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Free Automatic (Auto) Headlight Modification

59K views 164 replies 91 participants last post by  Engniek 
#1 · (Edited)
Okay guys even though there are many threads about how to do this I figured I'd do a quick photo write-up about the mod and label the thread easily enough for our new members to find it when they do a search.

Well after 2 months of having to turn on the headlights automatically in the charger (haven't had to do this for the past 6 years) I decided to get out the dremel and perform the auto headlight mod. I beleive the prerequisites to be able to perform this modification is that you car be equipped with the dual climate convenience group (correct me if I'm wrong here guys and I'll change this post).

Items recommended to tackle the job:
  • Dremmel
  • 2-3 spare minutes
  • Compressed air (or big lungs)
  • Sammich & Can of beer :D

Setp 1: Remove the knob from the light switch





Simple Enough! :D

Step 2: Dremmel or other wise remove the nub pictured below




Step 3: Using compressed air or the likes, blow out all the plastic shavings (nub remnance)



Not too pretty, but that's alright...Nobody will be seeing this later on :cool:

Step 4: Replace knob and turn counter clockwise to the phanton setting :D


Step 5: Consume Sammich and a can of beer (or 2 in my case) :D


Congrats --- You've completed probably the easiest mod to do on our cars :rockon:

NOTE: Two additional things I probably should have done...Taped the hole inside of housing so no pieces of dremmeled plastic got into there and taken a little more time to make it all pretty (car was 115 degrees though and I was ready to get back inside)

Ryan
 
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#3 ·
Crazy_luck said:
A sharp razor blade might be a better idea than a dremel - you don't want any thing getting into the oening in the upper left corner.
That would probably be the smarter way to go (but I was impatient as my car was about 115 degrees today :eek: ), I may suggest taping up the hole if you're going to dremmel
 
#50 · (Edited)
I used my pocket knife! (it purty big though)

BTW, after you do this, have a "Star Scan" flash for the lights to come on W/the windshield wipers!
 
#8 ·
pdubois64 said:
I did this a little differently...I Dremelled the piece off of the knob
I had read that some had done it this way too, which seems like it'd work just fine...May have actually made it easier on me as I could have done all of the work in the house (or garage at least) and gotten out of the heat. Another benefit to your way would be no plastic shavings to worry about in your car...:mad: I wish I had the foresight that you did, but you know what they say about hindsight :D
 
#9 ·
broc2238 said:
I had read that some had done it this way too, which seems like it'd work just fine...May have actually made it easier on me as I could have done all of the work in the house (or garage at least) and gotten out of the heat. Another benefit to your way would be no plastic shavings to worry about in your car...:mad: I wish I had the foresight that you did, but you know what they say about hindsight :D
There is another way to do it -

Pull the knob off, turn the stick that the knob attaches to all the way to the left and push the knob back on - the knob will only be on far enough to stay on the switch, but allow you to turn it to any of the settings including the automode.
 
#10 ·
Crazy_luck said:
There is another way to do it -

Pull the knob off, turn the stick that the knob attaches to all the way to the left and push the knob back on - the knob will only be on far enough to stay on the switch, but allow you to turn it to any of the settings including the automode.
Without almost any work at all, I like the way you think man! I would just be worried about the knob falling off every once in a while, but don't know how much of an issue that would be
 
#11 ·
pdubois64 said:
I did this a little differently...I Dremelled the piece off of the knob
I've been saying this since last year. NOTCH THE KNOB
I just used a pair of pliers to make the notch in the knob. I think it took me 20seconds to do this mod. More time for beer and sammiches:grin:
 
#12 ·
Amazing. So people who pay for this option are actually paying for something that's already there in many cases..... :confused:
 
#13 ·
broc2238 said:
Without almost any work at all, I like the way you think man! I would just be worried about the knob falling off every once in a while, but don't know how much of an issue that would be
I drove around for about 7 months like that with out it falling off. Then, one day, I got bored and trimmed the little nub off the switch... :smoke:
 
#14 ·
06HOTROD said:
I've been saying this since last year. NOTCH THE KNOB
I just used a pair of pliers to make the notch in the knob. I think it took me 20seconds to do this mod. More time for beer and sammiches:grin:
Excellent point (sammich consumption could have been realized much earlier)...If I had this to do over again (even though it's only been 45 minutes so far), I think it would have been better to notch the knob. For our future readers...How do you determine the correct amount that the knob needs to be notched?
 
#15 ·
Crazy_luck said:
I drove around for about 7 months like that with out it falling off. Then, one day, I got bored and trimmed the little nub off the switch... :smoke:
Excellent. So in terms of ease it goes...

  • Turn the knob manually and let the knob rest on the switch
  • Trim the Knob
  • Dremel the nub

Dam...I chose the hard way again :D
 
#16 ·
broc2238 said:
Excellent point (sammich consumption could have been realized much earlier)...If I had this to do over again (even though it's only been 45 minutes so far), I think it would have been better to notch the knob. For our future readers...How do you determine the correct amount that the knob needs to be notched?
It just needs to be shaved down until it is flush with the rest of the knob.
 
#17 ·
When I did this mod, I pulled the knob off and used a small razor blade. However, I did not cut it down smooth: I left a little bit of the nub, that way you can 'feel' the knob going from Automatic to Off.
 
#19 ·
yup, I took a razor blade and cut a small piece of the knob....no mess and took about 1 minute.
 
#20 ·
Awesome, works great. I started out with a razor blade and then had a brief moment of insight. I grabbed a pair of fingernail clippers.

Snip snip, notched out the proper part of the knob.... Auto-headlights. The clippers worked even better than the razor blade.
 
#22 ·
I think I can do this mod on my own! I have used nail clippers and a razor in the past without to much damage. There is hope for me yet. I can finaly add a mod to my sig. Thanks for the info guys! Ken :D
 
#23 ·
I wouldn't do this mod if all I got at the end was Lite beer. :no:
 
#25 ·
HemiChemi said:
I wouldn't do this mod if all I got at the end was Lite beer. :no:
When you eat a sammich like that one you have to go for the light beer. I have enough trouble squeezing my fat a** into the Charger without adding regular beer to the calorie chart. Actually I prefer bourbon & Diet Coke. Of course if I go the bourbon route I can't use the Autostick mode because I need to keep one hand free to cover one of my eyes to keep from seeing double. Ken :D
 
#26 ·
KUPAA said:
The key is also making sure that you have the dual climate zone package right?

Will this work with the magnums too?
Yes, and yes.
 
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