AutoMatic Headlights HELP

I need help! I installed HID's in my car. But My riviera almost dies when they automatically turn on. Is there a way I can disable the automatic ON headlights. Because I have always wanted them off. Please Hep

jordynarz wrote:

I need help! I installed HID's in my car. But My riviera almost dies when they automatically turn on. Is there a way I can disable the automatic ON headlights. Because I have always wanted them off. Please Hep

If you slide the twilight sentinel switch all the way to one side (cant remember which) you should be able to only turn on the headlights buy pulling the headlamp knob outward to you.

Ive tried that. I have mine all the way so it doesn't come on unless its darker. But. I parked at my house today and right before i turned off my car the auto headlights came on (since it was under a covered roof) and it drew too much power and almost killed my car as i was shutting it off didn't sound to good lol.

jordynarz wrote:

Ive tried that. I have mine all the way so it doesn't come on unless its darker. But. I parked at my house today and right before i turned off my car the auto headlights came on (since it was under a covered roof) and it drew too much power and almost killed my car as i was shutting it off didn't sound to good lol.

Did you go all the way to one side? Try both sides, but you have to put the car in park each time before trying it because it will not allow you to disable to auto headlights while in motion. The side of the switch that is correct should make a distinctive click.

ok yea. I remmeber the click but it still idk its weird Ill try that though Thanks!

jordynarz wrote:

ok yea. I remmeber the click but it still idk its weird Ill try that though Thanks!

No problem, I know I've been able to drive around with no headlights in the dark so it should work.

The twilight sentinel trick only works on early model 8th gen Rivs, 95-96 years I think. My '98 has daytime running and will not allow lights off after dark. I looks like jordynarz has a '95, so should work for him.

I remember i was messing with it a long time ago. sitting in a parking lot in Park. and i switched them to the left so they turned off. The car was running. and the lights turned off. But hen they started turning on and off rapidly it was weird.

I may be a fool but i thorght the sentinal was either on or off? the rotating part of the switch was just to set the time the lights stayed on after you turned the ignition off.

nigel

nigelf wrote:

I may be a fool but i thorght the sentinal was either on or off? the rotating part of the switch was just to set the time the lights stayed on after you turned the ignition off.

nigel

It does control that function, but if you slide it all the way to one side it also disables the automatic lights on the 95-96 cars.

Are we overlooking the issue of why his Riv almost dies when the lights turn on automatically? This shouldn't be happening.

Would you please also take a minute or 2 to add your basic car info to your default signature in your Profile settings? It's much easier to get and offer help here if we know what car you are dealing with.

1998 Riv wrote:

Are we overlooking the issue of why his Riv almost dies when the lights turn on automatically? This shouldn't be happening.

I was in the middle of saying something similar.
Regardless of the headlight on-off issue (switch)
The car should not die or almost die from having the HID's on at idle.
You have a charging system and/or Battery problem as well.
Need to load test the Batt and check Alternator for output without a load and with a full load.
Somethings not doing it's job.

jordynarz wrote:

I need help! I installed HID's in my car. But My riviera almost dies when they automatically turn on. Is there a way I can disable the automatic ON headlights. Because I have always wanted them off. Please Hep

What will you do when you disable the automatic feature of the headlights coming on.
If you turn on the HID's and it almost dies, how do you stop that from happening??????

Quote :

You have a charging system and/or Battery problem as well.

Unless something's not wired correctly. That might explain things if there were a serious draw on the electrical system.

I have put my Car specs in my Signature BUT, for some reason it won't show up . Please help me lol. I went to check my signature and it shows i have what I wrote there. 1995 riviera s/c stock. But My car at idle i turn on my HID's and the gauges drop to zero and come back up for a second cause of the power it draws. They are not relayed.

I fixed my Signature. It wasn't set to show up sorry guys.

It still isn't showing up.?????

jordynarz wrote:

I have put my Car specs in my Signature BUT, for some reason it won't show up . Please help me lol. I went to check my signature and it shows i have what I wrote there. 1995 riviera s/c stock. But My car at idle i turn on my HID's and the gauges drop to zero and come back up for a second cause of the power it draws. They are not relayed.

Okay, so how did you wire the HIDs? Where did you take power from and what did you ground them to?

And why did you decide not to use a relay?

Albertj

Hmm weird that it is not showing up. And I got my HID's from my friend we just hooked them up like he had in his Accord. Plug and play lol. idk. We need to relay them we just haven't had time. But i rev the motor a little then turn them on and it;s fine.

test test test



ok that was a test... It works not... My signature that is.

jordynarz wrote:

Hmm weird that it is not showing up. And I got my HID's from my friend we just hooked them up like he had in his Accord. Plug and play lol. idk. We need to relay them we just haven't had time. But i rev the motor a little then turn them on and it;s fine.

JordyNarz, this isn't going to cut it. DIfferent vehicles, for engineeing reasons, are wired somewhat differently. You really need to figure out and then tell us where did you take power from and what did you ground them to in order to figure out why they are working/not working a certain way. It really matters. And I won't comment on your reason for not using a relay.

For the rest of you reading this, the following is a little perspective.

The Riviera's headlights, being automatic, are not really wired through the headlight switch. And that switch does not directly control the headlight relays. Although you will hear relays click when you use the switch. On the other hand, depending on what year Accord JordyNarz' friend has, the Accord's headlight switch directly controls the coils of its headlight relays. Further, I do not know if his friend's Accord has DRLs, in which case various schemes were used over the years. I need more info to answer that one. Suffice it to say, however, that if the lights are wired in the Riv just like the Accord, JordyNarz most likely is already in trouble.

Why?

In order to provide automatic headlight control, the Riv headlight switch actually signals a "request" to the computer that controls the headlight relays. If the tap for the headlights is taken between the dash switch and that computer, then an unusually high drain is presented to the control wiring, with unpredictable results. The load from the HID ballasts may be somewhat different from (more than) the headlights, so if you make the power tap for the headlights at the headlight wiring then you potentially open up another whole host of problems.

Here is why either of those is a problem, especially in the Riv: Automotive HIDs are in a class of lamps called "low wattage (less than 100 watts) metal halide lamps." They light basically by jumping a spark across a gap in a xenon gas atmosphere (inside the glass bulb). To get that spark started they require separate electronic starting devices (“ignitors”) that create a high voltage pulse to establish the arc. The pulse repeats each cycle with a maximum pulse width of 15 microseconds and once the lamp arc is lit, the ignitor electrically drops itself out of the circuit. Bottom line is, no matter how you wire these things, they may not work the way you expect depending on how much power the ignitors need to get the party (the spark) started--and different company's ignitors have somewhat different power requirements and operating characteristics. However JordyNarz' HIDs are wired, the ignitors are not getting the power needed to reliably start the lamps - either that or his working environment is below -40 degrees C, because basically none of the ignitors work right when it's that cold.

So there are a number of things that could be wrong. There could be alternator or battery issues that pull down the voltage at wherever JordyNarz took the power from for the headlights. The battery could be approaching end of life. The alternator brushed could be worn out or the slip rings not making good contact. Could even just be loose or dirty connectors, or corrosion at a battery terminal. Or, none of these things might be wrong, JordyNarz may have simply used wire that's too thin (which would then act like little current resistors) or not made good connections, or introduced other problems/errors in splicing the HIDs in. Bottom line here is, thought, if the voltage is not enough, the ignitors won't work right. The HIDs use a lot less power to run than to ignite. So however he has those suckers wired, there's not enough juice - so he guns the engine which spins the car's alternator fast enough to provide extra current - and due to the alternators operating characteristic the supply voltage goes up too. The higher voltage and added current compensate for the lack of both at whatever point the HIDs are wired, the ignitors get their juice, the lights fire up - and continue to work becuase once they arc they don't take that much power to stay on.

So at some point JordyNarz will answer questions insteald of blowing them off, and we'll make some progress.

Albertj

Albert, thanks for taking the time and effort to give a thorough explanation of this situation. Way too often, it seems, some guys just jump into modifying factory stuff, w/o researching the issue first.

The HID's had a plug that plugs into the factory wiring of the headlight. So I didn't modify anything. And the accord is a 1992 and does not have DRL's. The kit did not come with a relay. And I do agree with you about the size of the wire not being large enough for the current to flow through it properly.

AA wrote:

The twilight sentinel trick only works on early model 8th gen Rivs, 95-96 years I think. My '98 has daytime running and will not allow lights off after dark. I looks like jordynarz has a '95, so should work for him.

'97 and up have an off position at the left side of the Twilight switch's travel, but it it spring loaded... In the dark, the lights can be manually turned on & off by pressing the switch into the spring position, but as soon as you put the tranny in gear, they come on again. Makes it very hard to hide from the cops at night...

Albert is correct about the indirect way our headlights are wired. At least on the later cars, the actual headlight power is switched by the Lamp Control Module, under the left side of the dash.

If I understand Jordy's last post, the HID kit plugged directly into the headlight sockets under the hood, which means that they are getting the full, "relayed" current from the LCM.

My concern about the startup of the HID's is that they're somehow messing with the engine controls and killing the engine, not just overloading the alternator. After all, the most the alternator is ever really going to put out is about 100 amps, but there are 800 amps available from the battery... Even if the battery is aging, it can't be that bad if it's still starting the car. And of course, the IAC should open up as soon as the RPM drop.