Yep, that's my problem in the Subject. I had to disconnect the battery tonight. Possibly the timer is defective that turns out the lights when the the ignition is turned off while the lights are on. It may have been precipitated by an earlier event. A woman had drained her battery and asked if I had jumpers. I did and got her started. At the next stop, I noticed my lights were still on when I came back to the car. I thought I might have turned them on with the remote somehow. When I got home the same thing happened in the garage. They wouldn't go out after 5-10 minutes. Comments? Solution?
Was to me too a few Subarus back. ;) They're great cars, but they can make you feel like a real idiot at times when you're new to them because things just work a bit differently than they do on many other cars.
Had a similar problem with my Daughter. I went into great detail,, over the phone, about how to track the wiring and location of the windscreen washer motor, and how to check that it was plugged in, and to check for blocked washer nozzles on her WRX. A couple of weeks later she told me she had found the button on the end of the stalk. :>)
Like Wayne, I encountered the same problem with my first Subaru (have had 3 more [Subarus, not mysterious light events] since, disconnected the battery, eventually turned it off by just playing with every control on the dashboard until I found one that worked, but I've always been baffled by the presence of this switch. The salesman who sold my my first stumbled through a series of explanations of its need, none of which made any sense. Why is it there? What purpose does it serve that can't be addressed by using the main headlight switch or hazard warning flasher? Why do we need a switch to keep the lights on without the key in the ignition? Why is Subaru, to my knowledge, the only manufacturer to offer this "feature". Why? Why? Why?
The best explanation I've found is that this is a result of the DRL. On most cars, the light switch has a position for park lights, then a position for head lights. On the Subaru, there is no position on the light switch for park lights, due to the DRL feature. So there is a separate switch to enable parking lights if you need them. Like you, I'm not sure when I'd need parking lights that flashers wouldn't work...but maybe there is some place where you are required to have parking lights without head lights or flashers on? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This feature makes sense in markets like here in Australia where you have a choice when you use your parking and headlights, and appropriate switches. With the lights being disabled when the ignition is off (great feature - should be fitted to all cars) you may wish to leave your parking lights on for visibility when parking in a badly lit street (which, I suspect, is what they were invented for). The extra switch will allow that. I seem to remember a vehicle which had a parking light switch which only activated the road-side parking lights to save battery power - can't remember the brand though - another good idea which seems to have vanished.
Yep, that's very close to what I understand. In parts of Europe, use of parking lights when actualy parked at the curb is enforced. That switch alloys Subes ,which do disable the 'stalk' light setting when the key is removed, to keep parking lights on.
I'm still having trouble with this one. Why would any jurisdiction require the use of just the parking lights when the vehicle isn't in motion, at least under its own power, and the key not in the ignition? Hard to believe that the DRLs are too bright, but even so, why wouldn't it then be just another position on the stalk? Is it just one of those European things that we Americans aren't considered sophisticated enough to comprehend, like a signal that you intend to leave the car at the curb for some metric unit of time? Is it me or Subaru? Like that dash-top "glovebox" on some models that was too shallow and oddly shaped for anything useful like sunglasses or a notebook, but could fit a pen or few sticks of gum that would leak or turn to goo in the heat.
When I was stationed in Germany 72-76, I remember seeing cars with a parking light on when parked on the street overnight. The difference was they had a way to leave only the driver side parking lights on. I supppose it was to show the highway side margin of the vehicle. It wasn't a requirement on all streets, just those designated as "priority" roads. It didn't apply to streets with designated parking spots either. Mostly just the main road through the villages where the road was about 2 1/2 lanes wide, and they were narrow lanes at that.
Came across the following on the website of a bulb vendor:
The parking light is really not actually used as such in modern driving. This name is more of a throwback to days gone by. When originally named, the parking light was used to illuminate a vehicle when it was parked, because streetlights and special off the road parking areas had not yet become common. Leaving your car parked on the side of a dark road without some warning of its presence was a hazard to both your vehicle, and to other drivers. The parking light was entirely separate from the headlight system. They were not lit when the headlights were turned on as they are in modern vehicles. The purpose of the parking light has changed over the years. Wider roads allowing room for on street parking with no obstruction of the driving lanes have made their original purpose obsolete. The parking light still serves an important function in driving safety, used more as a marker light to make vehicles more visible at night, especially from the side view. Such marker lights became mandatory in 1968, to improve safety and vehicle visibility on the roads. The parking light can also be helpful as backup lighting if you have a headlight burn out during driving. The glow of the parking light can help your vehicle be more visible to oncoming drivers even with only one headlight, making it easier for others to determine that a car, not a motorcycle is approaching.
I guess that, and Subaru's own blurb in Drive magazine that some countries and municipalities require that the parking lights be on a separately switched circuit, pretty much explains why we have to live with this switch. Funny thing is, I don't recall having seen one on any other make of car sold in the US. Subaru isn't the only manufacturer to market its cars globally, and has obviously made changes (left and right-hand drive, etc) to accomodate different national laws. So why no Hondas, Toyotas, Audis, Jaguars, etc with the switch?
I THINK the issue is whether or not the entire 'stalk' control system is disabled when the key is removed. Evidently Subaru uses a completely different circuit when the key is removed. Dunno why they couldn't make the same control 'either/or' !
our 2 year old did this the other day ... she turned on the Parking Lights ... i nearly shit myself before i finally figured out what was the cause of the lights not going off ... felt like a real idiot when my wife finally read the user manual and told me what to do :)
My younger brother used to get in the car and explore every control while waiting for my mother to drive him to kindergarten. Drove her nuts when she turned the key and EVERYTING went on. That's how she learned how to turn them off. He's now the engineering director for one of the largest fuel cell manufacturers in the US. Keep an eye on that 2 year old; that kind of curiousity occasionally leads someplace worthwhile.
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