
>>
>> Spencer
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> On Jan 22, 2020, at 7:07 AM, Dean Vinson <dean at vinsonfarm.net> wrote:
>>
>> 
>>
>> I rented a car last month while visiting relatives in another state.
>> Toyota Camry, I think, whatever the rental place considered a “full size”
>> car.   With the headlight switch in Auto mode, it would automatically
>> switch the high beams on and off depending on whether oncoming car
>> headlights were visible.   Freaked me out when it first happened.   I
>> watched attentively for a while and it worked fine, never left the high
>> beams on when I would have switched them off.   But I stopped using Auto
>> mode after that and just used the normal On setting and controlled the high
>> beams manually… too much habit, muscle memory, and lingering distrust of
>> the new system.
>>
>>
>>
>> As I think about it, maybe the auto bright/dim control isn’t a bad
>> feature, since there are sure a bunch of morons out there who don’t think
>> it’s important to switch to low beams when they’re **behind** another
>> car.  Hopefully the technology provides that capability too…
>>
>>
>>
>> Dean Vinson
>>
>> Saint Paris, OH
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* AT [mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] *On Behalf Of *Aaron
>> Dickinson
>> *Sent:* Monday, January 20, 2020 5:05 PM
>> *To:* Antique Tractor Email Discussion Group <
>> at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>> *Subject:* Re: [AT] driver convenience systems
>>
>>
>>
>> Rain, fog, Snow all can allow enough ambient light to fool the auto
>> headlamps to think they are not necessary. My complaint when they first
>> came out with daytime running lights with auto headlamps, was fear that it
>> would make drivers lazy/ignorant about when and how to use their
>> headlights. I have seen too many times when lights are not on or fully on
>> when they should be. Little concerned about the driver alert systems.
>> Surprised at the number of drivers that don’t know how to position their
>> mirrors, or have awareness of their surroundings. Like many on the list, I
>> drive a pickup truck often towing a trailer, be it a flatbed, travel, or
>> enclosed. I am able to *adjust* my mirrors to nearly eliminate blind
>> spots, those that remain are monitored for vehicles entering and leaving.
>>
>>
>>
>> Aaron Dickinson
>>
>> Mason, Michigan
>>
>>
>>
>> *From: *Jim Becker <mr.jebecker at gmail.com>
>> *Sent: *Sunday, January 19, 2020 9:49 PM
>> *To: *'Antique Tractor Email Discussion Group'
>> <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>> *Subject: *Re: [AT] tractor hauler a pain to install headlights.
>>
>>
>>
>> Yeah, what Brian said about DRLs, except maybe not at 80%.  Automatic
>> lights respond to light levels and should turn on both front and rear.
>> Most if not all also have an instrument panel indicator so the driver can
>> tell if the automatic lights are on.  They do not know when it is raining
>> as light levels in rain are usually above the level that turns on the
>> lights.  It is still up to the driver to turn on lights in the rain.
>>
>>
>>
>> Jim Becker
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* Brian VanDragt
>>
>> *Sent:* Sunday, January 19, 2020 8:35 PM
>>
>> *To:* 'Antique Tractor Email Discussion Group'
>>
>> *Subject:* Re: [AT] tractor hauler a pain to install headlights.
>>
>>
>>
>> I don’t know how all the auto mode lights work, but my ‘99 Chevy Tahoe
>> has daytime running lights and no auto mode.  Daytime running lights are
>> the front headlights only and are always on at 80% brightness whenever the
>> engine is running and the parking brake is not set.  I don’t consider these
>> auto mode lights.  If I want my rear lights on and the headlights up to
>> full brightness when it is getting dark or when it is raining, I have to
>> turn my lights on manually.  Daytime running lights are to make oncoming
>> traffic more visible in shaded areas.
>>
>> Brian
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* AT [mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
>> <at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com>] *On Behalf Of *Gilbert Schwartz
>> *Sent:* Sunday, January 19, 2020 9:23 PM
>> *To:* Antique Tractor Email Discussion Group; Howard Pletcher
>> *Subject:* Re: [AT] tractor hauler a pain to install headlights.
>>
>>
>>
>> Howard, I am glad to hear that on your escape. The last four vehicles I
>> have had would not turn on the rear lights when the auto mode turned on the
>> front lights. One of those vehicles was a pickup truck. Now I am wondering
>> what condition turns the lights on in auto mode. Several years ago my wife
>> was driving in a rainstorm while I was behind her. When we stopped I raised
>> the roof because she had no lights on. She advised me real quick "I had
>> them on auto mode".
>> The next time you are out in the daylight take a look at the oncoming
>> traffic and see how many have lights on the front but none on the rear,
>> unless of course they are applying their brakes.
>> I am guessing now that the insurance explanation says it all. I thought
>> for sure that EPA had something to do with it.
>> I guess I am just getting too old, I am one of those people that just
>> don't matter anymore.
>>
>> On January 19, 2020 at 8:02 PM Howard Pletcher <hrpletch at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> ????  I don't think a dangerous situation like that can be industrywide.
>> My Ford Escape turns on both front and rear in the auto mode.
>>
>>
>>
>> Howard
>>
>>
>>
>> On Sun, Jan 19, 2020 at 8:50 PM Gilbert Schwartz < vschwartz1 at comcast.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>> While we are talking about vehicle lights, please, someone explain to me
>> why or how anyone would want to have lights on the front of their vehicle
>> with no lights on the rear. It appears that this condition is industrywide
>> and seems to be always in the "AUTO" mode on the headlight switch.
>>
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