Ambient Lights Bright Dim Off

[Joelgjr]

So I was sitting in my parked car and the headlights were running (and set to auto, as it was dark in the parking garage).

As expected, the Ambient lights in the doors were on as the Ambient setting was tapped on. I tapped the Ambient button, it turned from blue to white, and the ambient lights got significantly brighter. As I tapped Ambient on and off, the lights cycled between dim and bright.

I was under the impression that ambient lights are either on or off. There is no dim or bright? I was so surprised by this behavior I got out of my car, locked it, and got back in, and the Ambient lights returned to expected functionality, either On or Off (dim only).

No matter what setting my headlights were set to and whether running or not, I could not reproduce the Ambient high/low that I had just experienced.

What happened here - is this normal?

 

[JohnnyG]

Sounds like a feature has become buggy. I just went out to my car to see... I could reproduce it the first time, but then couldn't reproduce it subsequent times.

How it used to (suppose to) work: The Ambient lighting would come on at full intensity when in Park while the headlights were not illuminated (for better visibility entering/exiting). This would timeout after a while. The Ambient lights also come on at a lower intensity when the headlights are illuminated and the button was selected.

Edit: hmm, I wonder if it also uses the ambient light sensor in the rearview mirror to perform differently for night vs day, and maybe this isn't reacting properly?

 

[snd92]

Ambient light intensity follows MCU/ICU display intensity.

 

[Joelgjr]

Ambient light intensity follows MCU/ICU display intensity.

Not on mine!

 

[JohnnyG]

Ambient light intensity follows MCU/ICU display intensity.

Not on mine!

With Ambient turned on, and headlights turned on, the ambient lights do vary with the MCU brightness.

It is not infinitely variable, however.
Here are the percentages at which it alters:
20%, 34%, 47%, 60%, 74%, 87%.

 

[JohnnyG]

I was able to reliably reproduce the bug...
If it is not night time, try this in a dark garage.

1. Enter the car after it has been sitting, and Car is Off.
2. Do Not touch the brake pedal.
3. If it is dark outside your car, your MCU display brightness should be down to 15% (or so).
4. Turn off your Ambient button.
   1. Note that the Ambient lights are on and full bright.
5. Turn on your Ambient button.
   1. Note that the Ambient lights are on, but now dimmer.
6. Touch the brake pedal to turn On the Car.
7. If the headlights do not come on, turn them on manually.
8. Repeat steps 4 & 5.
   1. Note that the Ambient light does not illuminate now, when the Ambient button is off.

 

[.jg.]

My car was returned from service today and I asked about this behaviour of ambient lighting... This was the response:

Concern: Customer: Ambient light behavior - seems to be off or less bright when "Ambient"
selected.
Pay Type: Goodwill - Service
Corrections: Interior NVH General Diagnosis
No fault found with ambient lightening, everything working as designed.

 

[JohnnyG]

My car was returned from service today and I asked about this behaviour of ambient lighting... This was the response:

Concern: Customer: Ambient light behavior - seems to be off or less bright when "Ambient"
selected.
Pay Type: Goodwill - Service
Corrections: Interior NVH General Diagnosis
No fault found with ambient lightening, everything working as designed.

"... No fault found with ambient lightening, everything working as designed..."
Yep, based on your concern, unless you have Auto-Brightness turned off, and brightness set at 100%, it will be dimmer when the Ambient button is on, because it's intensity changes with the MCU brightness.

 

[mknox]

I had a similar problem once. I figured out what it was on my own, but had Tesla fix it. At a recent service they had removed my door panel. The electrical connectors for the ambient lights and the puddle lights on the bottom of the door are identical. You guess it... they had reversed the connectors. Swapping them back fixed my issues.

 

[David29]

I had a similar problem once. I figured out what it was on my own, but had Tesla fix it. At a recent service they had removed my door panel. The electrical connectors for the ambient lights and the puddle lights on the bottom of the door are identical. You guess it... they had reversed the connectors. Swapping them back fixed my issues.

Interesting! i wonder if that could explain why my right front ambient lights do not seem to work anymore. At one time, my right front door handle was replaced. i wonder if sometime did not get re-connected or was connected wrong....I will have to ask when i am at service the next time.

 

[CraZ8]

A little off topic but how difficult would it be for Tesla to tie footwell lights to ambient lighting like most other luxury brands? Seems to me a few lines of code and a slider button on the lighting screen would add a neat feature and dispel the inky pit of blackness where your feet are at night.

 

[Joelgjr]

A little off topic but how difficult would it be for Tesla to tie footwell lights to ambient lighting like most other luxury brands? Seems to me a few lines of code and a slider button on the lighting screen would add a neat feature and dispel the inky pit of blackness where your feet are at night.

Not hard at all UNLESS the foot well lights aren’t controlled by the computer and are instead simply attached to door switches

 

[David29]

Interesting! i wonder if that could explain why my right front ambient lights do not seem to work anymore. At one time, my right front door handle was replaced. i wonder if sometime did not get re-connected or was connected wrong....I will have to ask when i am at service the next time.

Service Center checked and found the connectors were indeed reversed, most likely when door handle was replaced some time before.

And just to clarify, the symptom was that the lamp would come on when I opened that particular door, but not when I tried to switch on the lights by using the "Ambient Lights" button on the center screen. (I do not think they came on when I opened some other door, either, but I would have to re-test to be sure, and the connections have now been fixed so i can't.)