Hey everyone, I do some night hunting from my 2018 Explorer, but pulling into fields with the LED DRLs on is not ideal. There doesn’t seem to be a way to completely go dark. I’ve tried messing around with ForScan but couldn’t figure it out without going deep into the “as-built” coding. Even the dome lights stay on, so I’ve resorted to unplugging them. I’m considering adding a kill switch to the fuse as a last resort, but any help is appreciated!
I could never get the lights fully off on my 2017 either. It was a hassle, especially when drive-ins were popular around here in 2020. I even worked at a Ford dealership, and no one there could figure it out.
@Alix
It’s a pain for sure! I’m in Ohio, and we have the most drive-in theaters in the country, so it’s definitely an issue.
Holt said:
@Alix
It’s a pain for sure! I’m in Ohio, and we have the most drive-in theaters in the country, so it’s definitely an issue.
Hello from Kentucky! I wish I had a better solution for you 
You might want to look into dark mode or police mode. You should also be able to disable the DRLs completely.
Poe said:
You might want to look into dark mode or police mode. You should also be able to disable the DRLs completely.
I’ve got dark mode enabled, and the switch set to off, but the DRLs still come on until I stop and put it in park.
@Holt
Dang, that’s tricky. I was hoping the Explorer had more options like the F-series trucks do. The only spreadsheet I found was limited. On the trucks, you can choose different lights for DRLs or turn them off completely.
@Poe
Thanks anyway, I appreciate the help!
Poe said:
You might want to look into dark mode or police mode. You should also be able to disable the DRLs completely.
Dark mode only affects the door lights.
Poe said:
You might want to look into dark mode or police mode. You should also be able to disable the DRLs completely.
You might be able to reprogram the smart junction box (BCM). Police Explorers have that feature. You’d need a bidirectional scan tool though.