The headlights on during the daytime are actually DRLs - daytime running lights - and are supposed to be powered in such a way that they look a little more orange-y. You can tell that they're operating as DRLs by noticing that the running lights (tail, side, and front park) are not on.

"Auto" is a momentary position. When you start the car the Gen7 is in Auto Headlight mode. Rotating the switch to the rear (against the spring) turns off headlights if they were on or kills the DRLs. If you rotate it one click forward you get parking lights, and 2 clicks is full headlights. Rotating it to the 1st or 2nd click also puts it back in Auto mode when you manually turn them back off. To kill the Auto mode you'll have to rotate it backwards against the spring again.

If Auto mode has been cancelled, rotating it backward will turn Auto mode back on.

Call a dealer to see if they need to reflash the BCM to recognize the new switch. I would think not, but if you replace the BPPS - brake pedal position sensor, aka "brake light switch" - it'll need to be reprogrammed. <rant> Nice feature for something that is so necessary for safety! </rant>

Mine work as above. If yours don't, maybe I'll go out and unplug mine so I can get control back from the flippin' BCM!

 

Thanks to Daily Driven, It prompted me to try an additional action to get the DRL (daytime running lights) working. I am now 99% sure they were not working after I installed an aftermarket multifunction switch from Rockauto. Today I pulled four fuses for the headlights, hi beam and low beam, left and right. After pulling the fuses I turned the ignition to On for ten minutes or so. I turned the ignition off and replaced the four fuses, and then turned the ignition on for ten minutes. I was discouraged when the DRL lights did not come on. When driving I could see that the DRL lights were on when they reflected off of other vehicles. I stopped and got out and checked and no DRL. It turns out it does not come on in Park! I feel sure that that was not the reason I did not notice them before and I am sure that the fuse pulling reestablished DRL. 99% sure, ha!

 

Don't put aftermarket crap parts in your car. You can get the right multifunction switch brand new off Amazon or ebay for dirt cheap. There will be no compatibility issues. I replaced mine in my 2009 last year and it worked perfectly straight out of the box.

 

In Canada the DRLs are required to work differently than in the US. In the US they work only when the trans in not in P.

 

The multifunction switch from Rockauto is excellent but once I began having issues with the car's computers accepting it I thought the extra money for OEM would be worth it. I feel sure that the DRL were not working after the installation and I noticed it just as soon as I pulled and reinstalled headlight fuses and drove the car. It was pretty obvious seeing the headlights reflect off of the car in front of me. I don't know why the DRL was an issue and nothing else with the multifunction switch was. I talked with the service manager of the shop that does my repairs that I cannot do and he said it should be plug and play. He also buys OEM parts only for the shop's repairs. In any case I am glad to have the multifunction switch working 100% and I will buy OEM parts in the future and take the hit. Saving labor is the biggest benefit. I thank this forum for all the help. It added some information that I was lacking and gave me a push to get the job finished.

 

The OE switch is only $30. The prices are generally competitive unless you're paying dealership mark-up.

 

Hey, just in time.
The manual part of the automatic headlight switch doesn't turn on any of the the headlights or system when it is not dark, nor does it turn off the headlights when it is dark and I have turned off the car and wish to turn off the automatic lights manually. The automatic part of the system works just fine, however. How hard is it to replace the stalk? Where can I find easy-to-follow directions?
Thanks.

 

You might find a helpful video on YouTube.