Jeep Patriot Forums banner

Headlights on with windshield wipers?

7K views 25 replies 10 participants last post by  Max Headroom 
#1 ·
According to the manual in my '16 High Altitude, by using the EVIC, one can program the auto-headlamps to turn on when wipers are switched on. This is relatively new law in CA, and I'm sure other states have/will follow suit.
so, with my NON-EVIC equipped Jeep, does anyone know the sequence of events to make this change? thnx!
 
#3 ·
Thnx! That's what I'm doing now....that is when the auto headlamps haven't come on. I guess when I visit my dealer for my complimentary oil change, I'll ask...
 
#4 ·
Yeah, Maine has had that rule for several years. I use Rain-ex so I don't use my wipers that much. :D

That said, I'm not stupid. If visibility conditions are poor I will put on some lights. But I do resent the government telling me I have to. Maybe they should have a law that says we should use umbrellas on rainy days, too. And boots when the snow is deep. Nanny states. "Hey, you!" "What's the matter officer?" "You didn't come in out of the rain. Let me see your papers . . ." I hope Croat or Wormy stumbles onto this thread.

While we're on the subject, I'm often out there at dawn's first light and I see a lot of cars getting by with just their DRLs. In fact in yesterday's snow, yes, at dawn. I'll bet if they didn't have DRLs they'd put their lights on, and that would include the tailights. But with DRLs they don't think of whoever is behind them. That's especially important in snow. Then there's always the idiots that feel obligated to drive with their 4-ways on because its snowing. :doh: That's about as close as we'll ever get to a neon sign warning others of an incompetent driver.
 
#5 ·
You're preaching to the choir here, bud! I see this crap all the time now here in WA, as well as when I lived in CA. Some places in these US of A are narrow two lane roads that are posted, "daylight test area--turn headlamps on", which should help some poor slob from pulling out to pass, but as we all know--you can't legislate common sense! My curiousity comes from trying to make a feature work. And, I've partially covered the headlamp sensor to make it come on a little sooner...Talk laater!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 08MKinKY
#11 ·
Ha - yes I have seen this and don't see the issue. I honestly don't have a problem with all car manufactures enabling common sense safety features - its called automotive safety progress :D

IMHO however I feel that all vehicles should have all exterior lighting including headlights with LED's and that once that vehicle is in motion all lights should enable automatically. Proper OEM LED's installed on a vehicle should outlast that vehicle and I really can't see a reason nor an example in which any vehicle should not have its lights on always while in motion. Its not like that minuscule amount of electricity required to power all the lights (which is already wasted) is not going to amount to an increase in climate change ;)

That said, I'm not stupid. If visibility conditions are poor I will put on some lights. But I do resent the government telling me I have to. Maybe they should have a law that says we should use umbrellas on rainy days, too. And boots when the snow is deep. Nanny states. "Hey, you!" "What's the matter officer?" "You didn't come in out of the rain. Let me see your papers . . ." I hope Croat or Wormy stumbles onto this thread.
 
#12 ·
100% agreement! Thnx.
 
#8 ·
On my '16--it's on the mid-RH side of the dash close to the windshield--sort of looks like a dome about the size of a quarter...
 
  • Like
Reactions: RodMyers
#9 ·
My 2014 has auto dash lights. They come on or dim depending on ambient light conditions, but not auto on head lights. Also, unless you are using the fog lights there is no indication on the instrument cluster that tells you that your lights are on. There is indication for the fog lights, and high beams, but nothing that tells you your head lights are on. This combination is one of the most head slappingly stupid aspects of the vehicle. First if the dash lights work automatically it invites you to forget to turn on the head lights until it's well past time that you should have had them on. Second with no indication that your head lights are on there is no visual reminder either way unless you have the fog lights on or are running high beams constantly. Since I have owned the Patriot, I have resorted to just turning on the headlights when I get in the vehicle. So, my headlights are always on regardless of ambient light or weather conditions.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RodMyers
#14 ·
luckily as far as i'm aware, there are not any laws that require lights to be on with wipers where i'm from. I live in south Texas about 10 mins north of Mexico so we get away with a lot down here. Regardless I don't know a lot about the Patriots EVIC but if I had to tackle a project like this with my 07, id probably run a "trigger" wire from either the wiper switch from inside the cab (using a probe/multi-meter to find out which lead is hot when switched on) or from the wiper harness under the hood, which might be easier tbh, to a properly sized relay that has the 12v output going to the 12v switched harness wire for headlights/light you want to power on when wipers are powered on. Of course once again using a probe to find out what pin gets power when lights are on. Hope you resolve your issue!
 
#15 · (Edited)
A) People don't see vehicles in broad daylight, its sad and scary however that is the new reality.
B) If it was true about the DRL/Motorcycle crash issue than all motorcycles on the road would be crashed the first mile of driving.

I hear you for the nanny state - however regarding the simple indicators (lights) that are already in use - it's not a bad idea to keep our general dumbing population safer ;)
 
#16 ·
B) If it was true about the DRL/Motorcycle crash issue than all motorcycles on the road would be crashed the first mile of driving.
Not sure I follow you on this post. I didn't mean that headlights make MCs a target, only that so many other vehicles with headlights on takes away from the uniqueness of the MC headlights. Instead of standing out MCs just blend in with the rest of the vehicles on the road. Since MCs are by nature smaller and therefore less visible they can be camouflaged by others with headlights on. A single headlight among several vehicles without headlights will stand out--a single headlight surrounded by a dozen other headlights blends in with the crowd.
 
#17 ·
That is what I mean - if out driving population can only notice a MC on the road because it has its headlights on .... well we need to start removing drivers from the road ;) Honestly to me - any vehicle with lights on stand out more than if they did not and once again if a motorcycle with its headlights blends in and is taken away from being merged with other vehicles .... well it may be safe to say you should not be sharing the road with MC's.
 
#18 ·
Same is true of a car, jeep, or any other vehicle. None should need lights in broad daylight. My only complaint is in rain, fog, dusk or other marginal visibility situations. Governments still trying to mandate common sense. IMHO headlights help a smaller vehicle get noticed -- provided the uniqueness isn't drowned by the other vehicles with headlights on.
 
#19 ·
It sucks and its sad that there needs to be a being out there that has to enforce common sense - however that is reality in the society that we live in.
 
#20 ·
Yep! "common sense", the MOST overused oxymoron in our language...
 
#21 ·
Folks - have you not noticed (I have in my young age - and I know most old folks have) that as our society progresses, time passes, humans evolve, and our population swells ...... that the average man/woman have become more idiotic? Has our real life version of idiocracy already begun?
 
#22 ·
Croat, you have a point. We've become idiotic because there's always someone else to do something for us. We rely on it.

A century ago all of us made do with less, and we could maintain whatever it was we had. Mom darned our socks, Sister made Her own clothes, big brother fixed our bicycles, and Dad did the work on the car -- even major work. Or in my grandfather's day, he took care of the horses. (When my Mom was a little girl Her family took the horse & wagon to church, because, although they owned a car, my grandfather didn't want to show off that he had that kind of money.)

As technology has increased we've become more dependent on society at large. If we lost electrical power for a month we'd be starving. First the stores would be over-run by bandits and rioters -- how could the store call the police? No phone.

Sure we could make do on our cell phones till the batteries ran down. We could run things off our generators until the gas ran out, but how would I get more fuel? The gas station pumps the gas with electric pumps.

How would we heat our houses? Wood, of course. Darn, the chain saw is out of gas, too.

Could you generate electricity yourself? I don't mean start the generator, but could you build a generator? Do you even know anyone who could? Remember, you'll have no power tools to make things with. Can you make a wire? A bearing? An armature? Where are you gonna get the steel and copper?

The bank will handwrite you a letter. "We really don't know how much money is in your account because the computers don't work anymore. We're out of business. Sue us if you want." Oh yeah, don't worry about that, the courthouse is open . . . but its lit with candles . . . at least till the candles are used up. Uh-oh, no internet. Can't even order candles on-line. Do you know how to make a candle? Where ya gonna get the wick? And the tallow?

But the Amish folks in Lancaster wouldn't even notice if the power was out.

Just sayin' we're into this pretty deep with each other. It takes more than a village.
 
#23 ·
One reason we have our place in the woods in Amish land - and have a setup built with them - and call them friends and trade with them. We are the extreme minority that could sustain in this way and thankfully my family back in Croatia had the real life experience of less than Amish standards of living during communism. The vast majority of everyone I know would perish in certain catastrophic global events.
 
#24 ·
And yet nobody has actually answered your question: is there a "cheat" to enable automatic headlamps to come on with the windshield wipers?
Considering that this is law in many states, and that a computer controls these functions, one would think that this function would be standard.
 
#25 ·
And yet nobody has actually answered your question: is there a "cheat" to enable automatic headlamps to come on with the windshield wipers?
Considering that this is law in many states, and that a computer controls these functions, one would think that this function would be standard.
If you have automatic headlights and no EVIC, you can use an ELM327 scanner and the JSCAN app on your phone, or the Appcar DiagFCA program on a laptop to turn that feature on. That's the only way I know of.

Then again, I didn't even know that automatic headlights were even available on Patriots.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top