Audi Turn Signal and LED DRL stpidity

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Jul 22, 2005
Messages
11,948
Location
NorthEast
why? I am seeing other manufacturers blindly copying them too :-(

Of course you know what I am talking about if you have been just mildly observant on the road.

Audi turns off the DRL on that side when the turn signal is activated. They believe with DRL on, you will not be able to see the turn signals!

I recall seeing a Chrysler vehicle recently which had implemented the same behavior.

There can't be a technical reason for it, correct??
 
I've seen it on the road a few times, and I agree, it does look weird. Thankfully, the car can be reprogrammed to disable this silliness.

But as to why, apparently there is some federal regulation that states that no lights that are brighter than the turn signals can be on at the same time during daylight hours.

Why don't they just lower the DRL output or increase the turn signal output then?
 
Brightness CHANGE is more noticeable than color change thus an arguable better way to do this for maximum notice-ability to other distracted drivers.
 
Right, but I just find it distracting. Instead of me noticing that the guy is signalling, I am noticing and thinking that his headlight bulb is blown. I guess I'll get used to it over time...
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Thankfully, the car can be reprogrammed to disable this silliness.

I should have added that it can also be reprogrammed to just dim the DRL a bit as opposed to completely turning the DRL off when the blinker is being used.
 
It is called "winking", and yes, it can be disabled via flipping various bits on the ECM. It's not a technical limitation.

They do this so that the DRLs do not overpower the turn signals. There may be a DOT regulation about brightness that they must meet, though as others have suggested, it could also just be to draw attention.
 
If the car turns off the DRL, maybe, just maybe, the person driving around at night with DRLs only will notice his corners are a lot darker than they should be, and turn on his headlights.
 
Originally Posted By: spackard
If the car turns off the DRL, maybe, just maybe, the person driving around at night with DRLs only will notice his corners are a lot darker than they should be, and turn on his headlights.


The DRLs dim when the headlamps are turned on, but they do not turn off.
 
Originally Posted By: Vikas
Audi turns off the DRL on that side when the turn signal is activated. They believe with DRL on, you will not be able to see the turn signals!


Correct...though it may not be that they felt like the turn signals would be obscured...they may have been REQUIRED to do that to meet photometric requirements in FMVSS 108. As you pointed out, they're not the only manufacturer to do that. GM used to turn off all DRLs when a turn signal was on. Some later 4th generation Mopar minivans (2005-2007) would turn the same-side DRL off (which was the high beam on low intensity) when the turn signal was on. We used to call those "winky blinkeys" and it was programmable at the dealership.
 
Originally Posted By: Vikas
why? I am seeing other manufacturers blindly copying them too :-(

Of course you know what I am talking about if you have been just mildly observant on the road.

Audi turns off the DRL on that side when the turn signal is activated. They believe with DRL on, you will not be able to see the turn signals!

I recall seeing a Chrysler vehicle recently which had implemented the same behavior.

There can't be a technical reason for it, correct??


Of all the things to concern myself with, this isn't something I'll even remotely worry about.

Quote:
Audi Turn Signal and LED DRL stpidity


By the way, the correct spelling is "stupidity".
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top