Idiotic question re: tail lights

I tried searching but the terms are so broad that it's useless.

 

I've got an 07 LGT wagon, and I had some electrical work done today.

 

In the daylight, it's pretty difficult to see but I just noticed today that when the car is on, the tail lamps are illuminated regardless of whether I've got the headlights (and/or fogs) or just the DRLs on up front.

 

The brakes light up normally, the turn signals work fine, etc., so I guess it isn't a huge issue, but I'm curious whether we've got some sort of DRL equivalent going on and I simply never noticed it before, or if there's something amiss with my electrical system.

 

Thanks!

happened to me once. turned off the car after arriving from the hospital. locked the car and the parklights and tails were still on. turns out i accidentally flicked the light switch on top of the steering wheel column while resetting the tripmeter

That was the first thing I thought of (I've been made a fool by the parking lights before--the angle at which I have my steering wheel completely hides the switch) but that isn't it.

 

Or, more precisely, toggling it has no effect on the rear bulb situation...

what type of electrical work did you have done??

I had an auxiliary horn put in. The stock horn is left unmolested, but now I've got a little red button under the dash that makes an awful lot of noise for when circumstances require it.

 

In the past, I've also had my laser jammer, radar detector, Cheetah mirror, CB, and GPS unit hard-wired in.

 

It's possible that this issue developed at some time in the past when the other gadgets were installed but that I'm just now getting to notice it. After all, I spend very little time looking at the rear of my car while it's running...

 

I'm not sure if this is some sort of DRL kind of thing (though my buddy, who is infinitely more knowledgeable about cars and Subarus than I'll ever be, says that it isn't), or, as is more likely the case, that there's some sort of wiring issue.

 

His advice was that as long as there aren't any battery draining issues and all my other lights continue to function properly, that I might as well just leave it alone.

 

Basically, what it amounts to is that when my car is on, my tail lights appear as if I've got my headlights on, regardless of whether I actually do or if I've just got the DRLs on.

 

For the record, I am completely and totally mechanically incompetent. All of the above has been done by paid professionals, no matter how simple the job might have been for non-ignoramuses.

I think you've just never noticed. They changed the DRL system in '07 so that the corner lights come on with the DRL's as well.

I think you've just never noticed. They changed the DRL system in '07 so that the corner lights come on with the DRL's as well.

 

Outstanding! That's what I was hoping was the case, though I was beginning to give up on that possibility.

 

Thanks!