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2016 F-350 Daytime Running Lights

31K views 22 replies 11 participants last post by  TimTechTwo 
#1 ·
<sheepish smile>

Just bought a 2016 F-350. My domestic associate and FANATICAL about lights. LOTS of lights. She's the QUEEN of visibility.

And today, as I returned home, she commented "There don't appear to be any daytime running lights"... Which, in truth, I DIDN'T THINK were optional, as in something you can "turn off"...

BUT, indeed, with me driving down the street and her standing and watching, she said there were NO daytime running lights.

SO, I LOOKED IN THE MANUAL (yes, I actually READ manuals, which I've feared for ages would someday get my "man" card revoked, but I can't help it...)

AND IN the manual I found a "procedure"...

To switch the system on:
1. Switch the ignition on.
2. Switch the lighting control to the off, or parking lamp position.
3. Disengage the parking brake.
4. Make sure the transmission selector is not in position P.

OK, I figure my reading comprehension is about average, but this doesn't look TOO difficult... So, out to the truck we went...

Switched the ignition on. Not started but on.
Switched the lighting control to off.
THE PARKING BRAKE ISN'T ON, SO I CAN'T DISENGAGE IT.
Put the parking brake on.
Move the transmission selector off P.

NOTHING. Try a half dozen permutations of the above... Put the parking brake on, leave it off. Turn the key on then move the lighting switch, have the switch in off before turning the key on..

And on and on and on... Nothing.

Go out to the Internet and look up "2016 Ford Super Duty daytime running lights" and find a TON of topics and discussions about how to DISABLE them, but not a lot on how to turn them on except in previous years that APPEAR to require a trip to a dealer (I"m not even gonna ask WHAT genius at Ford thought that was a good idea)...

AND a VIDEO that teaches you HOW TO TURN ON THE DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS.. Except that IT uses the information center, and has some setting that doesn't appear to exist on the F-350... Which I"d elaborate on except I CAN'T GET THE (*&^%$#@! TO PLAY again...

SO, I've concluded I"m apparently incapable of understanding exactly HOW to turn the (*&^%$#@ lights on. SO, can someone, in a simple, straightforward, IDIOT-PROOF way, tell me exactly what has to be done so they'll work?
 
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#2 ·
DRL only "turn on" when in gear. They do not operate when in Park or Neutral. Not sure if they turn on in Reverse. Try starting the truck and shift to Drive and have someone check to see if the DRL's are on.
 
#3 ·
That's why I kept driving it down the street while she watched... I presume I'm doing SOMETHING wrong in the procedure to turn them on...

Thus my request for an idiot-proof series of steps that'll get them turned on...
 
#5 ·
Even though we are not required to have them on in the USA, I consider it a safety issue and makes the truck have a higher visibility at a greater distance. I had the dealer turn mine on in my 2015 F350.
 
#6 ·
Well, mk70ss, I reckon I'd ask - Are you married? Have you ever BEEN married? If so, has your spouse ever wanted something that may seem irrational? But, just to maintain peace, and in my case, keep a happy wife, you just DO IT 'cause its easier than picking THIS battle? That'd be mine. she LIKES being VERY VISIBLE. Truck, trailer, bike, you name it, she has lights and flashers and flags and all manner of "stuff"... It's like going for a hike with a person wearing BEAR BELLS... They think it's a GREAT idea, you think it's INCREDIBLY ANNOYING 'CAUSE IT MEANS YOU'LL NEVER GET TO PHOTOGRAPH A BEAR SINCE EVERY BEAR WITHIN 50 MILES IS TRYING TO STAY AWAY FROM THE ONE-MAN BAND YOU'RE WALKING WITH.............

This is like that. It continued this morning when we hooked up the trailer. Every time she changed something, gear shift, light switch, anything, she'd ask me if the DRL were on now......

SO, having been married a bit over 46 years, if getting these things turned on makes her happy, it's painless enough......

OH, and at dinner tonight she asked me AGAIN if I was going to call the dealer tomorrow to ask how to get them turned on.

Its kinda like my career as a software consultant. There are times when you just nod, smile, and tell the client "okey dokey"... Tomorrow I'll call the local dealer and see if there's anybody there that knows how to turn these on...
 
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#11 ·
Yes sir.

Most trucks with a SJB (Smart Junction Box) can have this feature enabled. IIRC the order guide requires it to be a fleet order for a factory turn on, but the dealer should be able to do this for you.

Keep in mind though, if you have aftermarket HIDs, they will not play well together.
 
#10 ·
It is definitely possible to turn them on with Ford's IDS tool, I have monkeyed with it myself (2014 MY) so I'm almost positive it can be done on all years. I'd be happy to do it for anyone if you're close to central Ohio...

As for a procedure without the IDS maybe try this (never tried so going off a hunch here):

1. Get in and close all doors
2. Engage parking brake and turn light control on
3. Turn ignition on
4. Switch light control off
5. Disengage parking brake
6. Shift from P to N or D
 
#13 ·
No, the DRL option is either off or low-beams only, that's the wording in IDS itself
 
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#14 ·
OK, I've now owned the truck for a week, and things have ALREADY gotten stupid.......

Went to the local dealer early last week to have them "turn on" the DRLs. Now, I'll admit the service writer I got didn't appear to have ANY clue, but he retrieved the VIN, headed back to the shop to talk to "Joe, my Ford guy", and eventually returned... And told me they WEREN'T ABLE TO ACTUALLY DETERMINE WHETHER THE TRUCK HAD DRLs or not. BUT, we could MAKE AN APPOINTMENT for them to "see what they could do"....... AND, he handed me a piece of paper that HAD EXACTLY the sequence of instructions from the Owner's Manual...

So, lemme see... They don't KNOW IF THE TRUCK HAS DRLs.
But they DID KNOW THERE'S A SET OF INSTRUCTIONS IN THE MANUAL THAT TELLS YOU HOW TO TURN THEM ON.......

Huh?

SO, given this example of the braintrust at the local dealer, I declined to make an appointment...

A couple days later, my wife received a phone call from the sales guy at the dealer from whom we purchased the truck. Who wanted to know if we'd had any problems. An my wife explained the DRL issue. He didn't know but was going to check with "a guy"... Off he went and when he came back he informed my wife that "THAT TRUCK DOESN'T COME WITH DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS"...

Huh?

So, it MAY OR MAY NOT have DRLs, but the manual tells you how to turn them on? Except we haven't been able to get them to COME ON...... So, instead of the low intensity DRLs, my wife drives around 100% of the time with the full bright HEADLIGHTS on 'cause she can't get the DRLs to work...
 
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#17 ·
OK, I've now owned the truck for a week, and things have ALREADY gotten stupid.......

Went to the local dealer early last week to have them "turn on" the DRLs. Now, I'll admit the service writer I got didn't appear to have ANY clue, but he retrieved the VIN, headed back to the shop to talk to "Joe, my Ford guy", and eventually returned... And told me they WEREN'T ABLE TO ACTUALLY DETERMINE WHETHER THE TRUCK HAD DRLs or not. BUT, we could MAKE AN APPOINTMENT for them to "see what they could do"....... AND, he handed me a piece of paper that HAD EXACTLY the sequence of instructions from the Owner's Manual...
This procedure ONLY WORKS if you truck was ORDERED FROM THE FACTORY WITH DRLs.

For the USA, the only way to get the DRL option turned on from the factory, is if you have a FIN (Fleet ID Number).



So, lemme see... They don't KNOW IF THE TRUCK HAS DRLs.
But they DID KNOW THERE'S A SET OF INSTRUCTIONS IN THE MANUAL THAT TELLS YOU HOW TO TURN THEM ON.......

Huh?

SO, given this example of the braintrust at the local dealer, I declined to make an appointment...
The manual clearly states "If Equipped"



A couple days later, my wife received a phone call from the sales guy at the dealer from whom we purchased the truck. Who wanted to know if we'd had any problems. An my wife explained the DRL issue. He didn't know but was going to check with "a guy"... Off he went and when he came back he informed my wife that "THAT TRUCK DOESN'T COME WITH DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS"...

Huh?

So, it MAY OR MAY NOT have DRLs, but the manual tells you how to turn them on? Except we haven't been able to get them to COME ON...... So, instead of the low intensity DRLs, my wife drives around 100% of the time with the full bright HEADLIGHTS on 'cause she can't get the DRLs to work...
You dont have DRLs from the factory. USA spec trucks will not have them turned on in the programming, however, any technician that knows how to use the IDS system can easily turn them on for you. (Your low beams will run at a reduced intensity as part of this feature).

Your sales guy can easily talk to the guys in service and hook up VCM/IDS and turn it on for you. Its simply a click of the mouse. Takes two minutes at the most.

Service writer may not know, but the tech that plays with VCM/IDS should know how to turn this feature on and off.
 
#15 ·
Why are you all upset about this? It was already explained above. Let me help to clarify; your US domestic market 2016 Superduty DOES NOT have DRL's enabled, period. It's not a factory "option" you can select and the sales nor manufacture have any responsibility in the US to turn them on.

Now that said, the vehicle itself has all the provisions to "turn-on" the low beam of the headlight when the vehicle is in gear. In fact, in other markets such as Canadian and some Fleet vehicles, the DRL "switch" is enabled as required by laws in those countries. That means that here in the US, the same software switch can be enabled to accomplish DRL. It's not something the sales department or service writer is going to have available from their catalog of service options in scheduling appointments (again DRL's aren't available in the US as an option or service item). But that said, many service technicians known precisely where in the vehicles software configuration to enable this very simple option. So what many here do is while you're in the shop for maintenance (again you can't schedule an appt just for this work), also request that the technician enable that software switch. To further help your success, you can provide the exact instructions (on this forum somewhere) to guide the technician to the specific body control module (BCM) and configuration item number required to make the change. Sort of a map on where to find this setting in the software.

Ford doesn't owe this feature to you. Your dealer didn't sell you a broken vehicle without DRL's, and there's no obligation that the service dept is supposed to turn this on for you. In the domestic US, the superduty does not come with DRL's.
 
#16 ·
The man should be able to get what he wants to satisfy his wife's demands regardless of it being an option on the US market or not.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
 
#19 ·
May have to stop at the selling dealer when in the neighborhood and talk to the service department - With luck they'll have someone that can spend the 2 minutes with the VCM/IDS and turn 'em on WITHOUT having to make an appointment... Or, she can just keep driving around with the lights on...
 
#22 ·
Found a more "knowledgeable" dealer... Called and got a service writer that said "Yeah, we know what that is. Do it every so often."

Went in with truck, they put on device, turned on the DRL AND I had them lower the alarm point for the tire monitor to 50 psi so when the truck isn't loaded we can lower the rear tire pressure for a smoother ride without having the alarm squawk...

Simple, but a significant waste of time to find a dealer that had a clue. This is the kind of trivial bovine excrement that drives customers nuts, pisses them off unnecessarily and makes them remember why they don't like car dealers. But, it's handled, wife is happy, fer-real plates are on, and hopefully we won't need to see a dealer for a while.
 
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