Momentum V167

[RSchneider]

You could have a delay. On my VW it actually has this:
0 - DRL on when driving
1 - Parking lights on all of the time
2 - Auto - DRL on and headlights come on automatically plus the convenience feature where the headlights stay on for 15 seconds when you get out and will turn on if you unlock the car with the remote (you can adjust the length of time of the convenience feature by logging into the lighting module and changing it)
3 - Headlights/Tailights on when it's running
4 - Headlights/Tail Lights and Fog lights on when running

If I had the bottom of the line model, then the original situation of the headlight switch happens. It really comes down to a modified switch and a change in programming for the lighting module plus a sensor for auto lighting. All cars have two power circuits, switched and 12V all of the time. If the Elio headlight switch is has a 12V switched then it would just be an internal change to the switch itself. If they have a PDM (power distribution module) then it's a programming change. The delay you talk about comes from the module itself as cars today use them to drive most of the vehicle as it's much cheaper than having tons of fuses and relays with extra wiring. You can run a complete car with a PDM that's about the size of an iPhone and program it however you like. This is why cars can do some amazing things today as opposed to the old days where you had to get the right components to build what you needed.

Elio has mentioned in the past about modules so I suspect they are going that route due to cost and simplicity. 10 years ago it wasn't that way but today, it's how even cheap cars are built.

 

[mkiker2089]

We are way overthinking DRLs. All cars have them and it's not complicated. Elio's suppliers will have a module and it probably will be dirt cheap. Usually it's just a relay on older cars (newer ones are more complicated due to different lights for different things.) The relay is powered on with the alt so it needs the car to be running. A delay could be added with a simple capacitor. Again though Elio can figure this one out much better than I can.

 

[Coss]

Correction, not all cars have DRL's, my 2017 Dodge Journey doesn't have DRL's, and they're not an option.
As a matter of fact, there is nothing in the Dodge line up (that I know of) that has DRL's.
Prior to the Journey, I had a Nitro, it also didn't have DRL's and it was a 2007, before that I had a 1998 Dodge Magnum, no DRL's either.
When I asked them about it, they told me DRL's are a manufacturer option, they're not mandatory.
I was surprised, then I did the research, it's correct, DRL's are optional.

 

[RSchneider]

I'm not trying to overthink it but since it's a zero cost way of designing it into the Elio today, it makes sense to do so. It just gives the owner the choice of they want DRL by turning a switch and letting it stay there or turning it on and off when they want to. I'd think that with the "engineered to the highest safety level" this would be part of that engineering. Cars are not like the old days and this is a super easy change that costs them nothing as it's an off the shelf technology that's been around for a while.

Honestly it even makes the Elio more safe because it'll run the side marker and tail lights. This needs to be part of the Elio Safety System but it put's the owner in command of that safety system.

 

[mkiker2089]

I'm surprised by Chrysler on this. Being an Italian company I would have expected DRLs. You are correct that they are not required in any US state as far as I know. I do recall that in the US there were actually laws forbidding them for various bogus scientific reasons. The same type of fake science that made us have that black triangle of darkness in front of car headlights (anyone remember that.)

Most cars have DRLs and if Elio wants to sell to Canada they will have them, Motorcycles have them as well but Autocycles often get by with pretty much anything.

Me personally, I'm cool with Elio not having them. I'll just do what I did with my truck and wire up fog lights to be on all the time.

edit-- oddly in the US people used to, may still, hate DRLs. Join any car enthusiast forum and you'll find people disabling them. I don't know why people don't like them. I assume they think it ruins the look.

Correction, not all cars have DRL's, my 2017 Dodge Journey doesn't have DRL's, and they're not an option.
As a matter of fact, there is nothing in the Dodge line up (that I know of) that has DRL's.
Prior to the Journey, I had a Nitro, it also didn't have DRL's and it was a 2007, before that I had a 1998 Dodge Magnum, no DRL's either.
When I asked them about it, they told me DRL's are a manufacturer option, they're not mandatory.
I was surprised, then I did the research, it's correct, DRL's are optional.

 

[Mel]

edit-- oddly in the US people used to, may still, hate DRLs. Join any car enthusiast forum and you'll find people disabling them. I don't know why people don't like them. I assume they think it ruins the look.

I'll tell you why I don't like them. When they are on, taillights are NOT on. On cars that don't have auto-headlights, people get in, start the car, see that the DRLs are on and think they are headlights. Then they go driving around unaware that they have no taillights.

 

[RSchneider]

I changed my mind. Giving Americans the choice of having DRL's or not by a simple zero cost engineering change and giving them the choice if they want them or not by a twist of the left wrist is the best way to go. How about we just wait until the feds tell us what is best for us, because that seems to be the opinion around here.

 

[W. WIllie]

Please lord, give me "common cents" to turn on my headlights without more government intervention.

 

[Ty]

I'm not trying to overthink it but since it's a zero cost way of designing it into the Elio today, it makes sense to do so. It just gives the owner the choice of they want DRL by turning a switch and letting it stay there or turning it on and off when they want to. I'd think that with the "engineered to the highest safety level" this would be part of that engineering. Cars are not like the old days and this is a super easy change that costs them nothing as it's an off the shelf technology that's been around for a while.

Honestly it even makes the Elio more safe because it'll run the side marker and tail lights. This needs to be part of the Elio Safety System but it put's the owner in command of that safety system.

The REAL value in DRL is that insurance companies consider them when working discounts. A defeatable running light does NOT do this and thus negates the advantage. They need to be on all the time to be effective in those regards. In regards to safety, when pulling out of a side street, a car to your left with lights on will cause you to pause because most cars with lights on are occupied and possibly moving. Cars with no light on could be stopped, parked, or just not occupied. Sure, it's obvious that you need to assess whether a vehicle is moving before pulling out into the street but it more likely to miss the approaching vehicle if there are cars parked along the road. A car with lights on will almost certainly be more safe in this regard.

 

[mkiker2089]

I'll tell you why I don't like them. When they are on, taillights are NOT on. On cars that don't have auto-headlights, people get in, start the car, see that the DRLs are on and think they are headlights. Then they go driving around unaware that they have no taillights.

Not really really, there are three flaws here
1- DRLs work in conjunction with automatic headlights so the driver should have no issue allowing the car to decide based on ambient light
2- DRLs do NOT turn on the dash lights either. People don't see the DRLs as they are on the front and dim but they will see if their dash lights are on
3- When DRLs are needed tails are not, which loops back into problem 1.

Some people might choose to run DRLs instead of headlights and override the car but those people do so at will and not by mistake.

This is actually from a fallacy that modders use but their real goal is that they don't like the looks of DRLs. There was a similar study that said the shadow of a car is better than a DRL because the DRL would eliminate shadows and thus cloak the car like a Klingon Bird of Prey.