[leeholsen]

am wanting to see if I can turn off the autolights without the constant notice on my gauge ? and other things like that.

if I turn the autolights off, it says permamnently on my gauge, autolights off; cant see the other things on my digital read out.

on my jeep, I have been able to rotate thru and turn off some displays on the digital gauges but hadn't figured out how to do that yet here.

sure would like to turn the autolights off notice and turn off the auto door locks, stuff that I am not too concerned about if driving 2 miles to the store and back.

 

[Greatgab]

Just hit the info button on the steering wheel to cycle thru the other settings...

 

[sirwm]

Just hit the info button on the steering wheel to cycle thru the other settings...

yep - just hit the INFO button on the steering wheel and the problem is solved !

 

[sirwm]

I think auto-locks is there because of a law... not 100% sure however as my low-end Kia with manual locks does not have the auto-lock feature and is 3 years newer than my Solstice.

 

[joybill44]

I think auto-locks is there because of a law... not 100% sure however as my low-end Kia with manual locks does not have the auto-lock feature and is 3 years newer than my Solstice.

just hit the info button and choose what you want to display. I always show coolant temp.

 

[JohnWR]

Yes, as everyone has said, the "Auto Lights Off" message should go away as soon as you press the info button.

I am curious about why you want to turn them off, and why you want to turn the auto locks off.

My doors unlock themselves when I turn the car off prior to getting out, so it doesn't seem like a big deal to me.

 

[TomatoSoup]

sure would like to turn the autolights off notice and turn off the auto door locks, stuff that I am not too concerned about if driving 2 miles to the store and back.

For the door lock question, per the manual...

If your vehicle has power door locks, the doors will
automatically lock when the shift lever is moved out of
PARK (P) for a vehicle with an automatic transmission.
For a vehicle with a manual transmission, the speed
must be greater than 5 mph (8 km/h).
The automatic door locking feature cannot be disabled.

 

[leeholsen]

Yes, as everyone has said, the "Auto Lights Off" message should go away as soon as you press the info button.

I am curious about why you want to turn them off, and why you want to turn the auto locks off.

My doors unlock themselves when I turn the car off prior to getting out, so it doesn't seem like a big deal to me.

never been an autolight person, if the situation calls for them to be on, I can turn them on.

auto door locks, I really do not need them to auto lock for a trip to the store.

beside rear vision cameras, I can do without most anything safety-wise since 2005.

 

[JohnWR]

never been an autolight person, if the situation calls for them to be on, I can turn them on.

auto door locks, I really do not need them to auto lock for a trip to the store.

beside rear vision cameras, I can do without most anything safety-wise since 2005.

You may be good about turning lights on when they are needed for people to see you, and not just for you to be able to see, but many, many people are not. I have nearly pulled out in front of a numer of dark grey cars driving in rain, mist, and the dark with no lights, making them virtually invisible.

The biggest problem I have with people turning off the auto lights is that it also turns off the DRLs. That may not be a problem where you are, but it can be here on the twisty back roads that i like to drive. Most of them are intermittently tree-canopied, so you end up alternating between bright sun and dark shade and DRLs make it hugely easier to tell when someone is coming out of the shade at you. Since I want every defensive advantage i can get, I like the idea that they can also see me better in the same conditions and are therefore slightly less likely to do something stupid in front of me.

Locked doors have been shown to be less likely to get jarred open in a crash, and the majority of crashes happen within a few miles of home, so ......

I don't find that either function causes me any problem, and it makes no sense to me why you would disable something that may help you when the only down side is the idea that it is happening automatically.

I'm not saying you shouldn't do it, but I just don't understand why you would. I guess that "Because I want to" is enough.

 

[Black Sheep]

Are the DIC lights driven by a separate input depending on the switch position? Mine are hard to read in the daylight in any position other than auto off. Maybe a jumper could be used so that they stay in the brightest state or even dimmer dial state all of the time?

 

[OceanFallsPaul]

This is a provoking topic. On My Canadian 2006 Solstice the auto headlights are always on by law / force. You have no choice. Does this impact the dashboard lighting? Mine seem to not be on when I want them on, and vice versa, but I actually want them on all the time. Scrolling thru the DIC has no bearing on it, as the auto lights feature is not even listed there on this car. I am taking my vehicle to Dueck GM this week to have the air bag recall done as mine is 'incomplete'. Will also pay the $100 for the oil / filter and inspection too, as I want to get the GM mechanics 'take' on my car. Any tips? Thanks to you all. I have learned many things about my car thru this forum. Happy driving days ahead.

 

[JohnWR]

The IP lights, the DIC screen and the radio screen are controlled by the amient light sensor in most cases.

The IP lights are off in daylight and on in low light unless the BCM has been reprogrammed to keep them on all of the time. This was an option that appeared sometime in '08 maybe in response to complaints about instrument visability. The change requires a reflash from a dealer or well-equipped independent shop. With this change the IP lights are on full in daylight and are modulated in low light according to the position of the IP dimmer control.

The DIC and radio screens are at full bright (such as it is) in daylight and are modulated in dim light according to the position of the IP dimmer control. The modulation range is from off to approximately half of full brightness.

Turning the fog lights on is supposed to override the amient light sensor and turn the IP lights on but I have never actually tried it. Turning the auto lights off by rotating the light control backwards will disable the ambient light sensor. I use this function momentarily when the radio/DIC has switched to low light mode but it is still too light to be able to see the dimmed display: Off to read the display, then back on for exterior lighting. There is no simple mechanism to turn the IP lights on manually.

I think the ultimate solution is to alter the ambient light sensor input to trigger the low light mode at a lower level of ambient light, or to make it a manual control using a switch. The amient light sensor is an optical resistor, so it would be fairly straightforward to either change the setting or make it manual while leaving the DRLs and auto lights functional. Someone on one of the forums has done it and I was going to do it, but then decided it wasn't that critical.

 

[OceanFallsPaul]

Thank you. But I do not know what IP, BCM or DRL stand for. I do know that DIC stands for Driver Information Centre, which can be scrolled thru using the push button on the turn signal stick. My 2006 shows nothing regarding lighting when I scroll thru. Thanks again!

 

[chickenwire]

IP - instrument panel. BCM - Body Control Module (computer.) DRL - daytime running lamps.

 

[JohnWR]

Thank you. But I do not know what IP, BCM or DRL stand for.......

Sorry about that.

Listen to the Chicken!

 

[joybill44]

One thing I like about turning the auto light function off is that the DIC goes to full bright and I can read it much better in bright sunlight.

 

[cammerjeff]

Its funny you all should mention turning off the auto lights or turning on the fog lights to brighten up the displays. I tried both things this morning when the sun was coming up & it was overcast. I could not see either my radio or IP displays. Neither worked on my 2006, I had to wait until the overcast cleared for them to brighten up.

 

[joybill44]

Its funny you all should mention turning off the auto lights or turning on the fog lights to brighten up the displays. I tried both things this morning when the sun was coming up & it was overcast. I could not see either my radio or IP displays. Neither worked on my 2006, I had to wait until the overcast cleared for them to brighten up.

Must be a difference in the 2006 and 2007 models. When I turn my auto lights off when starting the car, the DIC goes full bright and stays bright until I turn on the headlights.

 

[JohnWR]

One thing I like about turning the auto light function off is that the DIC goes to full bright and I can read it much better in bright sunlight.

If that makes a difference in bright sunlight your ambient light sensor is either malfunctioning or covered up.

 

[joybill44]

If that makes a difference in bright sunlight your ambient light sensor is either malfunctioning or covered up.

I thought about that too but when the ambient sensor is turned on It operates as it should. The headlights come on at dusk and in sunlight they go off and the DRLs are on. Don't know what the difference is but the DIC is at its brightest when the autolight feature is off.