Cool Factor Tip: Parking Lights On In Daytime

[Mr X]

I don't think people know about this. I've never seen any Tesla's do this, except the one I'm in, but you can have the tail lights illuminated in the daytime by simply turning on the Parking Lights.


By instinct I do this every time I get in. And this obviously works on all Tesla's.


Clearly most people do not even care about looks but it's a simple thing you can do to give your Tesla rear LED Daytime running lights.


Most Tesla's look bland from the rear especially in dark colors so by having the tail lights on it gives it a cooler road presence.


Try it out. And no, the lights will not burn out sooner or you wont get as much range, rofl.

 

[kort677]

what's the point of this other than vanity?

 

[Patrick W]

what's the point of this other than vanity?

For some that's the whole point.

 

[thimel]

It is actually illegal to drive in California with your parking lights on although you are not likely to get a ticket.
Law on use of parking lights can be a bit foggy – Press Enterprise

 

[kort677]

haha...what other reason is there to own a tesla beside its an overpriced ev that people look at and think-"holy moly they spent and arm and a leg on that thing they must be rich".lol

jealousy is so ugly
fwiw: my tesla was a step down

 

[jimmyz80]

I also discovered last night (via another local owner) that you can leave the parking lights on indefinitely while parked. If you turn them on before getting out, they stay on even after you lock up and walk away. Kinda fun for car show type settings where you just want to have a row of Teslas lit up a bit while parked.

 

[CalBlue 85D]

What we really need is a video for this.

 

[SMAlset]

I know in some places parking lights are required when parking on the street at night, better to see the car than hit it in the dark.

 

[kort677]

I know in some places parking lights are required when parking on the street at night, better to see the car than hit it in the dark.

where in the US would those places be?

 

[FlatSix911]

I know in some places parking lights are required when parking on the street at night, better to see the car than hit it in the dark.

In Europe we would use the parking lights on one side only facing the street for extra visibility at night ... an option on Porsche

 

[JohnnyG]

Interesting point: cars are manufactured and sold in other areas of the globe, aside from the US, too. And those areas have different laws, just like each state in the US has different transportation laws.

True parking lights (as @FlatSix911 mentioned) used to be an item on some cars sold in the US too, although those were primarily cars being manufactured in, and imported from, Europe.
My close friend has an 80's Mercedes sold here in the US, that has true parking lights, in conjunction with standard running lights.

As time moves on, we lose sight of the original literal meaning of words (i.e. dial a phone, hang up a phone, gas pedal, gear shift lever, etc).
Parking Lights and Running Lights didn't used to be synonymous. The name itself begs to differ.

Bonus: DRL (Daytime Running Lights) are running lights which were designed to operate during the day, as opposed to standard running lights which were designed to operate at night.

 

[JPUConn]

I have done this regularly for a while now as well. Also turns on the led 'fangs' in front for a nicer look added to the 'halo' around the lights

 

[SMAlset]

where in the US would those places be?

Well Colorado for one I believe. Here's a section taken from Part 2 - Equipment of the "Model Traffic Code for Colorado" (last updated 2010) from the Colorado Department of Transportation website (Federal and State of Colorado Traffic Manuals —). See 210.(2). which clearly describes parking lights. Obviously the Tesla isn't a low-speed electric vehicle so not exempt! .


210. Lamps on parked vehicles.

(1) Whenever a vehicle is lawfully parked upon a highway during the hours between sunset and sunrise and in the event there is sufficient light to reveal any person or object within a distance of one thousand feet upon such highway, no lights need be displayed upon such parked vehicle.

(2) Whenever a vehicle is parked or stopped upon a roadway or shoulder adjacent thereto, whether attended or unattended, during the hours between sunset and sunrise and there is not sufficient light to reveal any person or object within a distance of one thousand feet upon such highway, such vehicle so parked or stopped shall be equipped with one or more operating lamps meeting the following requirements: At least one lamp shall display a white or amber light visible from a distance of five hundred feet to the front of the vehicle, and the same lamp or at least one other lamp shall display a red light visible from a distance of five hundred feet to the rear of the vehicle, and the location of said lamp or lamps shall always be such that at least one lamp or combination of lamps meeting the requirements of this section is installed as near as practicable to the side of the vehicle that is closer to passing traffic. This subsection (2) shall not apply to a low-power scooter.

(3) Any lighted head lamps upon a parked vehicle shall be depressed or dimmed.
(4) Any person who violates any provision of this section commits a class B traffic infraction. (5) This section shall not apply to low-speed electric vehicles.

 

[Brando]

LED lights, as we all know, should last for a decade or two maybe three.
Seriously consider driving with your lights on ALL the TIME.
As do motorcycles and scooters in the US (everywhere??).
Does Canada still require heads lights on when the car is moving?

Especially if you have a dark colored car, live in a cloudy part of the country, it is raining or snowing, or there are shadows over the roads - like tree and building shadows accross the road. And on Holidays when many distracted people are going place they have never been.

Seems prudent for anyone driving a +$35,000 car, no?
[Now, someone please try to find out how much "power is wasted" with low beam lights on per hour.]

Just drive with your light on.

 

[D.E.]

I don't think people know about this. I've never seen any Tesla's do this, except the one I'm in, but you can have the tail lights illuminated in the daytime by simply turning on the Parking Lights.


By instinct I do this every time I get in. And this obviously works on all Tesla's.


Clearly most people do not even care about looks but it's a simple thing you can do to give your Tesla rear LED Daytime running lights.


Most Tesla's look bland from the rear especially in dark colors so by having the tail lights on it gives it a cooler road presence.


Try it out. And no, the lights will not burn out sooner or you wont get as much range, rofl.

All cars turn on the rear red lights when you turn on the parking lights. Parking lights are there so other people can see you parked at night. It is for when you turn your car into some sort of road hazard. It wouldn't do for people in the front to know you are parked then get walloped in the back because there weren't lights on the back end of the car.

It used to be illegal to drive with parking lights but now with daytime running lights on a lot of cars, who'd know they were parking lights and not daytime running lights? At night it is still illegal but it is more that you don't have headlights on than that you are using your parking lights.

You can run your headlights 24/7 with impunity. From the back the tail lights will be on with your headlights. So there's nothing wrong with taillights in the daytime.

And it used to be a concern that using the parking lights when parking overnight would drain the battery. That humungus battery pack should keep a parked Tesla lit up for months.

 

[Brian-MS90D]

When the car (MS) is parked, do the parking lights use the Tesla battery or the 12-volt lead-acid battery?

 

[thimel]

When the car (MS) is parked, do the parking lights use the Tesla battery or the 12-volt lead-acid battery?

They use the 12V battery. However, that battery gets topped up by the Big high voltage battery when it gets low.

 

[somnambule]

what's the point of this other than vanity?

"Looking good isn't important, it's everything"
-- Ben Sherman

 

[D.E.]

When the car (MS) is parked, do the parking lights use the Tesla battery or the 12-volt lead-acid battery?

It is my impression that the car charges the 12 volt battery as needed from the main pack. It might not make a difference in this discussion because all the involved lights are LED, so very much more efficient than bulbs.

I did some astronomy and made a handheld lantern from a truck LED brake/tail light. I powered it from 8 AA cells in series to make a 12V source. I measured the consumption of the LED taillight and calculated the battery life to be over 63 hours of continuous use.

Even on the bright mode the battery would last 16 hours. I could place the lantern on the front in bright mode and have sufficient light to drive out of the observatory area.

Granted there are 4 lights illuminated when Tesla parking lights are on but they will be in taillight mode so just sipping electricity. Even the lead acid battery should power the LED lights for a very long time.

 

[tasingta]

D.E., do you by any chance know how to turn off all tesla lights, inside and outside (even when opening doors), in order to drive in or out of an observatory area?