Headlight irritation

[Mr. Sulu]

Went to the dealer today to have my DRLs shut off using the Tech II formula given to me on the this forum. After a while, the service guy came out and said they could not de-activate the DRLs if the car has Xenon lights. He said they could do it with standard halogen headlights. Is this accurate? Has anybody else run into this? Does anyone have Xenon lights and have the DRLs shut off?

Man, what a disappointment. I called another dealer and he said they could not do it. I will call another couple of dealers tomorrow to see what they say. I hate the idea of having no control over the lights...

Anybody have any thoughts?

Thanks in advance

[JonV]

Most us with Xenon's have had it done. This may be case of the latest/new Tech II Softaware not allowing it.

[03Arc]

i was going to do my xenons DRL shut off at the dealer and they said their computer wouldnt let them do it to "ANY" saab. i thought it was BS. went to a local european place and sure enough they can do it but for 80 bux. its alot of money for it but ill end up doing it later.

[JonV]

They may not be using the updated software.....

[cpwills]

I was going to post this in the other recent DRL thread but the results of asking my dealer to disable the DRL's on my 07 Aero Combi (purchased today) is a resounding success. The lights function exactly as one would expect them to based on the headlight switch selection. Included with this gem is the fact that the fog lights actually work as expected and the tailights are not lit when the lights are off (all possible alternatives I've read here before). So there. It can be done. I asked the service manager to look at the techII release version and let me know as this seems to be the prevailing thought regarding this process. For what its worth, the service dept at Jim Ellis Saab Atlanta took care of this. Thus, your 06 is capable of being done as well, assuming there is no techII release impairing it. It would appear to be mostly service tech ability.

[CMerriman]

Can I ask a stupid question?

Why do people not like having the DRL's on? I love it... One less thing for me to worry about.

[cadcamjim]

I had two reasons for having my DRL's disabled on mine:
1) Xenon bulbs are expensive, and they only last for so many hours. The lamps cost something upwards of $125/ea. I believe.
2) There are times when you'd like to have your engine running while parked, for example; when cleaning the snow off your car, without illuminating your neighbors bedroom windows with xenon headlights at 5 o'clock in the morning.

[CMerriman]

Originally Posted by cadcamjim

I had two reasons for having my DRL's disabled on mine:
1) Xenon bulbs are expensive, and they only last for so many hours. The lamps cost something upwards of $125/ea. I believe.
2) There are times when you'd like to have your engine running while parked, for example; when cleaning the snow off your car, without illuminating your neighbors bedroom windows with xenon headlights at 5 o'clock in the morning.

Those are good reasons...

I have Bi-Xenons on my car... Would those be covered under the CPO if they were to ever need to be replaced? lol My guess is, no.

How long do the last for anyways?

[JonV]

Different Strokes....Personal Choice and assorted reasons which I'm sure will follow

Edit: CPO does cover Xenons, I've had one replaced on my 03, turns out it actually was a good bulb, loose socket. It's safe to say the CPO will cover everything but the Wear and Tear items (tires, brakes etc), The Stereo and the Battery.

[GWC]

I was under the impression that when people are having their DRL's "turned off" what they were actually doing was redesignating the "off" selection on on the headlight switch such that it actually turns off the headlights and the middle position on the headlight switch (for lack of a better designation) for parking lights only.

This would leave the typical "on" switch position to function exactly like it does from the factory while allowing the user to "clear snow" or approach a military base that is posted with signs that instruct oncoming traffic to dim their lights. I wonder how that discussion would go with an MP pointing an M-16 in your general direction ... "dim your lights sir" ... "I'm sorry the only way I can do this is to turn my car off and get out"

Is this what people are doing or does the change cause the headlights to stay lit in the "on" position regardless of whether the key is in the ignition? This would cause some dead batteries after a few times of forgetting to turn the switch from "on" to "off".

[JonV]

I can't count how many times this has been posted:

Pos 0 > No Lights
Pos1 > Fogs and 5 Watt Headlamp / Parking Light <Fogs still independant
Pos3 > Low Beam, High Beam, Manual Control of Fogs.

[GWC]

Originally Posted by JonV

I can't count how many times this has been posted:

Pos 0 > No Lights
Pos1 > Fogs and 5 Watt Headlamp / Parking Light
Pos3 > Low Beam, High Beam, Manual Control of Fogs.

Right ... My question is ... in Pos3 will the lights go off when you turn the car off like they do with factory settings?

[JonV]

YES, turn off the Key the Lights still go out even if you leave the Switch on.

[GWC]

Originally Posted by JonV

YES, turn off the Key the Lights still go out even if you leave the Switch on.

Thanks ... too bad I was too lazy to get my dealer to do this when I bought my car ... probably won't be able to get it done now ... here's to avoiding military bases

[AlbertaDrew]

Originally Posted by CMerriman

Can I ask a stupid question?

Why do people not like having the DRL's on? I love it... One less thing for me to worry about.

Simple. We are fanatics. If I have a button, I want to be able to operate it.

[yspaik]

Originally Posted by CMerriman

Those are good reasons...

I have Bi-Xenons on my car... Would those be covered under the CPO if they were to ever need to be replaced? lol My guess is, no.

How long do the last for anyways?

They actually last pretty long... around 2800 hrs of operation.

[Mr. Sulu]

I actually called Jim Ellis in Atlanta hoping they could give me some insight. The best I got was for that model year, "I think they could be turned off". No definitive...this sucks.

Here's my rundown of attempts...
Armando's Saab in my hometown: We can't do it it if the bulbs are Xenon
Bedofrd Saab in Cleveland: No, it can't be done
Towell Saab in Akron: We won't do it because it's illegal. Call Saab.
Classic Saab in Cleveland: We might be able to do it, but would only know when your is here (1.5 hours away)

Great consistency here

[cpwills]

Originally Posted by Mr. Sulu

I actually called Jim Ellis in Atlanta hoping they could give me some insight. The best I got was for that model year, "I think they could be turned off". No definitive...this sucks.

Here's my rundown of attempts...
Armando's Saab in my hometown: We can't do it it if the bulbs are Xenon
Bedofrd Saab in Cleveland: No, it can't be done
Towell Saab in Akron: We won't do it because it's illegal. Call Saab.
Classic Saab in Cleveland: We might be able to do it, but would only know when your is here (1.5 hours away)

Great consistency here

Ask for Harry Edwards, Service Manager. Tell him Chris Wills sent you (met him yesterday). I told him about this debate and that I would put this out here. Its not illegal, we all know that. I believe they won't commit because of the obvious complexity involved. What would appear easy on paper yields all kinds of results in practice. Perhaps Jim Ellis is willing to have their tech talk to the tech at your dealership.

[Mr. Sulu]

I found a dealer that would be able to do it. The only hitch he said they had was with the Xenon lights. Can anybody tell me if they have an '06 Aero with Xenons that have had this done? That way I could tell the guy at this dealership, yes, it has been done.

Thanks for all your help on this...

[cadcamjim]

Originally Posted by Mr. Sulu

I found a dealer that would be able to do it. The only hitch he said they had was with the Xenon lights. Can anybody tell me if they have an '06 Aero with Xenons that have had this done? That way I could tell the guy at this dealership, yes, it has been done.

Thanks for all your help on this...

I have an '06 2.0T SC with Xenons and my dealer (Village Saab in Acton, MA) did it with no problems and free of charge. This was over a year ago, however, therefore it was likely with older Tech-II software.