We don't usually get below 40 F here in the SF Bay Area, but it happened this week. When I drove my LR2 in the cold morning, I noticed the headlights were on. This was odd because I had my lighting control switch set to the far right Auto setting. The lights should have been off during the daylight hours.

I could turn them off by manually changing the switch setting to the far left Off position, but they came back on with any other setting. Later in the day as it got warmer everything was working correctly again.

Just an fyi if it happens to you.

 

Might be influenced by temp if there's a weak connector.

My lights sometimes turn on when the sky overcast and the sun is relatively low on the horizon.

Is your windshield tinted by chance? I'm pretty sure the ambient light sensor is on the dash or rear view mirror. Might it be blocked by dirt, lint, or cleaning products?

 

The light sensor is incorporated in the rain/light sensor located on the inside of the windshield, below the rear view mirror. The sensor measures the ambient light around the vehicle in a vertical direction and also the angular light level from the front of the vehicle.

The automatic headlamp operation uses ambient light levels which are monitored by photodiodes incorporated in the rain/light sensor. The rain/light sensor sends a lights on/off request to the CJB on the LIN bus, which responds by switching on the low beam headlamps, front side lamps, license plate lamps and rear tail lamps. The automatic headlamps are activated under the following conditions:

• Twilight
• Darkness
• Rain
• Tunnels
• Underground or multistoried car parks.

Operation of the automatic headlamps requires the ignition to be on (power mode 6), the lighting control rotary switch to be in the 'AUTO' position and a lights on request signal from the light sensor.

I don't know if the sensor is photovoltaic or photoconductive. If it is a photovoltaic sensor it is affected by a decrease in temperature. The opposite is true if it is a photoconductive sensor.

 

I didn't have any dirt or other blockage on the windshield above the rear-view mirror. The only exceptional circumstance was the very cold weather (at least, cold for where I live). Like everything else on a 15 year old car, the sensor (LR007066) probably has age and use wear and was affected by the cold temp.

 

I have a 2024 Land Rover Defender and having issues with the insturment cluster going almost completely black on cloudy days. The auto dimming seems not working correctly. I will go on and off sometimes for no reason. I have the dial all the way up for brightness that is located by the hood latch but does not help. Do you have any ideas?

 

Wrong forum.

 

2024? That's depressing, I was thinking of buying a 2022 or 2023.

Isn't it under warranty?