I am currently posted to Khartoum, Sudan. I currently drive a 2009 Toyota Landcruiser.
Apparently, (as in many 3rd world countries) the Sudanese are CONVINCED that you will waste gas if you turn your lights on while driving. In fact, they do not turn their lights on until it is pitch black outside (which makes night driving extra fun). Therefore, they try to help me daily by pointing out that my lights are on!
- They help me by honking and flashing their lights at me as I drive;
- They help me by swerving close to my car so they can point at the lights in the front of the vehicle as they drive;
- They help me by cutting me off in traffic so that they can illustrate to me with handsignals that my lights are on;
- They help me by stepping out into the road in front of my car, doing the “flashing 5 fingers” gesture so that I realize that I have left my lights on;
- The police help me by flashing their lights at me in case I was not aware that they were on; and
God help me if they ever find out that I drive around with the AC on…
I’d try removing the DRL fuse. The owner’s manual should have a list of fuses, and there may be a diagram on the fuse box cover. There will be more than one fuse box location.
This can’t be the only vehicle in Khartoum with DRLs. Don’t the local mechanics know how to disable them?
Hammer.
Looking at the schematic of a 97-2000 Camry – which may or may not be similar, it looks like pulling the DRL fuse might work, or might have the perverse effect of disabling the normal headlights. Difficult for me to tell as relay logic makes my head hurt. If the fuse doesn’t do it, on the Camry, removing the DRL resistor by unplugging (if that’s possible) or cutting one of the wires to the DRL resistor probably will do it. The fuse, incidentally, is marked DRL No2 on my schematic, but I can’t find DRL fuse No1. I infer that there may be two DRL fuses that may do different things if they are removed.
The intent of all the wiring seems to be that with the headlights on, a relay closes and connects them directly to ground with normal intensity. With the headlights off, the relay opens and the headlights are left connected to ground through the DRL resistor which drops the current through the bulbs and makes them dimmer for daylight running.
Your highlander may be different of course. Good luck.
On a Toyota Matrix, if you start the car with the parking break engaged, the running lights will not come on.
On my '05 Camry the light switch has a position that turns everything off no matter what. The notches on the switch do not align in this position, they rather align in the DRL position. Have you checked your owner’s manual.
Fun place to be, ha Sudan! Now you couldn’t have found anything other than a Landcruiser for this gas conscious people? Sorry couldn’t help it.
‘I am currently posted to Khartoum, Sudan.’ Posted? In what capacity?
Yeah, but won’t they come on when you release the park brake??
No. They will not come back on until you re-cycle the key with the parking break off.
I have nothing to add to the posted suggestions beyond perhaps pulling the plugs on the back of those lamps.
But I want to thank you for serving. No man serves in the military without my sincerest thanks and appreciation.
Come home safely.
I have seen the same question asked before, but I believe you are the first person to offer a sane reason for wanting to do it. Sorry I can offer a suggestion, but I can offer my thanks for serving our country.
“but I can offer my thanks for serving our country.”
How does being “posted” to Sudan serve our country? By issuing Visas to Sudanese immigrants? Or making sure the Coca-Cola bottling plant is running smoothly?
Being “posted” is a common military term. If the OP is not in the military than my thanks still goes out to him for making the sacrifice of being away from his family to perform an assignment in a problem area.
If your comment is a criticism of our miltary personnel being willing to perform unpleasant tasks with which you disagree than you should hang your head in shame. You should also know that your comments are being made to a veteran who served during Viet Nam, helped bomb Hanoi during Operation Linebacker in '72-'73, and returned to be called a “baby burner”.
Perhaps you’re that guy that threw a beer can at me as I marched in Uniform through Chicago in '70?
I’m not going to do this. It upsets me too much. My thanks go out to the OP.