guttervamp

I just purchased a cherry 2003 Monte Carlo SS to replace my ancient Jeep, and I'm loving the heck out of the car -- it's easily the nicest car I've ever owned!

However, the car didn't come with a manual, and since it's also the newest car I've ever owned, I'm still getting used to a few things -- like the daytime running lights.

Could any of you fine folks please tell me what each of the three headlight switch positions are for on the Monte? I think I've got them figured out as...

All the way out -- full "regular" headlights
Halfway in -- parking lights only
All the way in -- daytime running lights

I've been able to puzzle these out tonight, from what meager information I've been able to find online.

The reason I'm asking is because while driving home tonight -- with my headlight switch pushed all the way in -- I got shined with the brights of an oncoming car, and my headlights went out for a few moments!

The parking lights remained on, and then the headlights came back just fine after a few seconds. It didn't do this for any of the other approaching cars, just the one with the really bright lights.

Is this common with daytime running lights? While driving at night, it'd be best to have the headlight switch pulled all the way out -- in "full" headlight mode -- correct?

It was an unnerving few moments with my headlights out, and I'd like to avoid it, so any knowledge about the daytime running lights and headlight switch positions would be greatly appreciated!

And my apologies if this is a dumb question -- I've only ever owned and driven vehicles where the headlights were strictly on and off, so THREE headlight switch positions is something new to me.

Also -- is there anywhere I could get hold of a manual for my car without losing an arm and a leg over it? I checked the Chevy website, but they're not offering downloadable manuals for anything older than 2008s, so I'm SOL there.

Thank you in advance -- I appreciate your time!

taz3

We've had day time running lights where I live for a while now and they do recommend you turn the switch to the ON position for night driving. I've always left my lights in the auto position though (on all models). They also shouldn't respond that quickly though, maybe the sensor needs replacing.