Tail / Rear Lights with DRL

[Michael MM]

Hello Everyone!

I was wondering if there were a way to enable the tail/rear lights always, i.e. both automatically when switching on the car, together with the DRL and (naturally) when the ambient light is low enough and the head lights switch on, being it automatically or manually.

In short, after driving different Volvos for some 26 years I bought the Mach E and never looked back!
However, I always assumed that the rear lights would come on as soon you turn the key/press start button.

Around Christmas, while driving in broad daylight in Spain, I hit a fog patch. A few drivers flashed before overtaking me on the motorway, but I saw the DRL were on and was wondering why I got so much attention.

Not 5 minutes later, traffic police flashed their lights (yeah - the multicoloured ones) and pulled me over. Turns out I had no rear lights on. Figures. 5 more minutes later and €100 down, I was on my way, after having manually switched on the headlights to ensure that the tail/rear ones were also on.

So I bought this week an OBD2 connector, revived an old Windows Laptop, bought a one year license for Forscan and tried to see what could be done.

NOTHING. I managed to turn off the double honk if exiting with the key ion my pocket, the rear seats belt chime (all too often triggered by a heavy bag or briefcase) and attempted to see what could be done regarding the so called "Scandinavian" or "Canadian" mode of DLR.
NOTHING.

So here is my plea for any help, assistance, clues, advice or wisdom on how to enable automatically the rear/tail lights during the day without having to manually force the lights on.

Many thanks for your patience in reading thus far!

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[noway]

Auto rear lights with DRL is actually illegal in EU. I could not find any setting to enable, but it does not mean necessary there is none.

There is going to be a flame war from the first sentence since it makes no sense. so 1) yes, before the EU mandatory front DRL the front+rear auto lights was (and can still be legal) in countries that has DRL requirements before EU. 2) WHY? Someone calculated the total additional co2 emissions if all cars would have rear lamps on at all times (before rear lamps became LEDs), and when adding all cars together the number was "high". Second, someone argued that there was no additional safety during daytime with rear lamps since cars does not reverse at high speed into intersections and that having the rear lamps on would in bright light conditions reduce the visibility of brake lamps.

 

[Mach-Lee]

I've never heard of that before, you just need to manually turn your headlights on in the fog. And if you have a rear fog light, turn that on too.

 

[Michael MM]

Ah! Thank you!

That is very interesting indeed as brand new cars are still being sold in the EU that have both DRL and tail lights ON all the time.

In any event, "illegal" strikes me as an incorrect word. In most countries (including EU) where DRL are mandatory regardless of time and season, older cars that do not have such lights end up switching on headlights (low beam) which automatically switches on the tail lights. As there is no option for one to work without the other on such cars, the general principle of "illegality" when using tail lights during the day strikes me as unimplementable and unenforcible.
Be that as it may I, for one, will be using those tail lights. I say "will" because I just figured out how to enable those with the DRL, tested the change and

am happy to report that the solution is indeed found and is working.

In the BdyCM configuration I changed the highlighted section of the attached picture to the values depicted.

And that was it!

While I was there I did also enabled the "walk away lock" in the same fashion (for all persons). That worked a treat as well.

 

[Michael MM]

I've never heard of that before, you just need to manually turn your headlights on in the fog. And if you have a rear fog light, turn that on too.

True. My fault for wrongly assuming the tail lights were on by default.

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