# Headlights on in the car wash. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 30, 2003, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/headlights-on-in-the-car-wash/191814 "2003-07-30T02:30:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/headlights-on-in-the-car-wash/191814/1 "2003-07-30T02:30:18Z")
Why? I was at the carwash today and was reminded of something that has perplexed me for years. Some people turn their headlights on when going through the wash. Not cars with flip-ups, but with regular headlights. A _lot_] of people. So c’mon, fess up. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/headlights-on-in-the-car-wash/191814/2 "2003-07-30T04:42:20Z")
Well, some of us have DRL (Daytime Running Lights) which are essentially the headlights being always on when the vehicle’s motor is on. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/headlights-on-in-the-car-wash/191814/3 "2003-07-30T05:20:18Z")
It’s pretty dark in there. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/headlights-on-in-the-car-wash/191814/4 "2003-07-30T05:34:14Z")
A lot of headlights turn on automatically when it gets dark. The headlights on my old car would turn on if I went under a long enough tunnel. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/headlights-on-in-the-car-wash/191814/5 "2003-07-30T23:01:29Z")
I wish I didn’t notice stuff like this. It’s not DRL’s or auto on (which I’ve also had) because I see them turn on as the car begins to enter the wash. I think maybe **friedo** ’s nailed it. Some people simply get spooked. I’ve known people who want their lights, headlights and all, on when they’re stopped with the engine off. Like in a parking lot, or at the curb. Mangeorge, amateur urban anthropologist. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/headlights-on-in-the-car-wash/191814/6 "2003-07-30T23:56:43Z")
Back in the day, it was a signal to apply wax. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/headlights-on-in-the-car-wash/191814/7 "2003-07-31T02:06:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ltfire \* > \*\*Back in the day, it was a signal to apply wax. \*\* Hmmm… More research is needed. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/headlights-on-in-the-car-wash/191814/8 "2003-07-31T03:21:27Z")
Yup, it’s “Lights on for hot wax.” Always messes them up at the car wash I go to; my Volvo’s headlights are set to go on when the car is turned on, and off when the car goes off. Turning the knob on the dash just shuts down the dash lights. (Yay for free hot wax!!) ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/headlights-on-in-the-car-wash/191814/9 "2003-07-31T10:47:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by postcards \* > **Yup, it’s "Lights on for hot wax."** Huh? Is there some type of sensor that automatically applies hot wax if your headlights are on? Or is it intended that if you pay that extra $1, the attendant turns on a different light that triggers the sensor? And finally, is this still in use? It seems they’re pretty automated now. On that note… is there a difference in which was I select? I can pay either $3, $5, $7, or $9 for a wash. But when I get there, I never, ever see anyone pressing different buttons or throwing different levers for different service, other than the $3 wash doesn’t give me the green tire/wheel cleaner stuff (a manual, non-automated operation). ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/headlights-on-in-the-car-wash/191814/10 "2003-07-31T14:05:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Balthisar \* > **Huh? Is there some type of sensor that automatically applies hot wax if your headlights are on? …** The 747s are flying rather low today. Balthisar - He was joking. Many people call it a ‘whoose’ as in whoose, it went right over my head. Not surprising when you consider all the different cultures that visit this board. So don’t feel bad, happens to all of us. (Or did I just get a double whoose?:p) Makes sense that many of the cars have auto-on headlights, so they just come on when it gets a bit dark. ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/headlights-on-in-the-car-wash/191814/11 "2003-07-31T21:15:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mangeorge \* > \*\*Hmmm… > More research is needed. \*\* I said back in the day, those days being the sixties. Local car washes consisted of a covered, one story building in which, at the entrance, you drove over a bump, a light told you to stop and put car in neutral. A track system then began pulling the car through the building. Initial rinse, soap, wash with brushes, final rinse, and wax. If you had paid for the wax at the entrance, you had been told to put your lights on by the attendant. I don’t remember if a manual switch was thrown or not, but if your lights were on, then the wax sprayed onto your car , and, finally, you were outside, where 5 or 6 guys would dry and polish the car with bath towels. A tip bucket was always at the exit. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/headlights-on-in-the-car-wash/191814/12 "2003-07-31T21:20:20Z")
No _Whoosh_ intended; I was serious. It’s still pretty much the way **ltfire** put it. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/headlights-on-in-the-car-wash/191814/13 "2003-07-31T21:59:54Z")
No explanation needed, kiddies. I remember “back in the day” quite well, thank you very much. 😉 But professional car washes were, like dinner at Denny’s, a luxury. All I mean by “research” is that next time I’m at the car wash, I’ll pay closer attention. You guys don’t actually let them put that crap on your car, do you. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/headlights-on-in-the-car-wash/191814/14 "2003-07-31T23:58:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mangeorge \* > \*\*No explanation needed, kiddies. I remember “back in the day” quite well, thank you very much. 😉 But professional car washes were, like dinner at Denny’s, a luxury. > All I mean by “research” is that next time I’m at the car wash, I’ll pay closer attention. > You guys don’t actually let them put that crap on your car, do you. :smack: \*\* I told this story in another thread, so I’ll make it brief. The very LAST time I have ever driven through an automatic car wash was in 1971. I drove my 1971 Dodge Challenger R/T, with 28 miles on the odometer, just a half hour from the dealership, into the aforementioned carwash, and had the car totaled by the steel wash mechinism above me, it came crashing down on top of the car. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![emmaliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2003, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/headlights-on-in-the-car-wash/191814/15 "2003-08-01T00:15:43Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by ltfire_ \*\* I told this story in another thread, so I’ll make it brief. The very LAST time I have ever driven through an automatic car wash was in 1971. I drove my 1971 Dodge Challenger R/T, with 28 miles on the odometer, just a half hour from the dealership, into the aforementioned carwash, and had the car totaled by the steel wash mechinism above me, it came crashing down on top of the car.\*\* OMG! Link! Must have link! Please? ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2003, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/headlights-on-in-the-car-wash/191814/16 "2003-08-01T03:01:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ltfire \* > \*\*I told this story in another thread, so I’ll make it brief. The very LAST time I have ever driven through an automatic car wash was in 1971. I drove my 1971 Dodge Challenger R/T, with 28 miles on the odometer, just a half hour from the dealership, into the aforementioned carwash, and had the car totaled by the steel wash mechinism above me, it came crashing down on top of the car. :eek: \*\* Shit! ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2003, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/headlights-on-in-the-car-wash/191814/17 "2003-08-01T03:13:07Z")
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