Hey everyone. How do I disable my automatic headlights on my 98? I have tried the dome light button trick, but that didn't work. I have tried taping a flashlight to the sensor and that works for the most part (unless it falls off and the lights turn on), but it is tricky and takes too long.

The reason I am asking is because a few weeks ago, I was going to try to leave somewhere late at night quickly and without anyone noticing (long story), but I knew that as soon as I released the parking brake, the lights would turn on and that would have torn my stealth strategy apart, especially where it was parked. I could hide the engine noise easily by driving slow with the RPMs at idle to leave the area (It is literally the middle of nowhere and there is no traffic and it isn't on a road, so there is no danger) to get to the road (I am not talking about driving on a roadway with the lights off), but the headlights would have caused a huge problem for me. Is there a fuse to pull to disable them without disabling the headlights entirely or is there another way to defeat the light sensor so just the automatic portion stops working?

 

Tech Article (DIY) section to the rescue!
Automatic Headlight Disable

 

Wow. Thanks. But what changed in 99 that the ohms are different? I understand the differences between 97 and 98, but what about 98 to 99?

 

The discussion thread has the proper values which I have updated the main thread to reflect. If I had to guess at what changed, it likely was the sensor.

For a '98, a 1k Ohm 1/4 watt resistor across the terminals on the ambient light sensor and you are good to go. You could also measure the resistance across the sensor in full light and get a resistor to match!

 

Thanks so much. This solves the problem 100%.

 

Modification completed. Automatic lights disabled. Now if I am ever faced with a situation where I need the lights off at night for any reason, I can.

However, I did completely wrap the resistor in more electrical tape than in the DIY article to protect it. Do resistors get hot and melt the tape?

 

this mod i am not sure works exactly for me and my 99 blazer ls 4.3 (3 button 4x4)

i did the 2.2k resistor and at first i thought it worked.
when in park and car is running i had not lights until i moved the headlight selector switch from the off position to either park or headlights
both worked great

ok here is where im having my problem.

if i move the gear selector to any position besides park the low beams come on but at 1/2 power is the best way i can describe (with car running and lights off)
if i move the headlight selector switch to headlight on position the same lights double their brightness (im not talking about the brights)
now if i turn my brights on by pulling the multifuntion switch it switches bulbs entirely and the brights come on (as they should)

i guess the problem is when the headlight switch is off and car is running and any gear besides park is selected it turns the regular headlights on but at 1/2 power/brightness

do i need to pull the DRL relay under the hood?
i dont have fog lights so i did not do the bend of one of the legs (i just left the relay alone and never pulled it)

thanks

 

i bent pin 86 over and out of the way (DRL relay under hood)
did the 2.2K resistor mod

i think all is working but im not sure if my low beams are getting full power or not when i switch my HL switch to ON
the high beams look correct

 

Does anyone have an idea as to how I could rig this mod up to a switch so that I can disable and enable the Auto Headlight feature whenever? I do like the feature but sometimes it is a pain.