'99 silverado headlights

racer0175 · July 17, 2002

Winters not here yet, but i plow snow, this will be the first year with this truck.

one thing we always do is turn off our headlights and drive with just our running lights on. It cuts down on eye strain big time.

I know from reading posts here you can disable it on '00-02, but how about the 99''s I have the new body style...

could they reprogram the computer to think its a 2000????

any ideas???

5.3LSilverado01 · July 17, 2002

Try this, worked on my 98 S10.

Put on the parking brake just enough to get the Parking Brake light on the dash to light up, but no brakes applied. Turn off truck, turn back on, you should have no auto-lights at all, until you take off the P brake.

gmcjoe · July 17, 2002

There is a kit from R & D Truck Accessories [ http://truckautoaccessories.com/ ] others have installed a resistor in place of the sensor in the dash to disable the auto headlamps.

Tweeter400 · July 17, 2002

I know on the newer models you can override them by pressing the dome overide button 4 times in less than 5 sec.

This only last while the truck is on. If you turn it off, then you have to do it again when you turn it back on.

gmcjoe · July 17, 2002

I know on the newer models you can override them by pressing the dome overide button 4 times in less than 5 sec.
This only last while the truck is on. If you turn it off, then you have to do it again when you turn it back on.

That works on the 2000 + trucks. The 99's were left behind with that little fix :angry:

MarkD · July 17, 2002

I used to use the parking brake trick on my Camaro, and it worked quite well in the staging lanes. When I tried it on my '99 Z71, it sounded a very anoying chime ("You're Parking Brake is On") whenever I put it in gear.

MountaineerTom · July 17, 2002

Here's a link to the install of the R&D kit that gmcjoe gave the link for. It cost a little money, but I like it. It gives you the choice of Auto Headlights or Manual Control all with a pus of the button. Some have done a similar "free", or very close to it, and wired in a switch as well, but I'm not sure how they did it.

Auto Headlight Override

Good luck.

silverado man · July 17, 2002

Here is something that I found on while on another forum.

There are two ways that you can do this procedure. The first one I have listed is how I did it
: the first time not long after I bought my truck. The second way I have listed is how I did it a

: few weeks ago just to see which way would be easier. I personally like the second way better,

: but read both ways that way you will know everything that needs to be done.

: Things needed are: One 1.5K ohm 1/2 watt resistor (Radio Shack, $0.49 for a package of 5),

: electrical tape, pliers, and having small hands is a plus. A small socket set with ratchets &

: screwdrivers will come in handy too. Another nice tool to have is a dental pick. It makes

: unplugging the connectors a lot easier.

: Here is the first way:

: #1. First thing to do is to pull off the face of the dash and get it out of the way. It just pulls

: right off and snaps back on, no screws, bolts, or anything like that. It helps to lower the

: steering wheel all the way down and if you have an automatic, put the shifter all the way down

: into 1st. Be sure to set the parking brake, just in case! Next, pull out the radio, (push down

: on the two black tabs that are kind of sticking out on each side & pull the radio towards you at

: the same time), and unplug the connector and antennae and set it out of the way. You should

: be able to see the bottom of the ambient light sensor that is near the front of the dash,(it has

: one gray wire and one white wire running to it). Try to twist the sensor to unscrew it from the

: dash, (I had to use pliers from the top side on mine). Once loose, pull the sensor down from

: the hole in the dash,(it can not be pulled through the top), unplug it from the the connector,

: (not easy), and remove. Don't drop it or it might be lost forever down in the dash

: somewhere. Now take the connector plug-in (the one with the gray & white wire) and route it

: up through the hole in the middle of the dash for easier access to it. Now you can plug in the

: resistor into the connector, (I found that it works best to fold the wires of the resistor over

: itself once to be sure that the wires are making contact to the connector), and tape it up with

: electrical tape. Be sure to test it out to make damn sure that it works, (hint: Release the

: parking brake or else you won’t know if it is working correctly.). If it is not installed

: correctly, the headlights & taillights will come on whenever the truck is turned on, day or

: night. What you do next is up to you. You can either re-install the unplugged light sensor to

: fill in the hole in the dash or leave it out and have a hole in the dash. Put the radio and dash

: back in and your done!

: I've had mine wired this way for months and have had no problems at all, it doesn't get hot or

: anything and I have total control of the headlights.

:

: The second way to do this is…….

: #2. Another way to do this is to remove the whole upper dash unit. It really wasn't that hard

: to do and it makes it ALOT easier to get to the ambient light sensor. You do not have to

: remove the radio if you do it this way.

: First thing I did was remove the face plate cover that covers the radio, gauges, etc. Then

: removed the 5 nut screws that hold the dash cover to the instrument panel. Took out the

: screws that are on each side of dash, (in the door jam areas, covered by the fuse panels).

: Removed the plastic A-pillar covers, (they just pop out from the top, be sure to put the metal

: clips back on the cover before re-installation). Got a butter knife and popped out the 2 A/C

: vents on the passenger side and removed the 2 screws that are in the holes there. Pulled out

: the "handle" that is directly above the passenger side airbag, (if you look inside the A/C vent

: holes you will see a white plastic "clip" on each side that is holding the steel rods of the

: handle, push these in slightly and pull the whole handle out). Double-check for any screws or

: clips, just in case I forgot to mention some.

: Now the hard part. You have to pull hard, straight back on the dash cover to get it out. I

: started on the driver side and worked my way to the passenger side. I put one hand between

: the bottom of the windshield and the front part of the dash in the driver side corner between

: the windshield & bottom of the A-pillar and pulled it straight back to "unclip" it from the

: metal that is holding it there. You have to use a little force to get it out, but you will hear and

: feel it pop when it gets out of the first clip. There are 5 or 6 of the clips that the front part of

: the dash needs to be “unclipped” from. There are also 3 small clips that hold the dash to the

: top part of the passenger side airbag cover, they don't take much force to be popped out. The

: airbag stays in place. Don't pull too hard or something might break that you don't want to

: break. After you unclipped all of them, you can pull the dash back a few inches and flip it up a

: little bit to get to the light sensor and unscrew it from the hole, (twist it a 1/4 turn). Then you

: can take the whole dash completely out of the truck.

: Unplug the light sensor from the connector with the white & gray wires. Put in the resistor,

: tape it up, test it out and put everything back in the way it came out. Putting the dash back in

: can be a little tricky. Make sure everything is lined up right and pop it back into place. Put

: all the screws back in and snap everything else back on and your done!

: I wish I would have done it this way the first time, it is alot easier than fighting under the dash

: trying to unplug that damn sensor. You don't even have to take the radio out! I didn't break

: anything while doing this and I was kind of rough with it at first because I wasn't sure how to

: pull the dash out. It took me a little over an hour to do this, but I could probably do it in 15

: minutes now that I know what to do.

: Some truck owners have had to use different kinds of resistors, (different amperages,

: wattages, Ohms, etc.), to be able to disable the auto headlights. Most owners, including

: myself, have had the best luck with the resistor mentioned previously.

: Some folks have added a toggle switch, or something similar, to the wires of the light sensor.

: This way they can choose between having the auto headlights operational or have manual

: control over them. I have not done this yet, but I will include some instructions of how I was

: told to do this. These instruction were given to me by Chris Leigh, (Thanks Chris!). Here

: they are:

: “Neil,

: Just get whatever type of two wire switch pleases you. Anything from the auto parts store will

: do, if they don't have anything you like try a Radio Shack. Hook the resistor to the one of the

: contacts on the switch, hook the other side of the switch to either of the sensor wires (white

: or grey). [important note: If you solder rather than crimp connect be sure to use some type of

: heat sink so that all the heat from soldering doesn't go into the resistor.] When the switch is

: closed it'll work as it does now (manual mode). Open the switch and it should go into auto

: mode. Mine was a little different (I have a 99 Silverado 2500) in that mine required two

: resistors to allow for manul light operation and therefore the switch setup was a tiny bit

: different. What I laid out for you is the setup for a 'one resistor bypass'. Mine has a bit of a

: delay from the time you change the switch position to when the lights actually change mode. I

: think this is something they build into the light relay to avoid inappropriate on-off action by

: the lights……Chris”

racer0175 · July 17, 2002

I have one word for all you guys....awesome

although i think this is gonna cost me some cash...when i was at the mod page i saw the thing to make the doors unlock...definitly buying that to, and that switch looks nice, like it came from the factory....come to think of it tom you are gonna cost me alot of cash...i have been eyeing up that z71 sticker for months....

racer0175 · July 17, 2002

i wonder what the part numbers are for the different switches that chevy uses in those spaces. you could do it the cheap way with a nice look.....you guessed it i saw the price

still might do it though..hey tom what does the switch say....auto headlamps off???

MountaineerTom · July 17, 2002

....come to think of it tom you are gonna cost me alot of cash...

The switch says "Auto Headlight" above the button, and "Off" below it, with a small amber light next to it. When the truck is in Auto Headlight mode, the light is off. When you press the button, you have manual control of the headlights, and the light next to "Off" lights up. (I think I got that right. )

There is a little delay in between activating the switch. If it's night, and your already in "Auto" mode, then press the button to go to "manual" mode, in about 10 seconds or so, the lights will go off and you can turn them on with the knob.

Even though it cost a good bit, I like the factory look of it. And it, along with all of R&D's stuff I've got, came with very good instructions.