Any way to leave the light switch on and the lights will shut off with the ignition
 

My son has a 2001 Discovery 2, and today he had a battery die since he forgot to turn off the headlights when he got to school.

Is there any way to modify the system to leave the light switch on and the lights will shut off with the ignition?

We do have a Nanocom, in case it is a setting we could change.

Thanks in advance.

A D2 can activate the head lights via the fob.

Has this been a regular thing? If not, may offer a suggestion that this just might be a lesson learned when one drives an "old" vehicle? I had an old Toyota pickup when I was first learning to drive and had to learn this exact lesson the hard way, but I only had to learn it once! I don't know if this is a setting that can be changed with the nanocom, but I do know that the truck "dings" at you if you shut if off with the lights on as a warning.

I reviewed the DII BCU guide and found that settings are available for fog lights, daytime running lights, and courtesy headlamps, which as Best4x4 said means the headlights are turned on when the button on the keyless entry handset is pressed to unlock the truck. I don't see a setting to have the headlights turn off automatically after the key is removed from the ignition.

The guides linked from the Nanocom DII web page linked below are valuable resources, whether or not you have a Nanocom. I was given a Hawkeye a few years ago, and being able to read what settings are available from a PDF is invaluable.

https://nanocom-diagnostics.com/prod...-petrol-v8-kit

Hmmm. It’s interesting, with my ‘00 D2, I left the doors open all night one night and the interior lights turned off automatically and I had no battery issues. I figured the CAN had something in there that once a threshold is reached, the interior lights turn off. I’ve had this happen just when opening the doors too at times.

As this is a Euro vehicle, and rules- at least here in Germany- are that they need to leave “parking” lights on for the duration of a vehicle being parked in certain locations, so a time out wouldn’t be possible I don’t think. This makes the above interesting, but irrelevant.

And based on mln01’s input, I doubt it can be done in an OEM fashion. If this is a real issue, a couple good choices seem to be either get a Harbor Freight or the light battery pack jump starter, or install a low voltage cutoff switch- and I’d probably do the latter on the battery on the whole. You’ll lose settings if you do the latter, but it would keep from having a battery pack in the car.

Interior lights will go off, but not the headlights.
But there is a quite noticeable warning sound when the lights are left on and the key is removed. Does that mean nothing??

Thanks all.

It is the headlights that stay on after the ignition is turned off and the doors locked with the fob.

He's had it a year and a half and this is the first time he left the light on (and the battery died).

Yes it is a learning experience for him. Hopefully he will not do this again.

It finally turned cold here, so that could be a factor. The battery had a 2017 in service date sticker on it, so maybe it was getting tired.

I replaced the battery with a new Interstate 24, the higher CCA version, so hopefully that will help.

All of our other vehicles have headlights that turn off when you remove the key, or lock the doors with the fobs.

I probably got something wrong. detail/fact wise. This is just as I understand it.

It would be great if there was a way to have the headlights turn off when the vehicle is turned off. If not, no big deal.

I'll read the Nanocom info at that link. Thanks.

The battery is not the problem. Most vehicles would drain the battery overnight if the headlights were left one.
The Nanocom isn't going to be able to program a setting that doesn't exist.

But I ask again, more bluntly: Did he just ignore the warning chime telling him that he had left the lights on?

I wasn't there so can't speak from first hand experience. I asked him today, and he said that he usually gets a beeping from the dash, but he didn't notice that happen this time.

Not to say it didn't happen, just that he didn't notice it. And he's a very trustworthy kid, so I don't doubt him. Not a big deal anyway,

I'd just like to find a way to avoid the problem with a proactive solution. I'd like to error proof the system - poke yoke - it would be better if the lights shut themselves off without manual intervention.

It wasn't overnight, it was a couple of hours. He is a TA for a couple of high school classes and was there for a bit in the morning. Maybe 3 hours at the most.

I've reported here that his dash instruments often don't work until they warm up on very cold weather. We have had a spell of very cold weather this week. I wonder if there may be some relationship.

Anyhow, sounds like there isn't an easy way to make it so the headlights turn off when the ignition is off.

Thanks for the info everyone!

Modern cars that turn off headlights when to doors lock/etc have an extra setting on the light switch. On all my vehicles with this feature it is a turn from off to the left (counter clock wise). The vehicles still also have the traditional "Off -> Parking/Running -> All On" positions if you turn the nob to the right.

I have always assumed the reason for this is that somewhere federal code dictated the basic required functions of the switch. I figured the only way car makers to could get automatic in there was to add a new position to the switch. I could be wrong.

I also would have concerns about not being able to force my headlights on even without the FOB. A car accident where you have gone off the road at night is a great example of a situation where you probably wouldn't want other things keeping your from signalling for help.