Help me see the pony (puddle lights)

[joebruin77]

I need help seeing the pony puddle lights. When I first got my MME, I thought I figured out how to make the puddle lights turn on by turning off the Bluetooth on my iPhone and making sure both fobs were away from the car. But over the last week, I have not been able to get them to come on again.

I thought maybe if the car is plugged in, they don’t come on. So I unplugged it. This made no difference. Then I thought maybe my sunshade was blocking the signal, so I took it down. Again, no difference.

I have placed my key fobs in a box that blocks the signal, so the MME does not detect them.

The only time I recently saw the light is when I went to the market during the day. When I came out to the car, I noticed some lights came on as I approached the car. I held my hand under the mirror and the pony light was there.

Any suggestions on how to get the pony puddle lights to appear?

Thank you,
Joe

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[JohnFoxeSheets]

Your mirrors need to be folded, and the car needs to have not detected your key fob or PaaK for long enough that it times out. It then needs to detect the fob/phone (and I think it needs to be dark as well).

 

[astronut325]

Your mirrors need to be folded, and the car needs to have not detected your key fob or PaaK for long enough that it times out. It then needs to detect the fob/phone (and I think it needs to be dark as well).

I see. I’ve been trying to get the puddle lights too but haven’t had much luck.

 

[portlandg]

First of all you have to make sure that your welcome lights setting is ON via the main screen settings. Then you have to make sure that your mirrors are folded in. Then when you approach your car they should turn on. Doesn't make any difference whether it is dark or not, just that you can't see them in the daylight. However, having said that, I have had issues with my for a long time now. Sometimes they light up when I approach, sometimes they don't. Wierd.

 

[AKgrampy]

If your car goes into sleep mode they will not come on. I do not know how much time must pass for the car to enter sleep mode. That is why when you came back to the car after a short period the pony light worked. So all the info passed on in the previous posts and not asleep.

 

[unlimited]

If your car goes into sleep mode they will not come on. I do not know how much time must pass for the car to enter sleep mode. That is why when you came back to the car after a short period the pony light worked. So all the info passed on in the previous posts and not asleep.

Thats what I want to figure out, how to turn off the sleep mode.

 

[joebruin77]

Thanks for your suggestions everyone. I have confirmed that the welcome lights setting is turned on and that the mirrors are folded in.

I have a couple follow up questions based on the suggestions so far:

1) I understand the puddle lights will not come on unless you walk away from the car and your key fob or PAK is no longer detected by the car. Any idea of how long you have to be away from the car? Maybe I am walking away and coming back to the car too soon.

2) Any idea of how long the car is "awake" before it goes into sleep mode?

3) I tried remote starting the car while away from the car, then shutting it off. I thought this would be sufficient to wake it up out of sleep mode. But even after doing this, the magical pony did not show up. Is there a way to either prevent the car from going into sleep mode or to at least extend how long it stays awake before going to sleep?

Thank you, everyone!
Joe

 

[Monke]

If you see tail lights on when you are approaching the car. The ponies are there but you may not see them under bright sun light. They can be seen at night. I always see them all the time. However, I only see ponies twice in my garage with garage door closed.

 

[awp0]

Very interested in this topic as well. My car is less than a week old. The puddle lights worked well for the first couple of days, and now I can't get them to come on. I feel like it has something to do with the two key fobs and two PAAK iPhones that we have configured. The car is parked about 30 feet from the house, and I'm guessing that some of these "keys" are connecting to the car and interfering with the puddle lamp logic. But I still don't find this explanation very convincing because wouldn't it also imply that my car is accessible to everyone when this happens?

 

[SpongeBad]

Very interested in this topic as well. My car is less than a week old. The puddle lights worked well for the first couple of days, and now I can't get them to come on. I feel like it has something to do with the two key fobs and two PAAK iPhones that we have configured. The car is parked about 30 feet from the house, and I'm guessing that some of these "keys" are connecting to the car and interfering with the puddle lamp logic. But I still don't find this explanation very convincing because wouldn't it also imply that my car is accessible to everyone when this happens?

This makes sense to me. If my key fob is in my jacket pocket, hanging on a hook near my garage door, the puddle lights never seem to work. If, however, my key fob is with me deeper in the house, they work every time (as long as the other "long enough away" and configuration rules described in this thread are true).

I think the car will ignore the key fob if it's connected for too long without using the car. That makes sense when you consider that you wouldn't want the car to be "welcoming" strangers if you happened to be parked in a driveway all night where the fob was being kept somewhere close enough to trigger the proximity alerts.

 

[Glen Boise]

When you shut down your car, it asks if it should shut down the security system. If you say "Yes", it will shut down and not wake up when you approach the car with your key fob. You need to open the door to wake it. If you say "No", it will stay partially awake and greet you by turning on some of the lights and the "pony". So if you are going to work in the garage, it makes sense to say "Yes". If your next visit to the garage is to get in and drive away, then say "No".

 

[awp0]

This makes sense to me. If my key fob is in my jacket pocket, hanging on a hook near my garage door, the puddle lights never seem to work. If, however, my key fob is with me deeper in the house, they work every time (as long as the other "long enough away" and configuration rules described in this thread are true).

I think the car will ignore the key fob if it's connected for too long without using the car. That makes sense when you consider that you wouldn't want the car to be "welcoming" strangers if you happened to be parked in a driveway all night where the fob was being kept somewhere close enough to trigger the proximity alerts.

Interesting, thanks. I think I have to do some more testing. I've been noticing that my PaaK is "slow" at times, even when I'm away from the house and my phone is the only "key" within range. By slow, I mean it often takes another 5-10 seconds after I reach the car. The first one or two presses of the door button don't work, but then it does.

 

[awp0]

When you shut down your car, it asks if it should shut down the security system. If you say "Yes", it will shut down and not wake up when you approach the car with your key fob. You need to open the door to wake it. If you say "No", it will stay partially awake and greet you by turning on some of the lights and the "pony". So if you are going to work in the garage, it makes sense to say "Yes". If your next visit to the garage is to get in and drive away, then say "No".

There's a setting to disable this prompt and choose the behavior you want it to do every time you shut down the car. I've had mine set this way:
Alarm System
Ask On Exit: Off
Motion Sensors: On


So I don't think my problem relates to the alarm system being off. I've been testing it a little more, and the root of my puddle light problem appears to be that my PaaK is slow. If I stand at the door for 5+ seconds then the car will eventually unlock and the puddle lights will come on. This obviously defeats the purpose of puddle lights though.

 

[AKgrampy]

Thats what I want to figure out, how to turn off the sleep mode.

You can’t unfortunately

 

[Maquis]

When you shut down your car, it asks if it should shut down the security system. If you say "Yes", it will shut down and not wake up when you approach the car with your key fob. You need to open the door to wake it. If you say "No", it will stay partially awake and greet you by turning on some of the lights and the "pony". So if you are going to work in the garage, it makes sense to say "Yes". If your next visit to the garage is to get in and drive away, then say "No".

I always answer “yes” and my puddle lights work 100% of the time.

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