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Dicky1961



Member Since: 25 Mar 2022
Location: South Yorkshire
Posts: 142

England 
Side Lights Operation
Apologies for maybe appearing stupid Whistle
Picked my new Defender up about 3 weeks ago and love it.
But, I can’t get the side lights to work, I can put them on when the car is stood ( parked engine on or off ), then when I drive away they go off and can’t put them on when the car is moving.
I can put the headlights with the side lights on ok.
The auto headlight function works ok if you like that sort of thing.
Surely there are times when driving that you would only want your side lights on.
Now I tow a caravan and like to have my lights on even during daylight hours, I can only do this by having the headlights on as well.
I’ve been to dealership today for some other bits and bob’s and also questioned my side light problem.
The technician’s didn’t have a clue, they didn’t realise that this problem existed as nobody as ever questioned it before. I got them to try another Defender off the forecourt and it did the same.
I left them saying they would investigate and contact LR to see if this was the norm.
What is the point of having the sidelight switch if it don’t work?
Any thoughts apart from me being thick?
Cheers Dicky1961
Post #964116 5th Sep 2022 7:09pm
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WizzardPrang



Member Since: 05 Nov 2020
Location: Hertfordshire
Posts: 153

England 
From the iGuide:

Quote:
The lighting system operates automatically depending upon the ambient lighting conditions. The system selects the appropriate lighting function, dipped beam or Daytime Running Lights (DRL), for the conditions that the system detects.
...

Some manual operations are not possible due to vehicle activity or legislative requirements.


My understanding of this is that the above would override your Side Light option, so the DRLs would serve your requirement to drive on Side Lights. Current vehicle: 2020 Defender 110S
Gone: Defender 90 HT 200Tdi, Discovery Sport, Freelander 2

Insta: wizzardprang
Post #964120 5th Sep 2022 8:40pm
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Dicky1961



Member Since: 25 Mar 2022
Location: South Yorkshire
Posts: 142

England 
Thanks for the reply, the DRL’S are only the front and not the rear so the only way to get your rear light’s on is to use the headlights / side light option, like I say when towing I like to have my caravan lights on, plus in certain lighting conditions I only want side lights and not headlights.
I find this really strange. Question
Post #964121 5th Sep 2022 8:50pm
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blackwolf



Member Since: 03 Nov 2009
Location: South West England
Posts: 17323

United Kingdom 2007 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 DCPU Stornoway Grey
It's an annoying trend of designers to think they know best! I think many cars now have similar annoyances.

My friend has a Skoda Yeti, which is on the whole and excellent and well-designed car, yet switching the sidelights on turns off the instrument panel illumination (and like most modern cars you can see nothing on the instrument panel without the illumination). There are many situations when the ambient light is such that the intelligent driver would use sidelights rather than the abhorrent DRLs or the excessively bright headlights, and when it is not only sensible but wholly legal to do so, yet the designers have, arrogantly and annoyingly, decided that this shall not be. It makes me very grumpy (but I'm old so that is allowed and probably expected).

According to the Yeti handbook, sidelights are now only for parking.
Post #964123 5th Sep 2022 9:02pm
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Dicky1961



Member Since: 25 Mar 2022
Location: South Yorkshire
Posts: 142

England 
Cheers for that, I am also of the grumpy old man club, looks like I’m going to have to live with it.
Evil or Very Mad
Post #964128 5th Sep 2022 9:19pm
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Farmerben



Member Since: 16 Jan 2017
Location: Herefordshire
Posts: 605

United Kingdom 2015 Defender 90 Puma 2.2 HT Keswick Green
I *think* there is an option to have rear lights on with DRLs... Might be hidden in the options somewhere.

EDIT: Think that could have been on an Audi.... https://instagram.com/bentheoandrews
Post #964139 6th Sep 2022 9:18am
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Tim in Scotland



Member Since: 23 May 2007
Location: The Land that time forgot
Posts: 3753

 
When I had an Evoque the forum complained to JLR that it was too easy to drive into poor conditions with just front DRL’s on and we considered it dangerous not to have rear permanent DRL’s - low and behold at the next model year we got front and rear DRL’s as standard……… then at the facelift in 2014 they were discontinued………. There are markets where front and rear DRLs are required (IIRC Sweden and Poland) and if you can get into the configuration files the option to change to those settings are there waiting to be enabled. They aren’t there in most European markets because there isn’t a legal requirement to have rear DRL’s on. One way around it is to select manual headlights on on the stalk instead of auto lights but then you will be driving all the time on dipped headlights rather than “side lights” which I always though where parking lights and not running lights. Pangea Green D250 90 HSE with Air Suspension, Off-road Pack, Towing Pack, Black Contrast roof , rear recovery eyes, Front bash plate, Classic flaps all round, extended wheel arch kit and a few bits from PowerfulUK Expel Clear Gloss PPF to come
2020 D240 1st Edition in Pangea Green with Acorn interior. Now gone - old faithful, no mechanical issues whatsoever ever but the leaks and rattles all over the place won’t be missed!
Post #964147 6th Sep 2022 11:00am
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Dicky1961



Member Since: 25 Mar 2022
Location: South Yorkshire
Posts: 142

England 
Hopefully the technicians at the dealership will find a way round it.
Post #964156 6th Sep 2022 11:50am
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whiterdesign



Member Since: 10 Jun 2021
Location: Preston
Posts: 269

United Kingdom 
Bet there is a setting in the CCF, email Powerful Uk and ask Simon to look at it. My last car was a Volvo and that did it, rear lights were permanently on. 110 XS 250 MY 23 Gondwana Stone, Cold climate pack and towbar
Post #964186 6th Sep 2022 5:11pm
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Phil2014



Member Since: 17 Mar 2022
Location: Scotland
Posts: 7

I thought it was just me, had ours 2 months, sometimes when I try to switch from headlights to just sidelights it wont, try again a few miles down the road and it will switch just the sidelights on, I cant figure out why?
Phil.
Post #964208 6th Sep 2022 7:26pm
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Dicky1961



Member Since: 25 Mar 2022
Location: South Yorkshire
Posts: 142

England 
This is the first car I’ve had that doesn’t have a standard side light option and find it very strange and frustrating.
As said in my original post there are some conditions that I would normally put my side lights on, and when towing. My previous car a D4 when connected to the caravan and engine running would put caravan lights on automatically. Seems now I have to drive with the headlights on to get tail lights to work.
Backwards step on LR’s part in my opinion, even the technicians thought it was strange and that they thought there must be a get round in the system somewhere. Just don’t know where.
Hopefully they will find one.
If not then as whiterdesign suggested I’ll try Simon at Powerful UK.
Post #964210 6th Sep 2022 7:44pm
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County V8



Member Since: 07 Jun 2021
Location: UK
Posts: 147

United Kingdom 
Hi Dickey


I too find it more than annoying when the car takes over and you have to run around with lights on you don't want or lights you cant switch off or on .

Its it because they are parking lights only to be used when stationary ?????
Post #964291 7th Sep 2022 1:33pm
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Dicky1961



Member Since: 25 Mar 2022
Location: South Yorkshire
Posts: 142

England 
Mind numbing. Why don’t they just call them parking lights?
Post #964295 7th Sep 2022 1:50pm
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County V8



Member Since: 07 Jun 2021
Location: UK
Posts: 147

United Kingdom 
Don’t get me started on matrix headlights a solution looking for a problem
Post #964305 7th Sep 2022 3:23pm
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LR Nuts



Member Since: 10 Aug 2022
Location: UK
Posts: 1087

 
why at my age, been driving since 1972, do I need a computer programmer to tell me what lights I want on when. He doesn't know !!
Post #964306 7th Sep 2022 3:35pm
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