What the Headlights function does
The Nexus R5 can switch your headlamps directly, so the lighting becomes part of the same system as the engine. Wiring the lamps themselves is covered on the headlights wiring page. This article is about the settings in NSP.
Choosing how the lights are switched
| Inputs setting | How it behaves | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| None/Always On | Lights turn on with the ignition input | Race cars that must run lights at all times |
| 1 Input | Each press steps through Off, Parking Light Output and Headlights | A single CAN keypad button |
| 2 Input | One input for parking lights, another for headlights | Two switches or two keypad buttons |
If you use a Haltech CAN keypad, match the button mode in Connections to how you want the button to feel. For single press mode, set Button Mode to Momentary. For dual press mode, set it to Push On / Push Off.
Disable Condition
Headlights draw a lot of current, and the moment you need the most battery is while cranking. This setting decides when the ECU turns the lights off to help:
- Never: the lights stay available whenever the VCU is powered.
- While Cranking: the lights drop out only while the starter is turning.
- Until Engine Run: the lights stay off until the engine is running on the Base Fuel Table.
On a car with a small race battery, we usually pick one of the last two.
High beams and flashing
Enable High Beams to add a high beam output that one input can switch. Once that's on, you can also set up High Beam Flashing, a passing signal that flashes the high beams from an input.
- High Beam Flash Frequency: how fast they flash, from 2 to 10 Hz.
- High Beam Flash Duration: how long the flashing lasts after the input is pressed, from 2 to 10 seconds.
Showing it on the dash
The Nexus shares headlight status with Haltech CAN displays, so a dash such as the IC-7 can show the driver when the headlights are on.
Use a keypad button with a light indicator for the headlights, or show the status on the dash. On a car with no factory dash lamps, it's easy to forget the lights are on.
