Auto lights always coming on ? Hillbilly hack.

[dsimpkins]

Would transparent orange PETG filament work, the other clear stuff I have is PLA.

It probably would. I have some transparent PETG as well as black. If I get time at the weekend, I was going to take my cover out, measure it up and have a go at designing a version with a transparent top. Does the original just clip in place, and it'll just pop out with a plastic pry tool?

 

[Rolfe]

I'm beginning to wonder, from Macadoodle's experience, if any transparent material will actually let in enough light. I'm not even certain that the open design of replacement will do it, even without anything over the hole.

As Macadoodle says, the sensor in its birthday suit works perfectly.

 

[dsimpkins]

Possibly, but I'm happy to experiment. Buying a 3D printer was something I wanted to do for a long time, and lockdown gave me the excuse to get one to help keep me sane. I've found I get the most satifaction from designing something from scratch, printing it, fitting it, and seeing if it works. Had a few failures along the way, but have learned from those and modified designs until I get something that right.

 

[Rolfe]

It probably would. I have some transparent PETG as well as black. If I get time at the weekend, I was going to take my cover out, measure it up and have a go at designing a version with a transparent top. Does the original just clip in place, and it'll just pop out with a plastic pry tool?

Take a look at Siteguru's photos of the original sensor cover.

Auto lights always coming on ? Hillbilly hack.

I think I queried something similar a while ago. With Teslas, you can purchase S3XY Buttons, which are configurable and you can place them anywhere you like. It would be so useful if something similar could be conjured up for the MG4 Yes, I think they speak OBD2/Canbus and can be programmed to...

www.mgevs.com

There are clips there, which are a pain to prise free. However Pliskin's 3D files have no clips, and simply slot into the hole. This works well, and they fit perfectly and seem secure. They are also less trouble to get back off again - I simply used a blob of Blu-tak to lift it out.

There is an issue about the material to be used for the printing. The cover is in a place that will get very hot and needs to be made of something that won't warp in the heat. I don't know what the various initials stand for, but a nylon compound seems to work well.

Possibly, but I'm happy to experiment. Buying a 3D printer was something I wanted to do for a long time, and lockdown gave me the excuse to get one to help keep me sane. I've found I get the most satifaction from designing something from scratch, printing it, fitting it, and seeing if it works. Had a few failures along the way, but have learned from those and modified designs until I get something that right.

Pliskin's designs are good and fit well. The issue seems to be that the one I have, with the patterned top...

... is still not letting enough light through in dimmer conditions such as tree cover. That applies whether or not there is a transparent cover over the holes.

It's possible the completely open one would work, and one could experiment with whether a transparent fill-in would still let enough light through.

I don't know whether the one Siteguru has, which has a different pattern...

... is really working because it isn't casting a shadow in the wrong place, or whether Siteguru just hasn't tried it out in a sufficiently arboreal setting yet.

 

[Deleted member 9692]

Pliskin's designs are good and fit well. The issue seems to be that the one I have, with the patterned top...

I’m using the same design, it’s working almost perfectly for me ??‍. Haven’t driven down a road with heavy tree cover like you described but if the lights did come on then that wouldn’t worry me. The only difference is I don’t have any plastic cover inside yet.

 

[flobbernoggin]

I've bought and printed the 04 cover, it's a lot better, and I've yet to notice it not work.
At the very least it's cutting the changeover between light and dark on my infotainment screen down drastically.

Unfortunately I can only really print in PLA and I'm too lazy to get my printer calibrated to the point where I'm happy with the result on show in my car.

So I've got one professionally printed, I'm going to see how it works.

I'm not too bothered about dust on the sensor, it can be wiped away or air blown.
I'm also not sure the clips are needed, the 3d design is of excellent fit, well worth the money.

 

[Rolfe]

I’m using the same design, it’s working almost perfectly for me ??‍. Haven’t driven down a road with heavy tree cover like you described but if the lights did come on then that wouldn’t worry me. The only difference is I don’t have any plastic cover inside yet.

I thought it was working perfectly at first, but what happened in Medwyn Road yesterday afternoon caused me to re-evaluate. I was driving down the hill on my way back from the recycling point when the lights suddenly blazed on right into the face of another motorist who was driving uphill (whose lights were, unsurprisingly, off). I was deadly embarrassed and scrambling for the OFF switch.

As far as I can see, it's doing the same whether or not there is plastic over the holes. I sat at the side of the road under the trees for a wee while putting the new cover on and off, with and without the plastic, and every time, on came the lights as soon as I put the cover on, and off they went when I took it off.

It is genuinely better than the original cover, a LOT better, because before that the lights would have been coming on and off all the way from my house to the Golf Club, because there are trees everywhere. Now it's only happening in the shadiest part, which is Medwyn Road. But it's still not right.

I've bought and printed the 04 cover, it's a lot better, and I've yet to notice it not work.
At the very least it's cutting the changeover between light and dark on my infotainment screen down drastically.

Unfortunately I can only really print in PLA and I'm too lazy to get my printer calibrated to the point where I'm happy with the result on show in my car.

So I've got one professionally printed, I'm going to see how it works.

I'm not too bothered about dust on the sensor, it can be wiped away or air blown.
I'm also not sure the clips are needed, the 3d design is of excellent fit, well worth the money.

I really, really liked the 04 cover, which is the one I have, but it's not doing the job as well as I want. I'll still be nervous that the car is suddenly going to flash someone out of the blue.

I'm thinking of trying the 01 one, which is completely open, in the hope that restricting light from the side won't matter so long as there are no shadows on the sensor from above. Can you guys link me to the company where you've got the nylon compound items printed? The material in the one I had from CrawfyP seems absolutely perfect.

I agree about the clips, their absence is a positive feature. The covers fit snugly and are unlikely to come out of their own accord, but they're easy to remove if you want to change them, or try a different design. The hassle of getting the original out is something I don't want to go through every time I want to try something different!

I'm inclined to agree about the dust aspect. I'm more interested in removing the raw visual effect of the naked green PCB of the sensor from the fascia, which the 01 design will do. It will also protect the sensor from casual knocks. If it still works with a plastic insert then great, but I'd be prepared to leave it without the insert if that was what it took to get it to work.

 

[flobbernoggin]

So having trialed the 04 cover printed professionally.

It's a good cover, but not perfect. With areas with trees it will activate.
It's an overall improvement, but perhaps the 01 would be better.

The printing quality was decent, not quite injection moulding. But enough so you wouldn't notice it.

 

[Rolfe]

I'm going to go for the 01 too. Though I'm getting the impression that in bright sunshine even the stark naked sensor will play up.

 

[siteguru]

I've cut out the cross strips in my 3D printed version and fitted a new piece of Sellotape - I'll see how that goes.

 

[Rolfe]

Keep us posted. I still think there's something in the contrast idea. It's the move from bright sunshine to shade that seems to trigger it most.

Maybe someone with a light meter could tell us whether it's actually darker under the bridge on a sunny day!

 

[Rolfe]

I drove up to (just beyond) Dunblane and back today. Sunny, but the sky was hazy in places, so not as bright as it's possible to get. A702, A720, M8, M9, A9.

No trouble at all. The lights didn't come on once. Not going under bridges and not among trees. Then in the evening I went to orchestra practice and the car, parked in a shady spot, lit up as soon as I came out and unlocked it, at about 9.55. Lighting up time was 9.57 so can't really complain about that. It still seemed very bright when I got out on to the open road, but other cars had their lights on too, and it was dim under the trees.

This was with the sensor completely open, no cover at all. I'll keep it like this for a bit and see what happens.

 

[Yorkshire Hillbilly]

I can confirm that the solid one printed in clear abs works a treat. All but bridges / underpasses and tunnels turn the lights on now.

I used an old credit card to get the original cover off. Will post a photo soon as I'm back from Bulgaria.

I used these files MG4 Light Sensor (think I paid 99p) and I got Surface Scan to print and post em (5 prints for £15 +£5 p&p I think)

The opaque one looked and worked the best. Headlights hardly ever come on in the day now. At dusk and dawn it's a bit weird as they headlights can't make their mind up.

 

[Rolfe]

Do you mean the transparent one? Because what you typed doesn't make sense.

I am not getting the lights coming on going under bridges at the moment (no cover at all) and I'm reluctant to fit anything that will compromise that. I also haven't yet seen problems at dusk, although I haven't actually been driving at the tipping point so I can't be sure.

I'm thinking about the one that is completely open at the top, maybe. The cross-hatched one was a lot better than the original, but lights were still coming on in daylight where there was a lot of tree shade.

 

[szzz]

Anecdotal, but mine aren't sensitive at all. If anything I had to put them on when the storm clouds went over. The BMW in front that I followed under trees earlier last week was way more sensitive, although mine did come on a short time after.

Only had mine a week mind, maybe they've done something with a newer batch?

 

[Rolfe]

THAT'S interesting. Maybe they have! I think they were getting a lot of complaints.

I'm wondering now if that was why my dealer seemed to be pushing me to choose either light or dark for the infotainment screen rather than setting it on auto. If the lights go on inappropriately, well, maybe it's a slight annoyance, but if the infotainment screen also changes, and keeps flipping back and forth, that's another matter. People are going to get annoyed.

 

[Ian Key]

THAT'S interesting. Maybe they have! I think they were getting a lot of complaints.

I'm wondering now if that was why my dealer seemed to be pushing me to choose either light or dark for the infotainment screen rather than setting it on auto. If the lights go on inappropriately, well, maybe it's a slight annoyance, but if the infotainment screen also changes, and keeps flipping back and forth, that's another matter. People are going to get annoyed.

I found one of the problems with the screen quickly switching between light and dark during start up as the car decided if the lights were on or off is that every now and again it gives up and the screen remains blank apart from the bar at the very top and the icons down the side. Rebooting by pressing the home for a few seconds button reset it.

 

[Rolfe]

That's something I haven't experienced.

 

[NewMG4me]

I found one of the problems with the screen quickly switching between light and dark during start up as the car decided if the lights were on or off is that every now and again it gives up and the screen remains blank apart from the bar at the very top and the icons down the side. Rebooting by pressing the home for a few seconds button reset it.

I have my screen set to dark only. I was following a BMW X5 this morning and both our lights came on as we went under some trees - its not just us !

 

[Yorkshire Hillbilly]

Do you mean the transparent one? Because what you typed doesn't make sense.

opaque,
adjective: not able to be seen through; not transparent

It's kind of like looking through a plastic bag. Light comes through but you can't actually see anything.