No beeping to remind me my headlights are on...

[lunchindabox]

Hey.

Fortunately, I have not had any issues with this yet, but sooner or later I'm going to forget my headlights are on and return to a dead battery.

Anyone know where the beeping module is? First thing to look for?

Thanks in advance, I did search but didn't have any luck...maybe bad search words or something.

-TheBox

 

[jonesmw10]

Hey.

Fortunately, I have not had any issues with this yet, but sooner or later I'm going to forget my headlights are on and return to a dead battery.

Anyone know where the beeping module is? First thing to look for?

Thanks in advance, I did search but didn't have any luck...maybe bad search words or something.

-TheBox

What year 4Runner do you have? Mine automatically shut off if I forget to turn them off.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

4th Gens do not have a headlamp reminder (beeper), like most modern vehicles they just turn the headlamps off after a short while; or if you click "Lock" on your keyfob twice it turns them off.

 

[lunchindabox]

Well, don't I feel silly?

I'll give that a shot on my 04 SR5.

 

[verman84]

Same here, on my 08 sr5 the lights shut off when I hit the lock button twice on the key fob. I've never tested to see how long they stay on when I don't lock it, or only lock it once.

 

[Martinjmpr]

4th Gens do not have a headlamp reminder (beeper), like most modern vehicles they just turn the headlamps off after a short while; or if you click "Lock" on your keyfob twice it turns them off.

Yup and AFAIK this is not a 4th gen exclusive feature, either. The lights on my 3rd gen were similar except that on that truck, if you left the lights on, as soon as you opened the drivers door they went off.

In theory you COULD leave the lights on long enough to kill the battery but you would have to turn the lights off with the door open, then turn them back and then shut the door. So you couldn't really do it by accident.

 

[m85476585]

In theory you COULD leave the lights on long enough to kill the battery but you would have to turn the lights off with the door open, then turn them back and then shut the door. So you couldn't really do it by accident.

I did that by accident once. As I parked, I turned the lights off because it's a habit. But as I was getting out of the car I remembered "wait, I don't need to turn the lights off because they go off automatically, and I never need to touch the light switch" so I turned them back on. A few hours later my neighbor lets me know that my lights are on. Pressing the lock button on the remote twice (or lots of times) won't turn them off in this case, so I have to walk all the way outside and turn them off. Luckily I didn't fully drain the battery, but I put a charger on it to top it off.

None of the automatic light modes are good enough, so I've gone back to switching the lights on when I need them and off when I don't. Luckily I have DRLs so I can get the insurance discount. Leaving them on all the time 24/7 isn't good because the dash indicator lights don't get bright enough (even all the way up). The auto mode isn't good because it's too slow (going into a tunnel, for example)/ not sensitive enough, and it doesn't always work in situations like fog or rain. Also when they come on the dash lights go to night mode, which can be annoying if it's not that dark but lights are needed. The only things I can't see when the backlight is too dim are the climate control lights, like the stupid recirc that comes on on its own.

Apparently the 5th gens have a feature where you can push the dash light backlight knob more and it goes to daytime brightness even when the lights are on. I need to see if the 4th gens can do that.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Oh, I forgot about that.

IF you turn the vehicle off and THEN turn on/turn off headlamps the auto-off function doesn't work; I found that out real quick. But basically if you turn the headlamps on/off when the engine is running and then turn it off, the auto function times the lamps off after a minute or two (usually with the dome light timer) and/or with the keyfob.