'02 Impala... how do I...
 

1) Disable DRL's
2) Disable auto headlights
3) get the radio to turn off and on with the key

also, are there any differences in any of the above procedures between
'02 and newer versions? (I'm driving an '02 for now because my new
company car is taking longer than expected to arrive.)

Since this is a leased vehicle, all mods must be easily reversible.

thanks!

nate

PS - more annoying stuff I don't like about the car...

1) unlike EVERY other car I've ever owned, the doors don't unlock when
you close them, if you accidentally hit the lock button the doors are
LOCKED. (yeah, I found that out the hard way, after having it for
maybe 6 hours. Haven't locked myself out of a car in... well, ever I
think.)
2) Who thought it was a good idea to put a 3400 under the hood of a
full-sized sedan?
3) A/C is wimpy. I hope that that is a symptom of age/abuse and not
reflective of how it's designed. It was about 95 out today and I had
to keep the fan on '5' to be reasonably comfortable - I would have
preferred it cooler in the car.
4) Glovebox is laughably small. (and did not contain owner's manual,
but that's not the car's fault. Unless the manual is too big for the
glovebox...)

"N8N" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> 1) Disable DRL's
> 2) Disable auto headlights
> 3) get the radio to turn off and on with the key
>
> also, are there any differences in any of the above procedures between
> '02 and newer versions? (I'm driving an '02 for now because my new
> company car is taking longer than expected to arrive.)
>
> Since this is a leased vehicle, all mods must be easily reversible.
>
> thanks!
>
> nate
>
> PS - more annoying stuff I don't like about the car...
>
> 1) unlike EVERY other car I've ever owned, the doors don't unlock when
> you close them, if you accidentally hit the lock button the doors are
> LOCKED. (yeah, I found that out the hard way, after having it for
> maybe 6 hours. Haven't locked myself out of a car in... well, ever I
> think.)
> 2) Who thought it was a good idea to put a 3400 under the hood of a
> full-sized sedan?
> 3) A/C is wimpy. I hope that that is a symptom of age/abuse and not
> reflective of how it's designed. It was about 95 out today and I had
> to keep the fan on '5' to be reasonably comfortable - I would have
> preferred it cooler in the car.
> 4) Glovebox is laughably small. (and did not contain owner's manual,
> but that's not the car's fault. Unless the manual is too big for the
> glovebox...)
>
One answer: If you give the radio/car a few seconds after turning the
key off, the radio should eventually turn off. Other accessories also may
stay on during this time--kind of a courtesy to not let you down abruptly as
soon as switch is turned off. s

Daytime Running Light De-activation is not reversible. Don't know why you
would want to disable a safety feature. If you want to idle with the lights
off you can press down slightly on the Park brake before starting the
engine...

As for the auto locks, they can be programmed on the radio. You need the
owner's manual. This vehicle is also designed to inhibit the doors from
locking if the key is in the ignition. Prevents you from locking the keys in
while you run into 7-11 for a coffee and leave the engine running.

The radio will stay on for twenty minutes after shutting off the engine as a
courtesy. As soon as you open the door the radio stops...

95 degrees for AC is about the maximum design depending on the wet bulb
temperature. Obviously the AC works harder in humid climates of 95 degrees
in Chicago, New York or other coastal cities as opposed to the dry Arizona
climate.

Steve


"N8N" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> 1) Disable DRL's
> 2) Disable auto headlights
> 3) get the radio to turn off and on with the key
>
> also, are there any differences in any of the above procedures between
> '02 and newer versions? (I'm driving an '02 for now because my new
> company car is taking longer than expected to arrive.)
>
> Since this is a leased vehicle, all mods must be easily reversible.
>
> thanks!
>
> nate
>
> PS - more annoying stuff I don't like about the car...
>
> 1) unlike EVERY other car I've ever owned, the doors don't unlock when
> you close them, if you accidentally hit the lock button the doors are
> LOCKED. (yeah, I found that out the hard way, after having it for
> maybe 6 hours. Haven't locked myself out of a car in... well, ever I
> think.)
> 2) Who thought it was a good idea to put a 3400 under the hood of a
> full-sized sedan?
> 3) A/C is wimpy. I hope that that is a symptom of age/abuse and not
> reflective of how it's designed. It was about 95 out today and I had
> to keep the fan on '5' to be reasonably comfortable - I would have
> preferred it cooler in the car.
> 4) Glovebox is laughably small. (and did not contain owner's manual,
> but that's not the car's fault. Unless the manual is too big for the
> glovebox...)
>

Steve wrote:
> Daytime Running Light De-activation is not reversible. Don't know why you
> would want to disable a safety feature. If you want to idle with the lights
> off you can press down slightly on the Park brake before starting the
> engine...

Because they use the high beams and therefore are rude and glaring to
other motorists, defeating the idea of a "safety" feature. It's nice
to let other traffic know I'm there; it's not so nice to blind them.

>
> As for the auto locks, they can be programmed on the radio. You need the
> owner's manual. This vehicle is also designed to inhibit the doors from
> locking if the key is in the ignition. Prevents you from locking the keys in
> while you run into 7-11 for a coffee and leave the engine running.

well... they don't work that way :/

>
> The radio will stay on for twenty minutes after shutting off the engine as a
> courtesy. As soon as you open the door the radio stops...
>

Ah, I see... never tried leaving it on.

> 95 degrees for AC is about the maximum design depending on the wet bulb
> temperature. Obviously the AC works harder in humid climates of 95 degrees
> in Chicago, New York or other coastal cities as opposed to the dry Arizona
> climate.
>

Well... I'm in DC... does that mean that I need to hope it doesn't get
any hotter?

nate

> "N8N" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
> > 1) Disable DRL's
> > 2) Disable auto headlights
> > 3) get the radio to turn off and on with the key
> >
> > also, are there any differences in any of the above procedures between
> > '02 and newer versions? (I'm driving an '02 for now because my new
> > company car is taking longer than expected to arrive.)
> >
> > Since this is a leased vehicle, all mods must be easily reversible.
> >
> > thanks!
> >
> > nate
> >
> > PS - more annoying stuff I don't like about the car...
> >
> > 1) unlike EVERY other car I've ever owned, the doors don't unlock when
> > you close them, if you accidentally hit the lock button the doors are
> > LOCKED. (yeah, I found that out the hard way, after having it for
> > maybe 6 hours. Haven't locked myself out of a car in... well, ever I
> > think.)
> > 2) Who thought it was a good idea to put a 3400 under the hood of a
> > full-sized sedan?
> > 3) A/C is wimpy. I hope that that is a symptom of age/abuse and not
> > reflective of how it's designed. It was about 95 out today and I had
> > to keep the fan on '5' to be reasonably comfortable - I would have
> > preferred it cooler in the car.
> > 4) Glovebox is laughably small. (and did not contain owner's manual,
> > but that's not the car's fault. Unless the manual is too big for the
> > glovebox...)
> >

In article .com>,
N8N > wrote:
>Because they use the high beams and therefore are rude and glaring to
>other motorists, defeating the idea of a "safety" feature. It's nice
>to let other traffic know I'm there; it's not so nice to blind them.

Drive with the low beam headlamps on all the time (perhaps put tape
on the sensor for the automatic headlamps to make it think that it is
night time all the time). That will get rid of the high beam DRLs.

--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Timothy J. Lee
Unsolicited bulk or commercial email is not welcome.
No warranty of any kind is provided with this message.

Timothy J. Lee wrote:
> In article .com>,
> N8N > wrote:
> >Because they use the high beams and therefore are rude and glaring to
> >other motorists, defeating the idea of a "safety" feature. It's nice
> >to let other traffic know I'm there; it's not so nice to blind them.
>
> Drive with the low beam headlamps on all the time (perhaps put tape
> on the sensor for the automatic headlamps to make it think that it is
> night time all the time). That will get rid of the high beam DRLs.

Hey, I like that idea. That way I don't have to worry about turning
the lights off because I'll never actually turn them on. Does anyone
know where the sensor is?

thanks,

nate

N8N wrote:
> 1) Disable DRL's

They don't specifically list the 02 impala, but there might be something
close enough... I think the GP is the same car as an Impala so it might
be wired close to the same:

http://www.lightsout.org/disable.html#GMspec

Daytime running lights use the high beam but not at full power. It's not
going to blind anyone.

"N8N" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>
>
> Steve wrote:
> > Daytime Running Light De-activation is not reversible. Don't know why
you
> > would want to disable a safety feature. If you want to idle with the
lights
> > off you can press down slightly on the Park brake before starting the
> > engine...
>
> Because they use the high beams and therefore are rude and glaring to
> other motorists, defeating the idea of a "safety" feature. It's nice
> to let other traffic know I'm there; it's not so nice to blind them.
>
> >
> > As for the auto locks, they can be programmed on the radio. You need the
> > owner's manual. This vehicle is also designed to inhibit the doors from
> > locking if the key is in the ignition. Prevents you from locking the
keys in
> > while you run into 7-11 for a coffee and leave the engine running.
>
> well... they don't work that way :/
>
> >
> > The radio will stay on for twenty minutes after shutting off the engine
as a
> > courtesy. As soon as you open the door the radio stops...
> >
>
> Ah, I see... never tried leaving it on.
>
> > 95 degrees for AC is about the maximum design depending on the wet bulb
> > temperature. Obviously the AC works harder in humid climates of 95
degrees
> > in Chicago, New York or other coastal cities as opposed to the dry
Arizona
> > climate.
> >
>
> Well... I'm in DC... does that mean that I need to hope it doesn't get
> any hotter?
>
> nate
>
> > "N8N" > wrote in message
> > oups.com...
> > > 1) Disable DRL's
> > > 2) Disable auto headlights
> > > 3) get the radio to turn off and on with the key
> > >
> > > also, are there any differences in any of the above procedures between
> > > '02 and newer versions? (I'm driving an '02 for now because my new
> > > company car is taking longer than expected to arrive.)
> > >
> > > Since this is a leased vehicle, all mods must be easily reversible.
> > >
> > > thanks!
> > >
> > > nate
> > >
> > > PS - more annoying stuff I don't like about the car...
> > >
> > > 1) unlike EVERY other car I've ever owned, the doors don't unlock when
> > > you close them, if you accidentally hit the lock button the doors are
> > > LOCKED. (yeah, I found that out the hard way, after having it for
> > > maybe 6 hours. Haven't locked myself out of a car in... well, ever I
> > > think.)
> > > 2) Who thought it was a good idea to put a 3400 under the hood of a
> > > full-sized sedan?
> > > 3) A/C is wimpy. I hope that that is a symptom of age/abuse and not
> > > reflective of how it's designed. It was about 95 out today and I had
> > > to keep the fan on '5' to be reasonably comfortable - I would have
> > > preferred it cooler in the car.
> > > 4) Glovebox is laughably small. (and did not contain owner's manual,
> > > but that's not the car's fault. Unless the manual is too big for the
> > > glovebox...)
> > >
>

N8N wrote:
> Steve wrote:

> Because they use the high beams and therefore are rude and glaring to
> other motorists, defeating the idea of a "safety" feature. It's nice
> to let other traffic know I'm there; it's not so nice to blind them.


I hear that complaint very infrequently, and I don't really get it.
High beams in series (DRLs) are a much lower intensity of focused light
than when run normally at full B+. The biggest reason HB DRLs are not
a problem is the fact that they are used in DAYLIGHT; there is
significant sunlight outside as to keep onlookers' eyes adjusted for
bright light conditions. Ive seen plenty of cars going down the street
over the years with their highbeams on (for whatever reason) and never
thought it was annoying -- let alone DRLs.

Our resident lighting expert Dan likes small dedicated amber DRLs
better than headlights for a variety of reasons, but my gut feeling is
I like the headlight systems better - just from a driver standpoint. I
think they are more noticeable and hopefully more safe as a result. I
have no facts to back that up, however.

Toyota MDT in MO

"Comboverfish" > wrote in message
ups.com...

> Our resident lighting expert Dan likes small dedicated amber DRLs
> better than headlights for a variety of reasons, but my gut feeling is
> I like the headlight systems better - just from a driver standpoint. I
> think they are more noticeable and hopefully more safe as a result. I
> have no facts to back that up, however.
>
> Toyota MDT in MO

I agree with you, Comboverfish. The headlight systems don't bother me
at all. What REALLY bothers me is people driving at dusk, in rain, and
fog, with not a sign of a light on.

And there are tons of them that do it, whether by ignorance,
inconsideration,
or simple unconsciousness.

These people will get you killed.