Always on lights and set up

[Terryp]

Hi all,

I have tried understanding the manual but can’t get my head around the lights.

I know modern cars seem to always have headlights on when they start however, if I am just sitting in the car with the engine running can these daylight lights actually be turned off?

I want to spend some time looking at things and as such can I do anything with the engine off and if so what is the proceadure?

Apologies for asking these but to me reading the manual is a tad strange

[Kenneve]

Press the start button twice, without your foot on the brake.
Car will come alive, possibly with headlights on, but the engine will not start.
Switch off headlight manually with the light switch.
Then you can mess about as you like, without too much drain on the battery.

I’ve completed a re-install of the Satnav software without problems in this situation.

But obviously if you need to mess about for some time, say 1/2 hour plus, then you’re better off running the engine running as normal to keep the battery topped up.

[shufty]

...If I was going to be 'messing about' in the car for that long I'd start the car normally after 10 mins or so.
And yes you can just turn the lights off manually if they have come on.

[Jazzik]

And yes you can just turn the lights off manually if they have come on.

But only in "P".

[Kremmen]

I do that in my garage whilst performing pre-flight checks and waiting for AA to fire up.

Powerup, inside garage door illuminated, rotate switch to off and let it spring back to auto, lights go off and stay off until I shift out of park.

[shufty]

And yes you can just turn the lights off manually if they have come on.

But only in "P".

...Well I didn't think he was rolling down the road at the time 

[ColinB]

If I understand the OP’s question correctly, he seems to be asking about the daytime running lights (DRLs):

... if I am just sitting in the car with the engine running can these daylight lights actually be turned off?

Most of the subsequent discussion refers to the headlights. So, is there a mode in which the car is switched on and he can explore all the settings, but the DRL’s are off?

[Kremmen]

When I powerup in the garage the front is very near the closed garage door.

Whilst still in 'P'ark when I turn the lights off there is no garage door illumination so, without checking, I have no lights, main or DRL.

[Derkie54]

When I collected mine dealer said the AA  get a lot of call outs for flat batteries, when new owners spend a lot of time setting up screens without the engine running.

[shufty]

...If you do flatten your battery doing that, then just leave the car for an hour or two and the 48v system will charge it back up again.

[Kremmen]

Only if turned on.

I'm fairly sure it does nothing otherwise. Hence why after standing for 2 weeks my CTEK needs over 6 hours to replenish the 12v battery. After 1 week it's only 2 or 3 hours.

[Bristol_Crosstar]

Regarding the daytime running lights I don't think they're on when in "Accessory Mode" but once the high voltage battery is enabled then there's no way of switching them off.

[shufty]

Only if turned on.

I'm fairly sure it does nothing otherwise. Hence why after standing for 2 weeks my CTEK needs over 6 hours to replenish the 12v battery. After 1 week it's only 2 or 3 hours.

... Mine was dead. One window down, couldn't lock it, nothing was active.
I went into town to get one of those battery boost units but when I tried the car some time later it didn't need it. Everything had returned to normal. Elapsed time was a couple of hours.

[Kremmen]

If it was dead then why didn't the HV replenish the 12v battery sooner ?

[R2D3]

...If you do flatten your battery doing that, then just leave the car for an hour or two and the 48v system will charge it back up again.

Absolutely not true. The AA (Honda Assist) man who came out to sort out the flat battery on my Crosstar reported that this is a complete myth.  He also reported that whereas they are allowed a nominal ten minutes for flat battery cases, hybrids are taking a lot longer to resolve in my case it was an hour before he could proceed to his next call out.