Automatic Healights

I just bought a 2000 GMC Sierra (new body, same as silverado), 5.3 V8, Z71 and am very annoyed with the auto headlamps. I have done a lot of research and everything points me to R&D Research at www.truckautoaccessories.com to buy a kit that puts a switch on the auto headlamp feature to disable it at will. The problem is this website seems to be down and I cannot find another place to purchase this. Please Help!!!!

R&D is out of business now I believe. There is another thread that's not very old, you might benefit from reading it.
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=130039

I love the auto lamp feature myself,but you should be able to disable them when they come on by pushing the dome override switch three consecutive times in a row.It will shut the headlights off to use the normal switch and will reset to auto when you turn the key off.

I haven't tried my trick yet....
I was going to sever the sensor on the dash that allows the Auto Headlamps to work and wire in a switch in line with the sensor to see if that works. I got a wiring outline from Jay that may help me to try it out but, I want to refer to my Haynes manual first.

I'm not sure how the sensor works but, it's obvious that it controls the Headlamps it's just a matter of figuring out how to work the way we want it to work.

Yeah I saw that thread earlier, but did not see that there was 3 pages. I am new to this forum, so I only read the first page. It says on there that you had some instructions on how to solve the automatic headlights. I saw some on lightsout.org, but want some additional instructions. I can wire car stereos, but not so good with the rest of the stuff in cars, don't wanna break anything.

The dome override does not work on my model, tried that first as a temp solution.

mine is a 2000, gotta push the dome override 4 times....I thank this forum for that tip!!!

Ok I'm getting frustrated now as every time I find one of these kits you can't get them anymore. Grrrr.
Somebody could make a mint if they found a way to make these. Here's the link I found....

http://www.zzperformance.com/zzp/products/auto_sensitivity_light.htm

This was also interesting as well. I'm going to see if there is some way I can wire this to work or not....

1999 GM full size trucks. Here is another way to disable the automatic headlights on a 1999 Chevy Silverado. This is very simple. Remove the radio. Push and twist the photoresister (the black light sensor on top of the dash by the windshield) so it goes beneath the dash. Reach back and disconnect the photoresister from the wire (it should just pop off). Push the wire back up throught the hole (it will be easier to work with this way). For the lights on the '99 chevy to stay off there must be resistence running through the circuit. One way to accomplish this is to run an LED through the circuit. I went to Radio Shack (which I hate doing) and purchased a 12 volt red LED light. I placed the wires in the two holes left by the removing the photoresister connecter at the end of the wire (if your lights don't stay off, swith the wires around in the hole). This is all you need to do. In addition though, I soldered the wires in place and then taped them. I also disassembled the photoresister (use x-acto knives and be careful) and was able to glue it back around the LED light (this keeps there from being a hole in the top of my dash, and makes the light look factory installed). This whole procedure cost me a little over $3.00 for the LED and about 1/2 hour of time.

I didn't do this I just snagged it from a site.

UPDATE:

I just phoned ZZP and they said that the product is currently out of production. However, in about a month they will be producing a 2nd generation model of this kit. So, I guess we'll just wait and see.
:D

Thanks for that website, though it looks like they stopped also. They could make a fortune. I say that paragraph about the 12 volt led at lightsout.org, but it sounds too simple, it might try it this weekend.

Don't know if it applies the same, but too disable the auto light feature in my Z28, I took the sensor out of the dash, Pulled the actual sensor out of the harnes, took one 2 inch peice of wire, stripped the ends then soldered them (not together) just to make them stiff, then pushed each side of the wire into each side where the sensor pins went, and walla, no Auto lights!!

I have seen people say that you have to have a resistor in place for this to work, but I just used wire!! Maybe my wire had enough resistance to it!!

Yup. Thats gotta be it.

Got it figured out, though there are some details different from the post above about the red LED.

The dome in the dash can only go down, and you have to twist it to get it down with some pliers. After you have your dash torn apart, you have to reach in through the hole where the radio is and pull the dome as close to you as possible, though mine would not reach very far. There is a clip where you can pull off the wires, though I just cut the wires and pulled the clip because I could not get the clip off while inside the dash as two hands won't fit in there. I then pushed the wires up through the hole as the directions said and rewired the clip to the wires so I can make stock again if I decide. I then put the two wires from the LED in the wire harness and taped up. You will know if the wires are put together correctly because the LED will light up. Be careful when putting the dome back in because the hole is tiny and if you drop the dome, it is about impossible to get it back out (yes speaking from experience). It took me about an hour because that dome was impossible and the above directions leave out some of these details.

OK, so I rigged the Automatic Headlights the way I want them. I would like to thank Jeverett for sending me some info on how to do it with a resistor.
Here's what I did:
Instead pulling out my Sensor in the dash which I did and couldn't get all that much slack on the wires I decided to leave that alone. Jayson sent me some info on what he did to his vehicle. Those directions called for 1.5 K resistor across cut wires off of the BCM.

Soooo, instead of cutting the wires I wired the resistor across the two wires using a switch.
1) Disconnect Battery.
2) Find BCM under Steering Column
3) Find Purple Connector on BCM
4) Disconnect Purple Connector Find the White and gray wires that are marked A4 and A6. There are actually 2 gray wires so make sure you pick the right one.
5) Take your Switch with the 1.5K resistor and tag one lead to A4 and the other lead to A6.
6) Plug the connector back into the BCM and hook your battery back up again.

Now, when your switch is closed the AutoMatic Light Sensor is disabled. When the Switch is in the Open Position your vehicle will operate naturally with the Headlights using the Sensor as their guide.
The only catch to this is that you must decide which position to have your switch in before you turn your truck on. I found that when the truck was in the run position if you changed the position of your switch it didn't make a difference.
Anyways, hope this helps all of you guys out there. Trust me this is way easier than trying to fish out the sensor of the dash.
Enjoy. :D

Hey man, I'm glad you got it to work. I had been drawing out some half-assed sketches, trying to figure out what you did, but to no avail...I failed! lol

What I want to know is why so many people dont like the automatic headlights. I mean, I personaly like not having to worry about turning them on or forgetting to turn them off when i park at night. Im sure people have a reason why they dont like them... I just what to know what they are. If you dont mind.....

p.s. the one thing I hate is when i get into someone elses car that dosent have them...I always forget to turn them on.

Two reasons I wanted control over mine:
Reason 1:
When I back out of my driveway in the morning it's a bitch to see anything as the headlights reflect off my Garage door and onto the Rear glass of the inside of the cab. A real drag considering I have a long driveway and no other light to use as a reference.

Reason 2:
Just wanted to see if I could do it.

Jayson, I'll do up a wiring diagram and post it.
:D

sounds good to me..

Hey Jayson,

Here is the diagram I drew up let me know if it's still confusing???

http://vvv.com/~evan/pimages/aheadwiring.jpg

Cheers
Evan

Hey, good diagram. I might just try it, it kinda depends. I like having total control of my lights (call me a control freak lol) coz I'm used to it in my old fords...oh well, guess it's off to buy a switch..i still have a whole pack of resistors

I hear yah, I like having the control as well. Kinda nice to be able to leave it in a "Stock" setting especially when the wife borrows the truck.
I just picked up a micro switch, like ones used on Alarms, and it mounted right next to the OBD reader on the driverside of the reader. Out of sight and out of mind.

PS --- You can switch the switch while driving. I tried it this morning. It just takes about 15 seconds for the BCM to notice the Difference.
Thanks again