What's up with my Twilight Sentinal??????????????

[steveskyhawk 2]

Hi All

My 91 coupe has the Twilight Sentinal option and has seemed to work OK up untill yesterday. (I've only had the car a month) I was riding down the road with a bright sun in my eyes and the "Headlight Suggested " annunciator illuminates. So I make sure the slider is all the way to OFF (left) and the yellow light stays on. So i turn on the headlights and turn them off and the annunciator goes off and stays off for 2 minutes and comes back on.

Is this common and if so is there an easy fix? If not i would just as soon disable this option and forget it. As far as i'm concerned if you cant tell when it is dark and turn the lights on yourself then you probably should take the bus!

steve

[Reatta45 0]

Steve,

At night is the system that dims the instrument panel working?

You will probably need to replace the photo cell, (center of dash)… sounds like it is failing. Search this forum for dash vent removal & twilight photo cell… KennyV.

BTW that is not an option, that is standard equip. there were only 3 options: sunroof, CD player and 16 way drivers seat.

[63viking 99]

What do you have on the dash?

[steveskyhawk 2]

At the time the Twilight Sentinal started to give me the Headlights Suggested annunciator I did have a dash mat in place. The first thing I did was pull the dashmat back to see if it was blocking the light. Pulling back the mat made no change. Is it possible that the system is sophisticated enough that there is a time delay so that the lights don't go on and off if you go under a bridge or somthing? Also someone on the forum mentioned that it is unwise to pop out the headlights at highway speeds? Any experience with that theroy?

[steveskyhawk 2]

Reatta 45

"At night is the system that dims the instrument panel working?"

Yes the dimming function works fine.

To all on the Forum: I gotta say that driving this car makes me feel like a million bucks going down the road. I don't have lots of money in my car but the bang for the buck is fantastic. Do the rest of you get that too? I'll bet we enjoy these cars more than most of the original owners did.

[Reatta45 0]

Steve…

Is there a chance that the photo cell has dust or fibers obscuring the glass lens, try cleaning it, if that has no effect you might contact Jim Finn for a replacement…

The auto headlight system is as you point out useless… the other thing that has little need is the “lights on” indicator just under the voltage gage. If you can see the instrument panel, you can also see the headlights are up… it would be more useful if the lights on was connected to the running lights, those you can not see while driving.

Allowing the twilight sentinel to operate the headlights at any speed will eventually, if not immediately, break the up stop adjusting nut… there are more than a few drivers tooling around with broken headlight stop nuts that have no clue as to that problem. You will never have any regret turning your lights on yourself, at a stop or moderate speed… sounds like you are enjoying your 91 as much as I am mine … KennyV

[Lucky91 0]

I've got to agree with you Steve. I get a great feeling whenever I drive my '91. I'm sure most of the members "great feeling" is caused by different reasons. Whether it's because of owning a two seater at a relatively low price or that the vehicle itself is so unique or that it's a great looking car. It's different for everyone. I must admit, I miss the '89 I used to own. That CRT is just too cool. I will probably own another one some day. Enjoy your '91.

[63viking 99]

Yes.......