View Full Version : Question about headlight on indicator


Omicron
10-17-2003, 09:12 AM
Does anyone besides me find that little green light in the left instrument pod REALLY annoying at night? Well, I sure do, and would love to tone it down somehow or even disable it. After all, the headlight on tone reminds you if you open the door when the lights are on and the driver's door is opened, so I don't feel this ANNOYING dash light is necessary.

Sooooo, I've considered low-tech fixes like putting a little piece of tint over the light, but would really prefer to put a switch on it so I can turn the durn thing off. Can anyone tell me which wire feeds it?

Thanks........

Driver8
10-17-2003, 10:38 AM
I've got no answer for you but I will concur with your assessment. With the lights on, cruise control on, cruise control set, and DSC disabled, the instrument panel can quickly become very cluttered. The placement of all of these seems a little haphazard. It's just a little nit picking, but it seems as if all these indicator lights could be a little more organized.

mikeb
10-17-2003, 01:48 PM
there is a lot of stuff
but I like it personally

zoom44
10-17-2003, 02:01 PM
i don't mind it in fact i wish there was one more light- one that showed the fogs are on. the other day it was a little foggy here so i turned them on and they didn't seem to make any difference, so i thought maybe they weren't working. it wasn't until i made a stop at a mini-mart and got out and looked that i was sure.

Omicron
10-17-2003, 02:45 PM
Actually, I'd like to rig it so that light comes on when the fogs are on, but not for the basic headlights.

So who's got a wiring diagram for the car that can look this up, and/or fax me the appropriate pages? Anyone?

Thanks...

jdaled
10-17-2003, 02:48 PM
Omicron, that's exacty the same thing I'd like to do. The only headlight indicators I want are high-beams, and fog lights. The door chime is effective for me.

RX-MEN-8
10-17-2003, 05:16 PM
I like it.. The more lights the better for me.. The only thing I would have done different is to have Three lights.. One for the regular lights, and a different color for the Fog lights and a third for the parking lights.. My 993 has something similar and I think it's great..

Lensman
10-18-2003, 06:36 AM
Are you guys saying that there's no indication that the fog lights are activated? Is the switch twin position, i.e. can you tell by looking at the switch whether the lights are on? I'd surely hate to be driving with the fog lights on by accident and that would be distinctly possible unless there's some feedback in the cabin.

MrWigggles
10-18-2003, 11:44 AM
The green light doesn't bother me.

I thought you had to turn the headlights on to get the foglights to come on.

-Mr. Wigggles

eccles
10-18-2003, 11:55 AM
Originally posted by Lensman
Are you guys saying that there's no indication that the fog lights are activated? Is the switch twin position, i.e. can you tell by looking at the switch whether the lights are on?At least here in the States, the indicator light illuminates whenever you have any lights on - a function that seems rather pointless to me - but the foglight switch is a rotating bezel on the indicator stalk, so you can see what position it's in.

However, I seem to recall one of our Japanese friends refering to the dash light as a "fog light indicator" at one point, so it's possible that it functions differently in countries where legislation correctly allows the fogs to be lit independently of the headlights.

CraziFuzzy
10-18-2003, 02:05 PM
The light actually indicates when the parking lights are on. Again, not sure WHY it is there, as I've never seen this feature on any other car I've driven. I guess if it really bothers you, you could pull the bulb from it. Check in the owner's manual, it should tell you how to replace the indicator bulbs (sorry, don't have my manual handy). It wouldn't bother me at all if it dimmed with the rest of the console... but that would take a little more wiring i guess...

zoom44
10-18-2003, 03:49 PM
there is a seperate switch like eccles says but even if that is switched on they wont come one unless the headlights are. so you could leave that on by mistake and the next time you put your lights on they would be on too and the only way to tell is if you look at the stalk. and in my situation the other day i could not tell by turning the switch on that they actually came on so i had to get out and look to confirm it. that's how i found out they wont turn on independant of the headlights also i think if you put your high beams on the fog shut off

Omicron
10-18-2003, 06:15 PM
For me, the ideal solution would be to have the indicator light come on only when the fog lights are on... and to have the fog lights turn on independantly of the headlights. There's another thread on this board explaining how to redo the wiring on the fogs so they are not slaved to the headlights, something I plan to do in the near future. So now the final piece is to figure out how to hook up that indicator light to just the fogs. It sounds like the JDM model RX-8 is set up this way, so it should be possible.

But in the mean time, I'd like to disable that annoying green light for night time driving. I find it really annoying... there's this beautiful red with blue overlight to the gauges and entire dash at night that is great for maintaining your night vision when driving. Then there, almost directly in front of you, is this piercing green searchlight to tell you, of all things, that you have your lights on. Duh!

Crazi, I would consider pulling the bulb on that indicator light, but at the very least, that would involve completely removing the instrument bezels to get at the back of it where the bulb would be, and that's not something I want to tackle. Besides, I'd be willing to bet the light is LED or fiber optic, and might be impossible to disconnect. However, it is most likely fed by just one wire to light it up, so if I could figure out which wire that is, the rest will follow.

If I had a wiring diagram for the car, I could figure all of this out. Can anyone provide me with one?

Thanks...

Ringer
10-26-2003, 04:50 AM
My JDM RX8 is the same.

I agree the green indicator is redundant but not irritating. Many European cars have this indicator too.

What is annoying is lack of fog lights on indicator. Even though the switch position is clear it is still essential to indicate on the dash.

What is even more disappointing is lthe lack of a rear fog light on indicator. The push switch does not indicator on or off. I believe in Britain and Europe there may be legislation against use of fog lights in fair weather and it is importnat to know whether on or off. Perhaps when you guys in Britain get your RX8s please post what's fitted for your market.

-Ringer-

SHOWOFF
10-29-2003, 10:04 AM
The green light in my opinion should only indicate foglights, and also that damned yellow cruise light that comes on when you turn the cruise on and then the addition of the green light that tells you the system is set, combined with my flashing tire warning light since I added 19" rims , Jesus Christ come on get rid of all the lights already.

Omicron
10-29-2003, 03:56 PM
Originally posted by SHOWOFF
The green light in my opinion should only indicate foglights, and also that damned yellow cruise light that comes on when you turn the cruise on and then the addition of the green light that tells you the system is set, combined with my flashing tire warning light since I added 19" rims , Jesus Christ come on get rid of all the lights already.

LOL...

Sounds like you are a good candidate to be the first to take the dash apart so you can disconnect all the warning lights!

mikeb
10-29-2003, 08:50 PM
Originally posted by Omicron
LOL...

Sounds like you are a good candidate to be the first to take the dash apart so you can disconnect all the warning lights!

I did this on my civic because I added a Momo sterling wheel and that caused the airbag lift to stay on forever.

Omicron
12-11-2004, 07:45 PM
Time to revise an old thread... has anyone figured out how to disable this yet?

huhsler
12-14-2004, 02:33 PM
http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=47499

Sorry if I missed it.

Jogumby
12-14-2004, 05:02 PM
I agree. Cruise control,tire press monitor, & headlight indicators are a pain to me aging eyes. Fixed tire pressure light (after market rims) with a piece of electrical tape cause it was most annoying. If someone does get a wiring schematic please post it for us. :) Technology is wonderful aint it......if only u could turn it off when u dont need it. ;) Remember the ol'days when u went to car & battery was dead......didnt need any light to remind you lights were on after that hehe :eek: