FIXED: Headlights turning on when switched off

[Jawaburger]

I (and I know others) have experienced where our knee hits the knob getting out of the vehicle and it switched to on. In most instances it is so light a touch that I didn't realize it.

That was a popular theory early on.. but you can quickly tell the difference between an accidental bump (a different setting is illuminated) vs. the switch failure (nothing is illuminated). Then once you toggle the switch, it lights up and you can successfully turn your lights off.

Additionally, there is a very audible "your headlights are on" alarm if your car is shut off and you turn the lights on, or if your lights are on and you shut your car off and open the door, at least my Bronco does this.

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[da_jokker]

So with auto lights, there has to be a sensor that tells the car it got dark enought to need the light right? Wonder if we could find that sensor and just disconnect it, basically making the Bronco think it is always daylight.

I'd rather have to manually turn my lights on that have it just decide whenever.

 

[bniknar]

Mine has been doing this - probably once a week or so.

• Yesterday the running lamps were on when I got back to the Bronco after a hike.
• Three times now I've opened the drivers door to go on a trip and the chime started going off. Turns out the headlight switch was in the On position (I keep it on the Auto setting) but the headlights were off.
• Last week my son (who was working outdoors) told me my Bronco front lights were on. Turns out the headlight switch was in the On position - I put it back to Auto.

The only consistent pattern: it happens after a drive (but not after every drive), and I'm now checking that the headlight switch is on the Auto setting before I leave the truck. Would be great to get this resolved. No impact so far on battery life.

 

[Bronc OH]

Mine has been doing this - probably once a week or so.

• Yesterday the running lamps were on when I got back to the Bronco after a hike.
• Three times now I've opened the drivers door to go on a trip and the chime started going off. Turns out the headlight switch was in the On position (I keep it on the Auto setting) but the headlights were off.
• Last week my son (who was working outdoors) told me my Bronco front lights were on. Turns out the headlight switch was in the On position - I put it back to Auto.

The only consistent pattern: it happens after a drive (but not after every drive), and I'm now checking that the headlight switch is on the Auto setting before I leave the truck. Would be great to get this resolved. No impact so far on battery life.

Are you sure it's in the 'on' position? My experience has been that it's in no position (no lights illuminated), yet lights are on and chiming.

 

[bniknar]

Are you sure it's in the 'on' position? My experience has been that it's in no position (no lights illuminated), yet lights are on and chiming.

You may be right - it was definitely not in the Auto position the last time. I'll check the next time this event occurs and grab a pic of the switch.

 

[Hey Buddy]

I am hoping Ford has an answer/solution for this, soon?
My headlamps were on this morning & I have no idea when they came on?
If we need new switches, I hope Ford can get them made quickly!

 

[Hey Buddy]

Hey guys,
I set my headlamps to the off 'O' position last night & when I got in this morning they were in 'Auto'. I took my son to school, came home, set the dial back to off 'O', then when I cranked up to go to work, they were back in 'Auto'. I guess I will need to make sure they are in the off 'O' position every time I park & cut off the engine?

 

[Lifeliberty]

Hey guys,
I set my headlamps to the off 'O' position last night & when I got in this morning they were in 'Auto'. I took my son to school, came home, set the dial back to off 'O', then when I cranked up to go to work, they were back in 'Auto'. I guess I will need to make sure they are in the off 'O' position every time I park & cut off the engine?

Lights always reset to Auto by design.

What is not supposed to happen is lignts turning on when car is off. It will happen regardless of which setting you leave it in

 

[Hey Buddy]

Correct, my lights were coming on at night when I left my truck in 'Auto'. I have now been putting my lights in off/'O'. When left in off/'O' position, they are now reverting to 'Auto' when I return to my truck. I suppose we need to be sure to leave our trucks in off/'O' in order to keep the lights from coming on at random? Crazy little gremlins in my light switch?

 

[Lifeliberty]

Correct, my lights were coming on at night when I left my truck in 'Auto'. I have now been putting my lights in off/'O'. When left in off/'O' position, they are now reverting to 'Auto' when I return to my truck. I suppose we need to be sure to leave our trucks in off/'O' in order to keep the lights from coming on at random? Crazy little gremlins in my light switch?

I'm saying that leaving it in off doesn't keep them off.

Put in off, turn off car, walk away.
Lights come on 1 hour ands 20 min later.

I'm sure it's different for everyone. But essentially, the switch is broken and ford needs to fix it

 

[Hey Buddy]

Agreed! I have been trying different combinations to no avail! I last heard Ford was getting a new switch available in October, but that is most likely delayed, too?

 

[MistaGavin]

I thought the determination was that it needed a software update not a new switch

 

[Ryslegit]

I have just started experiencing this issue as well with my 22 Bronco. Headlights staying on and chime goes off when the door is open, headlight switch isn't illuminated until I rotate the dial. So far it has only happened a handful of times, not enough to warrant going to the dreadful dealer.

 

[555-RGNE]

I'm saying that leaving it in off doesn't keep them off.

Put in off, turn off car, walk away.
Lights come on 1 hour ands 20 min later.

I'm sure it's different for everyone. But essentially, the switch is broken and ford needs to fix it

Yep. Mine did it intermittently since delivery in March, but maybe a couple times a month. However, I'm 3 for 3 in the last three days. I get to work at 7:30am and shut down as normal with the light in the auto position. The first day, I noticed they were on and chalked it up as one of the random occurrences. The next day, exact same thing. The third day, I made sure I turned my switch to "O" before getting out and verified that the lights were off. When I got back in at 5:00, I heard the "doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo" chime and knew that the lights were on. Once I started the Bronco, I looked at the light switch and none of the lights were lit up - nothing was orange, all were black. When I turned the dial counter clockwise, it took a few clicks for the bottom orange light to illuminate, then it rotated normally through the other modes until I got to O.

When I get in after work today, I'll have my phone out and camera recording to try and capture what I'm seeing.

 

[FLGal]

I have this issue, too. It’s too intermittent to take to dealer without them keeping it for days. I hope Ford comes up with a fix soon because it’s just plain irritating

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