2006 H3: Headlights always on while driving

[rjmx]

My wife and I each have a 2006 H3; she bought hers new, I bought mine used a year or so ago. One odd difference between the two is that the headlights on mine (when switched to AUTO, anyway) are on all the time while driving (and they go off automatically when I turn the engine off). So I never think about them.
On my wife's H3, however, the headlights behave more like the user manual says: they come on when it gets dark, go off again when it gets light (again, on AUTO).
The difference wouldn't really matter much, except that here in Massachusetts, there's now a law that says you have to have the headlights on while you're driving and it's raining. Since mine are always on anyway, I don't do anything different nowadays. My wife, though, has to manually turn her headlights on when it rains. If she forgets to turn them off again, the battery goes flat (3 times so far).
I know there's supposed to be a chime if you take the keys out and the headlights are on, but hers doesn't work (she has an aftermarket radio). I think she'd be better off if her H3's headlights were on all the time, as mine are. Anyone know how to do that?



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[K0PIR]

IDK for sure. There's a DRL fuse. Maybe it's blown.

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[amrg]

The headlights are controlled via sensor (located on top of the dash panel towards the right corner by the A-pillar mold)
A faulty sensor, high percentage window tint, something physically covering the sensor could be one of several reasons the truck computers are thinking its dark outside. You can simply cover the sensor in your wifes truck (perhaps paint over it) and the truck will always think its dark and then have the headlights on All the time...

 

[alrock]

All H3s have DRLs but the early builds used the turn signals as DRLs. They were shortly changed to being the headlights as DRLs. It may be easier to restore that chime through a better wiring harness vs. trying to figure out how to turn the headlights into DRLs. Or I could be completely wrong, and maybe it's an easy conversion.

 

[4speedfunk]

Take the detent spring out of the switch. That way the switch stays where you put it....ON OFF or AUTO. (Take notes GM).
Auto-DRLs suck and it's one of many soccer-mom features I hate about the H3. If you want DRLs...cool. But if you don't...you have no choice except to kill em every time u start the truck. So annoying.

 

[SedonaBound]

I assume you've gone through the DRL on/off directions. Doubt its the sensor because it only selects between brightness levels (low DRL level in daylight or full on headlights after dark). Maybe someone with a manual can tell you if a DRL failure should get an alert message. DRL has it's own fuse and relay; check both.

As for the missing chimes; does the retained power (delayed off) work for the radio? If so, the chime volume may be turned off in the aftermarket harness module the installer put in. Or the installer used a cheap harness without the chime (which is in the OEM radios).

 

[4speedfunk]

My chime sort of comes & goes. I keep hoping it will die completely.

 

[Bigunit]

My chime sort of comes & goes. I keep hoping it will die completely.

...same here. My door chime was on loud until I figured out how to reset it to normal just this morning. Talk about annoying!