I have a Fiat 500 (2016). When I got in the car this morning the dashboard showed that the lights were still on. The car had been standing for 36 hours. To my surprise, it started without issue. Do the headlights turn off automatically when the ignition is shut off? Why would the green light show that they were still on? Thanks.
General Headlights turning off automatically?
- Thread starter falcon999
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General Headlights turning off automatically?
500 lights go out if you cut the ignition, irrespective of the light switch position. They would come on again if you did nothing else but turn the ignition on.
The question is, were the lights switched on or off (according to the switch)?
If they were switched on (but "off" i.e. not illuminated) then they would have come on when you turned on the ignition.
If they were switched off then they should not have come on when you turned on the ignition.
If they were switched off but the green tell-tale light was illuminated (I guess .... otherwise you would have noticed the lights were illuminated and/or the battery would be flat) then that might be an instrument cluster issue, or bad earth etc.
Ralf S.
The question is, were the lights switched on or off (according to the switch)?
If they were switched on (but "off" i.e. not illuminated) then they would have come on when you turned on the ignition.
If they were switched off then they should not have come on when you turned on the ignition.
If they were switched off but the green tell-tale light was illuminated (I guess .... otherwise you would have noticed the lights were illuminated and/or the battery would be flat) then that might be an instrument cluster issue, or bad earth etc.
Ralf S.
Simple answer yes go off with key
Come on again when started if left in on position.
Perhaps little known, you can turn on the side lights on if you leave the car at night, with the key out, simply turn on the lights only the side lights will come on.
Come on again when started if left in on position.
Perhaps little known, you can turn on the side lights on if you leave the car at night, with the key out, simply turn on the lights only the side lights will come on.
Thanks for that.
Sorry, I answered in the wrong place. The lights were on according to the switch. I turned the switch to off and then to my surprise, the car started. I'd been expecting a drained battery.
All Fiat's I had the last 30 years are the same. You can't forget to switch them off. Leaving the sidelights on as parkinglights has to be done deliberately. I leave the switch always on and love how it works.
gr J
gr J
Thanks for the info.
Its a very european car thing to have the lights turn off with the ignition. Not only have fiat done it for some 30 odd years but a lot of other cars were doing this decades ago such as Saab and Volvo, I think the french companies had been doing this for a long time.
Also with most modern cars now having automatic headlights. People don't ever switch them off.
Literally our 2017 mini countryman you cannot turn the headlights off, they are always on to some degree which does cause some issues such as sitting in the car listening to music when you are on the euro tunnel trains and they insist you turn the lights off. Its worse than not being able to turn the lights off, the car knows you are in the car, and while someone is in the car there is always some external lights on till you get out and lock it.
What I am more surprised by with this post is that you've never had a car before that the lights turn on and off with the ignition. I am pretty sure almost every car has done this for at least the last 10 - 15 years.
Flat batteries from leaving lights on are a very long way in the past. Even leaving the interior light on doesn't kill the battery as most new cars (again in the last 15 - 20 years) have turned off the interior light if left on for a period of time, usually a few minutes.
Also with most modern cars now having automatic headlights. People don't ever switch them off.
Literally our 2017 mini countryman you cannot turn the headlights off, they are always on to some degree which does cause some issues such as sitting in the car listening to music when you are on the euro tunnel trains and they insist you turn the lights off. Its worse than not being able to turn the lights off, the car knows you are in the car, and while someone is in the car there is always some external lights on till you get out and lock it.
What I am more surprised by with this post is that you've never had a car before that the lights turn on and off with the ignition. I am pretty sure almost every car has done this for at least the last 10 - 15 years.
Flat batteries from leaving lights on are a very long way in the past. Even leaving the interior light on doesn't kill the battery as most new cars (again in the last 15 - 20 years) have turned off the interior light if left on for a period of time, usually a few minutes.
Thanks for the detailed reply. I've had loads of cars, I'm 71 now. I'm at the lower end of the market now but 2000 to 2015, I was buying new cars and had no idea about the lights! I'd always just turned them off, or so I thought!
I grew up in a family that had a lot of Swedish cars, The lights turning off with the ignition was pretty standard on Volvos and Saabs. long before anyone else was doing it.
I use to sit in my car at work to eat my lunch and would turn the ignition on to listen to the radio in my Saab 900. The amount of times usually at least 2 or 3 times per half hour lunch break I would get someone tell me my lights were on (because the ignition was on) people definitely where not used to it then, and people always used to question why Volvos had their lights on during the day. It's not that they couldn't be turned off, its just lazy owners like me in my saab would leave them on all the time and not then have to think about it.
I use to sit in my car at work to eat my lunch and would turn the ignition on to listen to the radio in my Saab 900. The amount of times usually at least 2 or 3 times per half hour lunch break I would get someone tell me my lights were on (because the ignition was on) people definitely where not used to it then, and people always used to question why Volvos had their lights on during the day. It's not that they couldn't be turned off, its just lazy owners like me in my saab would leave them on all the time and not then have to think about it.
Piccolo Nero e Bella
Prominent member
Mine is the first car I've ever had in which the lights go off with the ignition and I admit I don't like it. I can (sort of) understand why they might do it but after 50-odd years on the road It's been a long time, if ever, since I've parked a car, all lights ablaze, and left it... What bothers me even more is that the brake lights are also disabled when the ignition is off - why?
And the horn
Some of my Fiat's have definitely had independent Brake lights..
Probably pre. CanBus though..
The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
Some while ago I bought a Skoda Estelle. It was very cheap, rust free and ran for years incdentally so no skip jokes. I think I had if at least 6 moths before realising it had 5 gears. It does make ownership so much more fun when you get a nice suprise every now and again.
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Piccolo Nero e Bella
Prominent member
Yeah, and the horn...
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The Horn seems to be the one thing that most cars do NOT turn off when ignition is off.
Fiat Ducato remains on, so does Suzuki Vitara and most other previous cars I remember. Not currently near the 500 to check, but when you say it is off then I am inclined to trust you
. That would make it an exception in my experience.
DRL or other lights always on with ignition can be an issue. I remember an evening in a drive in cinema (during corona) when people needed their wipers because of light rain. They had to distribute black garbage bags to cover the lights of those cars…
Fiat Ducato remains on, so does Suzuki Vitara and most other previous cars I remember. Not currently near the 500 to check, but when you say it is off then I am inclined to trust you
. That would make it an exception in my experience.DRL or other lights always on with ignition can be an issue. I remember an evening in a drive in cinema (during corona) when people needed their wipers because of light rain. They had to distribute black garbage bags to cover the lights of those cars…
Piccolo Nero e Bella
Prominent member
I appreciate your trust but it turns out I was wrong! Just went out and tried and it did work, albeit requiring a very firm push of the 'button'. Can't think why I got that idea! Anyhow, apologies to FIAT...
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I will have to check, again, maybe I didn't press it hard enough?
