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Thread: Canadian MM owners: DRL question.

  1. #1
    TripleTransAm Guest

    Canadian MM owners: DRL question.

    Every car I've ever driven with DRLs has them OFF until the parking brake is released. This is not the case with my MM, and dealer says it's a 2003 thing.

    The problem is that my DRLs are on ALL THE TIME. The moment I turn the key to ON, DRLs are on, parking brake or not.


    This is a pain for many reasons:

    1) Anytime you want to work on a car with the ignition key ON but the engine not running.... battery drain.
    2) Sometimes you just want to sit in a parking lot idling with the lights OFF.
    3) related to #2, last night I went to a drive-in theater (wife had never been to one, they don't exist in Sweden). So it's a hot and muggy evening, so watching the movie with the A/C on would have been fun, except the damned lights would be bothering the guy in front of me!!!! So I had no choice but to turn off the engine, and watch those cool fog patches form on the inside of the windshield due to the inoperative A/C. With the heat and humidity, the kid was sweating up a storm and crying big time. He finally fell asleep midway through the movie, but heck it was not the best of nights... thanks Ford.

    So, any feedback from Canadian MM owners on DRL operation would be most valuable to me. Thanks in advance!

  2. #2
    yorks Guest

    Same here!

    I've got the exact same thing. Before the MM, I had a Lincoln LS. The only time the DRLs were on is when you were in a gear with the parking brake released. IOW's if you were in park and/or parking brake on.....no DRLs. My wife's Escape operates this way also. See MM owner's guide, p39.....

    Turns the lowbeam headlamps on with a reduced output. To activate:
    • the key must be in the ON position,
    • the parking brake released, and
    • the headlight control is in the OFF or Parking lamps position.


    I just brought the MM in for first oil and questioned the DRLs.

    Personally I think they're FOS. I know what you mean about the inconvenience. I like to sit in the parking lot on midnight shift at lunch and enjoy a frosty beverage. If I need to run the car (A/C,heat), I'm a sitting duck.

    Attchd is service report saying manual is wrong. I called Oakville to question it, they think the MM is an import from the US.
    There must be somebody we can call. Any other Canucks want to chip in their $0.02 ($0.015US)?
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by yorks; 05-19-2003 at 08:21 AM.

  3. #3
    yorks Guest
    PS

    Any of our honourable Wrenches familiar with the Canadian DRL setup. Any assistance would be most appreciated.

  4. #4
    TripleTransAm Guest
    Okay, then, so it's not only me. I'm not relieved, though... looks like it will be a harder thing to get fixed. Unless I hear any differently from other Canadian MM owners, I will push the issue with Ford and ask for a fix.

    Yes, I do think this is FOS. It's a freaking inconvenience and what it means is that I am forever forced to sit in the car with my windows open at any event where I need to be in the car and want fresh air. Say goodbye to drive-ins. Say goodbye to car shows. I have no problems with DRLs (and never have) but this is too freaking much!!!!

  5. #5
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    Well guys I just looked the SHOP manual(not the owner's manual) and it says the SAME thing that Yorks has highlighted from the owner's manual.........

    this is the 2003 Crown Vic/Grand Marquis/Marauder factory shop manual...............


    I'd ask 'em to check again...................
    "From the forest itself comes the handle for the axe"



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  6. #6
    TripleTransAm Guest
    Originally posted by jefferson-mo

    this is the 2003 Crown Vic/Grand Marquis/Marauder factory shop manual...............

    Yep, that's what I verified as well. Both owners' manual and the shop manual are in agreement, but my dealer said it was something to deal with the fact some people drove with the emergency brake engaged one 'click' (it makes more sense when referring to a hand brake, but you get the picture) just to defeat the DRLs.

    Well, I don't give a crap. I don't drive like that, I don't mind the DRLs, so don't force it down my throat like this!

    The whole lighting system on this car is driving me nuts. First the brake light switch/lazy-brake-booster issue, then the wiper/auto-lights issue, and now this.

    Oh, in case I never mentioned the wiper-lights issue, the MM brochures mention that the auto headlights are activated immediately upon wiper activation. No problem, except my car AUTOMATICALLY turns on the lights with the wipers... PERIOD. No auto function... it can be in broad daylight under extreme sunlight, but if I turn on the wipers, CLICK come on the headlights (+ taillights, dash lights, etc.). It's a real pain on a partly cloudy day with sporadic rain when the slowest wiper setting is still too much... I turn the wipers on, lights on, turn the wipers off, lights off, wipers on, lights on... must look like a freaking light show to anyone following me on such a day.

    BTW, Ford has an internal fix for those who feel the wiper-headlight link is too sensitive... cut the wire leading from the lighting control module to the wiper motor. *sigh* Now if they could only come up with something as easy for the DRL issue.
    Last edited by TripleTransAm; 05-19-2003 at 10:53 AM.

  7. #7
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    Hey one of you 2 Canucks PM me with your VIN and I'll see if there's any Bulletins or TSBs for this................
    "From the forest itself comes the handle for the axe"



    He's here! Carson James Mo--our 1st
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  8. #8
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    Sounds like a Government Regulation or at least interference, to defeat those defeating DRL with the "one click" trick.
    Make everyone suffer because of the minority.

    I agree it's stupid.

    It should be as printed in the Manuals
    Member Number 32

    Originally posted by TripleTransAm
    An interesting side note: this isn't the same forum I used to post on for years, and I've been doing a lot of reading over the past 48 hours on both sites. Looks like there's been a serious splintering. I never thought it'd be possible for this to happen to a group of owners of a car model that sold no more than 14000 copies over 2 model years. Kind of scary, when thinking of the scale. Makes one think that maybe it'd be a good idea to do some introspection and think about what each of us needs to do to build a solid community, analyze what it is we're all honestly looking for by belonging to this community.

  9. #9
    Mtl_CV Guest

    Arrow

    My 2000 Vic does the same thing but I was told it's because I have an alarm/remote starter. I think I will just disconnect the DRL module...I love to go to the drive-in too and I keep the car running because of the audio system...

    I read somewhere that the car must come with DRL, but you don't have to keep it. It would be nice to be able to add a switch...I like it when I drive, but I would turn it off otherwise.

    Did you go to St. Eustache or Laval ?

    Charles

  10. #10
    TripleTransAm Guest
    Originally posted by Mtl_CV
    It would be nice to be able to add a switch...I like it when I drive, but I would turn it off otherwise.

    Did you go to St. Eustache or Laval ?

    Laval. Online maps sent me on a wild goose chase to the southern shore of Laval, so I had to make that DOHC bark on the way back up the 15 to make it to the drive in before 8 pm (turns out the movie started at 10pm... WTF???)

    The DRL switch is a good idea. I will study this possibility once I get a good look at the wiring diagram. I've had great success disabling the auto-headlights and DRLs on my WS6 (all switched by small rockers in the ashtray). I'll post some schematics once I figure it out.

    I too thought it was all due to my remote-starter/ignition kill/etc. module.

  11. #11
    yorks Guest
    TripleTA...
    I don't have a remote start/alarm/ignition kill. I PM'd Jefferson-MO my VIN # so he can check for TSB's, etc.

  12. #12
    TripleTransAm Guest
    Originally posted by yorks
    I PM'd Jefferson-MO my VIN # so he can check for TSB's, etc.

    I'll be doing the same once I find it... the registration papers are in the car in my garage since my towing adventure on Thursday, and the car is nicely stuffed in my garage for the day at home. It's a nice day today so I figured I'd take the WS6 to work, plus it would give me a day off from thinking about all the crap I'm going through with my MM. Out of sight, out of mind, as they say...

    Thursday, the car goes in for the brake booster replacement (to hopefully cure the lazy taillights), the seat squeak fix, the wiper-headlight fix (ie. snip the wire!), and hopefully we can do something about this DRL crap.

  13. #13
    yorks Guest
    Good luck. Let us all know how it turns out. Any other Canadians reading this thread?

  14. #14
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    I found this about the wipers but nothing yet on the DRLs

    SSM 15802

    15802 HEADLAMPS REMAIN ILLUMINATED WHEN WIPERS ARE ACTIVATED AND THEN DEACTIVATED
    SOME 2001-2003 CROWN VIC/GRAND MARQUIS VEHICLES ARE EQUIPPED WITH A HEADLAMPS-ON-WITH-WIPERS-ON FEATURE. IN DARK CONDITIONS ONLY WHEN THIS FEATURE IS ACTIVATED, THE HEADLAMPS WILL REMAIN ON EVEN AFTER THE WIPERS HAVE BEEN DEACTIVATED (EVEN IF THE HEADLAMP SWITCH IS IN THE OFF POSITION). THIS IS A NORMAL CHARACTERISTIC OF THE STRATEGY. IF THE VEHICLE OWNER IS DISSATISFIED WITH THE OPERATING STRATEGY IT MAY BE DISABLED. TO DISABLE THIS FEATURE, TAKE THE BLACK/PINK WIRE, CIRCUIT 28, OUT OF PIN #15 OF THE LIGHTENING CONTROL MODULE (LCM) AND TAPE THE WIRE BACK TO THE HARNESS. FOR 2001 VEHICLES THIS IS CONNECTOR NUMBER 2027. IF THIS A 2002 OR 2003 MODEL YEAR THE CONNECTOR IS NUMBER 2145C.
    "From the forest itself comes the handle for the axe"



    He's here! Carson James Mo--our 1st
    Born 6/02/2005

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  15. #15
    TripleTransAm Guest
    Originally posted by jefferson-mo
    I found this about the wipers but nothing yet on the DRLs

    Yep, that's the bulletin that my favorite tech pulled out when explaining the wiper issue to me. However, it quickly became clear to us that my car goes BEYOND the trouble mentioned.

    The bulletin claims in dark conditions only.

    However, I can be right smack in the middle of searing hot sunlight, baking the s**t out of the light sensor with photons if need be, and gosh dang it the darned lights will come on within 5 seconds of activating the wipers. When deactivating wipers, the lights will turn off shortly. That's not what I'd call auto-headlights... that's more like auto-headlights-on-no-matter-what.

    But that's not the biggest issue I have. Due to the fact that my lousy headlights are ALWAYS on thanks to Ford's messed up DRL implementation, it's really only the interior lights and taillights that come on/off during wiper operation.

    So, in reality, the wiper issue is a mere annoyance compared to the real thorn in my side... the DRLs!!

    I spent the better part of an hour cross-referencing circuits in the wiring diagram book (a separate 'appendix' to the shop manual - well worth the purchase!) and doggone-it there's no mention of a parking brake switch in the DRL circuit. That means the shop manual itself is incorrect. And it's not clear how the US cars are wired for NO DRL use. If it's a simple matter of not having the DRL module present at all, I believe I can hack together a little circuit and disable the mofos altogether with a switch. Can someone confirm that the US MM does not have a DRL module at all within the light circuit?

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