Possible Electrical Gremlin? (Headlights Turn On Without Auto Setting)

[MightyMaverick]

I've been having a weird sporadic issue with my headlights. I'll approach the vehicle, open the door, the headlight chime will go off, I start the vehicle, and for no reason the headlights are on despite NEVER touching the headlight switch. And what's even weirder is that when it's happening, the orange indicator on the headlight switch is off until the vehicle is on for several more seconds. Then I have to touch the switch to turn them off and switch it back to auto. What doesn't make any sense is that they're always on auto and I NEVER EVER touch the switch for that reason. I'm not sure if it's an electrical gremlin or strange quirk. It's happened three or four times since I've had the vehicle for nine months now. It's a very strange issue and makes me worried that my battery will get drained from the headlights turning on by themselves. Any insight?

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[MightyMaverick]

Daytime running lights?

Nope. The headlights themselves. I don't think the running lights can even get turned off. They're programmed to run when the vehicle is in reverse/drive and turn off when in park. And they serve as the illumination lights when a door is open.

 

[PeteSJCA]

Howdy, Mine are on the auto setting too. I've notice if I'm parked in my garage or parking structure they turn on until I'm outside. Do yours go on in broad daylight?

 

[MightyMaverick]

Howdy, Mine are on the auto setting too. I've notice if I'm parked in my garage or parking structure they turn on until I'm outside. Do yours go on in broad daylight?

In the three or four times it's happened, it was in broad daylight.

 

[Darnon]

Try adjusting your instrument cluster brightness when it does it. If it only shows 5 bars then it should be in daylight mode. If it shows more bars than that it's in dark mode and possibly could be an ambient light sensor fault. Also, is it illuminating the indicator with two green lights facing away from each other to the right of the IC info display? And a simpler question: do you have anything potentially obstructing the ambient light sensor (the smoked gray dome in the center-front of the dash) like a dashmat?

 

[MightyMaverick]

Try adjusting your instrument cluster brightness when it does it. If it only shows 5 bars then it should be in daylight mode. If it shows more bars than that it's in dark mode and possibly could be an ambient light sensor fault. Also, is it illuminating the indicator with two green lights facing away from each other to the right of the IC info display? And a simpler question: do you have anything potentially obstructing the ambient light sensor (the smoked gray dome in the center-front of the dash) like a dashmat?

When you say the two green lights facing away from each other, do you mean the headlight icon? If so, then yes. I'll turn the vehicle on and the headlight icon is on and I have to adjust the switch in order to set it back to auto, despite never touching the headlight switch ever. As for the light sensor, I do have a sun shade I put in the vehicle when not in use but the times this issue has happened was without the sun shade in place and the dash completely clear of obstruction. I'll have to check the instrument cluster brightness like you mentioned. Maybe it's set incorrectly. Thanks for the tip.

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