Dashboard not lighting up with sidelights

stevemc81

Active Member
Oct 25, 2013
144
15
I'm driving a 67 plate FR.

When I have the headlight switch at 0 and it's getting dark the lights behind the instruments start to dim and eventually turn off so you can hardly see the dials - this is as I'd expect. However, when I turn the sidelights on (not the dipped headlights) the instrument lights continue to stay dim/off until I turn the headlights all the way on.

This is different behaviour to my old 63 plate SE Technology which lit up the instruments when the sidelights were switched on.

My question is, has the behaviour changed for newer cars or is mine just faulty?
 

TheVoice

Active Member
Jun 11, 2016
175
11
Scotland
That does sound odd, but it's presumably by design to encourage people not to drive around solely with "sidelights" on.
 

SRGTD

Active Member
May 26, 2014
2,388
1,279
That does sound odd, but it's presumably by design to encourage people not to drive around solely with "sidelights" on.

My VW’s the same; no instrumentation lighting when the lights are on sidelights only, so probably a VAG thing.

I only ever use the sidelight setting if I need to park up for short periods in an area without street lighting and want all four corners of the car illuminated, so using the sidelights as parking lights. Not sure why anyone would want to drive on sidelights only - IMO it’s better to see and be seen when ambient lighting is poor.
 

JimH

Cupra 300 ST DSG 4Drive
May 23, 2015
106
20
Norwich, UK
That does sound odd, but it's presumably by design to encourage people not to drive around solely with "sidelights" on.

Yup - that'll be it - despite the manual still using the 1960/70's term "sidelights" they're really only suitable as parking lights on modern roads - hence the lack of dashboard lighting and the fact that auto lights (if you have them) go straight from daytime running lights to dipped beam.

Whatever terminology is used, the lights at position 1 on the switch tend to be dimmer than modern DRL's in any case, hence no need to drive around with just those on and probably why, on newer models, the rear lights are on with DRL's too....

One day the Highway Code will be updated - in the meantime there's some ambiguity between regulation 113 (MUST) and 115 (should also) in this respect - possibly to cater for older vehicles still on the road?

https://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/lighting-requirements.html
 

Deleted member 103408

Guest
There is also some ambiguity between what this says

114
You MUST NOT
  • use any lights in a way which would dazzle or cause discomfort to other road users, including pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders
  • use front or rear fog lights unless visibility is seriously reduced. You MUST switch them off when visibility improves to avoid dazzling other road users (see Rule 226).
But VAG and Ford (and i am sure others) are now making front fog lights turn on when you turn a corner (and on some models when your reverse).
 

Maypack

Ambassador for Cumberland Sausage
Apr 20, 2014
3,175
2,327
Gods Country - West Cumbria
Never understood the point in side lights other than for parking.

The only use for me is that when I arrive at the gates to work I have to switch my main headlights off as I pass through the gate. This is to stop the fate people getting blinded. Other than that I have no reason why they are there too.
 

SteveGSXR600K1

Active Member
May 6, 2017
572
187
I only ever use the sidelight setting if I need to park up for short periods in an area without street lighting and want all four corners of the car illuminated, so using the sidelights as parking lights.

You can also use the indicator switch to illuminate the sidelights on either the left side or the right side, when you park up. If you parked on the left side of a road, you'd put the indicator down to the right, and have the outer side of the car lit.
 

SRGTD

Active Member
May 26, 2014
2,388
1,279
You can also use the indicator switch to illuminate the sidelights on either the left side or the right side, when you park up. If you parked on the left side of a road, you'd put the indicator down to the right, and have the outer side of the car lit.

Yes, I’ve used that parking light function on occasions too. :)
 

stevemc81

Active Member
Oct 25, 2013
144
15
Never understood the point in side lights other than for parking.

In my old car I'd use them during the day when the weather was dull (so my rear lights were on and my instruments were readable) but it was still light enough that headlights seemed overkill. Can't really do that now since it doesn't light up the instruments. C'est la vie.
 
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Jim45

Active Member
Apr 27, 2018
316
86
If I switch my sidelights on when my instrument panel lights annoyingly dim in low light my panel lights illuminate, MY18 FR
 

BoomerBoom

Active Member
Jun 1, 2018
690
249
I think the fault with this new safety feature is that the instrument lights react far too quickly, if they only dimmed when the ambient light was too low for a several minutes I could see the point, but they dim even when you drive under a tree.

Having the speedo vanish on a bright sunny day, just because you passed through a shadow is probably just as unsafe as driving in twilight with just the DRL's lit.

On the subject of DRL and 'side' lights, I don't see any difference if I switch between the two - on pre face lift models I'm pretty sure there was a noticeable dimming?

Also, given that the rear lights are on now with DRL I don't see there is any risk of not being visible at dusk and before lighting up time, the front DRLs are probably visible as the same distance as the headlights are.
 
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Jim45

Active Member
Apr 27, 2018
316
86
I think the fault with this new safety feature is that the instrument lights react far too quickly, if they only dimmed when the ambient light was too low for a several minutes I could see the point, but they dim even when you drive under a tree.

Having the speedo vanish on a bright sunny day, just because you passed through a shadow is probably just as unsafe as driving in twilight with just the DRL's lit.

On the subject of DRL and 'side' lights, I don't see any difference if I switch between the two - on pre face lift models I'm pretty sure there was a noticeable dimming?

Also, given that the rear lights are on now with DRL I don't see there is any risk of not being visible at dusk and before lighting up time, the front DRLs are probably visible as the same distance as the headlights are.

Totally agree, somebody please figure a way of getting rid of this.
 

Deleted member 103408

Guest
FYI, On the pre facelift cars the DRL's are set to go to 35% when other lights are on from memory,
This can be changed with OBD11 / VCDS to a higher or lower value.
 

R4CK5

Active Member
Mar 8, 2017
609
85
Also, given that the rear lights are on now with DRL I don't see there is any risk of not being visible at dusk and before lighting up time, the front DRLs are probably visible as the same distance as the headlights are.

Its still to prompt you to turn your dipped beam on in low light conditions. Drls are bright like you say and are highly visible but they throw out scattered light to be highly visible during daylight hours. This makes them very dazzling to oncoming traffic in low light hence the prompt to turn on your dipped beam.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
 

KXL

KXL
Dec 15, 2016
1,581
197
London, UK
On my 63 Plate Leon SE Tech, on side lights and dipped beam, the instrument lights are on. In my 66 Plate Ibiza, on sidelights instrument lights are off. Then again, in the newer Seats, even on 0, rear DRLs are on too!
 

Deleted member 103408

Guest
I think the norm now is for Scandi DRL's as there are a number of request on the coding boards how to turn the rear ones off.
 
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