[AT] driver convenience systems

Thu Jan 23 07:09:16 PST 2020

Jim,What year is your wife's Equinox? We just got a 2020 and I think with it you can put the high beams on manually by just pushing forward on the lever. We haven't driven it much yet so I'm still figuring things out. We got it at thanksgiving time and have only put 300 miles on it.I was a bit dubious about the auto dim function, but I must say it seems to work quite well.  

Todd MarkleSpring Mills, Pa.

-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Becker <mr.jebecker at gmail.com>
To: Antique Tractor Email Discussion Group <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Wed, Jan 22, 2020 7:48 pm
Subject: Re: [AT] driver convenience systems

My wife’s car (Chevy Equinox) has autodimming lights.  It has a dedicated button on the turn signal lever for turning the feature on or off.  It works pretty well in most circumstances.  It has what I consider a bit of a problem on a road with a lot of up and down.  You enter a dip and even with another car coming towards you in the next dip it turns the brights on.  It leaves them on until both vehicles get far enough up the next hump to establish line of sight to each other’s headlights.  Doing it manually, you can see the scatter from the other lights and dim (or leave dim) before you have direct line of sight.  On that type road, it is better to shut the autodim off and stick with low beams if there is oncoming traffic.  I had another situation a couple nights ago.  I was entering a large sweeping curve, one of those flatland curves with about an 800 ft. radius.  Another car was entering from the other end and he had a headlight out.  I guess it dimmed at a reasonable distance but I would have dimmed way before the autodimmer did it.  That was one of those oddball situations people dream up to prove the system doesn’t work.  Having a convenient way to shut the feature off is probably the answer. By the way, the manual lists a half dozen situations where the system may not dim the lights, including both I just described.  Following that list it says:  “The IntelliBeam system may need to be disabled if any of the above conditions exist.” Jim Becker From: Stephen Offiler Sent: Wednesday, January 22, 2020 4:33 PMTo: Antique Tractor Email Discussion Group Subject: Re: [AT] driver convenience systems 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
Sent: Sunday, January 19, 2020 9:49 PM
To: 'Antique Tractor Email Discussion Group'
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] 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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