Thanks to all who responed on the Parking Ligts

[Dennis Maher]

Thanks to all who responded to the parking lights that would not go out.. I
had misplaced my manual and although I thought it was strange that they
would go on by themselves - I didn't think it would be a switch.. Can anyone
explain the logic on having parking lights as a separate switch that is not
run off the ignition switch. I thought that was what emergency flashers were
for....
Again thanks to all - it saved me a trip to the dealer with a stupid
question.

 

[Frank Logullo]

Thanks to all who responded to the parking lights that would not go out.. I
had misplaced my manual and although I thought it was strange that they
would go on by themselves - I didn't think it would be a switch.. Can anyone
explain the logic on having parking lights as a separate switch that is not
run off the ignition switch. I thought that was what emergency flashers were
for....
Again thanks to all - it saved me a trip to the dealer with a stupid
question.

I actually called the dealer back in '98 on something equally simple on my
Forester. Thread taught me a new saying:, "RTFM". I cannot wait to use it
in another ng
Frank

 

[Henry Paul]

I think it is because the headlights and taillights are run off of the
ignition. This was you can have the parking lights on without a key. I would
probably just use the hazards myself.

 

[BBB]

Parking lights are (used to be?) big things in some countries. You had
to drop down from headlights to parking lights when driving in a lighted
town in France. I don't know whether it's still like that, as a lot of
vehicle laws are becoming more harmonized across the EU. I can also
recall older cars in Europe where you could set your directional lever
to only turn on the parking lights on the outboard side, conserving your
battery when you were truly parking. They seem to be pretty much a
thing of the past now in the US.

 

[Bonehenge]

Can anyone
explain the logic on having parking lights as a separate switch that is not
run off the ignition switch.

Sometimes steady light is desirable when the key isn't there. The
parking light switch works great when I need interior lights in my
enclosed trailer, and the car itself locked. The trailer interior
lights run off the taillight power. The flashers flash the turn
signals, not the taillights. Not to mention, the inside of the
trailer would look like a roller disco if I ran them off the flashers.
<G>

There may be other times when you wish to leave the parking lights on,
not the annoying flashers, and still take the keys.

I look at this as another Subaru quirk that seems really stupid, until
you come to a day when it's brilliant. My car has more of these
features than any other car I've driven.

FWIW, my American vehicles don't have an ignition switched light
system at all. Subaru gives us a choice! <G>

Barry

 

[Henry Paul]

That is one thing I love about my Subaru. I never have to worry about
leaving the lights on. In fact, I just leave them on all the time to give me
DRLs from the low beams.

 

[Ray]

I have a '74 Mercedes 450 SL. I can turn on either side's parking
lights. So if I were off the right side of the road I would turn on
the left side only.

 

[Don.]

I keep wondering on this NG why people ask questions here that they could
find the answers in 10 minutes from a phone call to the dealer. ???

Even if it's a LD call, most have 800 numbers, and it's still cheaper than
driving even 10 miles to the dealer.

 

[David Betts]

Thanks to all who responded to the parking lights that would not go out.. I
had misplaced my manual and although I thought it was strange that they
would go on by themselves - I didn't think it would be a switch.. Can anyone
explain the logic on having parking lights as a separate switch that is not
run off the ignition switch. I thought that was what emergency flashers were
for....

Hazard lights are intended to be used when, through no fault of your
own, your car is abandoned in a hazardous position... not for
indicating that you are illegally parked. Parking lights are intended
for use when you are legally parked in a safe position, but where it
may be sensible to show a light at night. For instance, in the UK they
used to be legal requirement if leaving your car parked at night on a
bus route. These days they have become something of an irrelevance in
most of the world as urban roads where parking is legal tend to be
well lit and lined with parked cars all the time.

All cars do, however, retain parking lights, which are I imagine are
still a legal requirement in certain circumstances in some parts of
the world. The advantage of the Subaru system is that you don't have
to leave your ignition turned on to operate them and, therefore, all
your lights are extinguished when you turn the ignition off. This
means that - other than by using the separate parking light switch -
you can't leave your lights on accidentally and flatten your battery.

Yet another one of those little things where Subaru does it better...
or is this setup the norm on Japanese cars?

David Betts
(e-mail address removed)

 

[Alan]

Thanks to all who responded to the parking lights that would not go out.. I
had misplaced my manual and although I thought it was strange that they
would go on by themselves - I didn't think it would be a switch.. Can anyone
explain the logic on having parking lights as a separate switch that is not
run off the ignition switch. I thought that was what emergency flashers were
for....
Again thanks to all - it saved me a trip to the dealer with a stupid
question.

It's the Subaru secret "battery drainer" feature.

 

[Don.]

It's the Subaru secret "battery drainer" feature.

Pray tell, what's that? My dealer won't be open for another 3 hours, and by
that time I'll have forgotten to call and ask. ;-(

Several times in the last couple of months I've drained my battery by leaving
a map lite on. After a home recharge the battery "seems" as good as ever. ??

 

[harv]

That is one thing I love about my Subaru. I never have to worry about
leaving the lights on. In fact, I just leave them on all the time to give
me DRLs from the low beams.

snip

The big difference between DRLs and HLs is the tail lights. With DRLs the
tail lights are off. I can't understand the logic of this. From the
accidents I see on my daily commute, rear end collisions are more frequent
than head on collisions. I run with headlights too, because I feel safer
with the tail lights on too.

 

[steve ball]

The big difference between DRLs and HLs is the tail lights. With DRLs the
tail lights are off. I can't understand the logic of this. From the
accidents I see on my daily commute, rear end collisions are more frequent
than head on collisions. I run with headlights too, because I feel safer
with the tail lights on too.

Living in a large US city, I used to think the same thing. Then I did some
driving on remote 2 lane highways in Canada and Montana. A 50 MPH head-on is a
lot more fatal then a 40 MPH rear-ender (100 MPH closing speed vs. 10-20 MPH).
There was one road in Montana along the Gallatin River outside of West
Yellowstone. It was really eerie seeing all the white crosses from fatal
collisions.

Besides, they added the 3rd brake light here in the US about 20 years ago to
help with rear end collisions. Unfortunately people seem to follow even closer
now than before. Plus they don't realize rain make the road slippery.

Steve

 

[04WRX]

parking on the side of the road outside of a city you must have your parking
light on in Holland.
and since the world is bigger than just the US... these parking lights are
also on your cars...

 

[Al]

Living in a large US city, I used to think the same thing. Then I did some
driving on remote 2 lane highways in Canada and Montana. A 50 MPH head-on is a
lot more fatal then a 40 MPH rear-ender (100 MPH closing speed vs. 10-20 MPH).
There was one road in Montana along the Gallatin River outside of West
Yellowstone. It was really eerie seeing all the white crosses from fatal
collisions.

Besides, they added the 3rd brake light here in the US about 20 years ago to
help with rear end collisions. Unfortunately people seem to follow even closer
now than before. Plus they don't realize rain make the road slippery.

Steve

I'd like to know if all of the expense of the third brake light has been
justified. Are there really fewer rear-end collisions? Or is the gov't
unwiling to provide the stats?

Al

 

[John O]

I'd like to know if all of the expense of the third brake light has been

justified. Are there really fewer rear-end collisions? Or is the gov't
unwiling to provide the stats?

I wonder if they worked when they were a novelty, but now they're just as
un-noticeable as the two lights were prior to 1986. Kinda like the new cars
sporting LED taillights...today they stand out brilliantly, but in a few
years...ho-hum.

-John O

 

[Henry Paul]

So far it seems to be for the people who drive around with the left and
right bulbs burnt out. At least I can see some sort of brake light yet.

 

[Hallraker]

Pray tell, what's that? My dealer won't be open for another 3 hours, and by
that time I'll have forgotten to call and ask. ;-(

Several times in the last couple of months I've drained my battery by leaving
a map lite on. After a home recharge the battery "seems" as good as ever. ??

Several times? Sounds like the charge on your battery might be
questionable. Depending on how much it was drained, it might be entirely
broken. I'm not a battery expert, but a modern car battery - even an
el-cheapo one, should be able to handle an overnight map light. I remember
my grandma's 1980's Cutlass which had a tiny bulb somewhere, I think it was
inside the ashray in the passenger door, or in some other cubbyhole.
Grandpa left that thing open on an almost daily basis and even as a child I
remember grandma's car getting towed a lot and needing jumpstarts all the
time. Batteries have improved a lot, and now 20 years later I've left my
dome light on all night and been able to start my car in the morning.
Headlights are often a different story, however.

-Matt

 

[a]

I think it is because the headlights and taillights are run off of the
ignition. This was you can have the parking lights on without a key. I
would probably just use the hazards myself.

The FMVSS (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards) requires the ability to
turn on the parking lights without the ignition key. Since Subaru has the
Lights set up to turn off with the ignition, they need a separate switch
for the parking lights. The only other way to do it is using an electronic
module to control the lights (cost more) or complicate the wiring harness
with a bunch of diodes to keep the dash lights from operating with the
ignition off (costs more).

HTH,
Tom