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Glare Free light operation

Firn

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Glare-free lights, or matrix headlights, are a total game changer! While you might not notice much difference in the city, they really shine (pun intended) on remote highways and two-lane roads. As a lighting enthusiast (I even build my own flashlights—one of which is a customized 18,000-lumen "pocket" light), this feature was one of the things I was most excited about.

Not long ago, I did a 2,000-mile trip over a weekend, and honestly, watching the headlights in action kept me going at 2 AM on my way home. The way the lights blackout around a vehicle in front of you while still illuminating the ditches on both sides with full high beams? Incredible. At one point, I’m pretty sure a couple of cars were following me just to enjoy my lights!

In short, the high beam is broken into multiple zones. It selectively turns off certain areas while keeping others lit. When you're following someone, the system uses low beams directly in front but maintains high beams to either side. For oncoming traffic, it dims zones as cars approach and then lights them back up once they've passed. It even works on divided highways, dimming for traffic on the other side while keeping your lane and the right shoulder fully illuminated.

From what I can tell, it uses the windshield camera and light intensity sensors to decide when to shut off certain zones. Interestingly, it doesn't trigger just from semi-trailer marker lights over a hill, but it will for tail lights. It's pretty good at avoiding reflections, though any bright light source will cause it to dim that zone.

Road signs? That’s where it gets interesting. The system seems to "test" the reflection by fluttering the light: it dims, brightens, dims again, and if it picks up the same pattern, it goes full high beam again. Pretty clever, actually!

I did notice that when any zones are darkened, the overall brightness of the lights dips a bit, but once all zones are active, the entire beam gets slightly brighter. My guess is that this reduces glare for oncoming drivers.

The only downside I’ve experienced is when passing semi-trucks. If their marker lights aren’t strong, the high beams can flare up just before you clear their side mirrors.

One more thing: keep the camera area and headlights clean! I noticed a significant lag in how quickly the zones adjust when the camera area was dirty—something as simple as bug guts can slow down the response. A quick cleaning made the system snappy again. Also, dirty headlights create a ton of glare for oncoming traffic, so it’s worth keeping those spotless.

[full disclaimer, chatGPT may have helped fix my brutalization of the English language but isn't responsible for any of the content...]
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Runaway Tractor

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I enabled them on mine as well with Forscan. I live in mid-nowhere. Forest and farm fields. It's amazing! The black square tracking a vehicle in front of you is so cool. Even on the highway, low beams ahead and the shoulder still lit up with high beams.
 
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Firn

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I enabled them on mine as well with Forscan. I live in mid-nowhere. Forest and farm fields. It's amazing! The black square tracking a vehicle in front of you is so cool. Even on the highway, low beams ahead and the shoulder still lit up with high beams.
Coming from deer country they were a godsend.
 

Heliian

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I am one of the few people who actually saw a benefit from swiveling headlights years ago and these matrix lights are fantastic evolution. Canadian trucks had them enabled from the start and I absolutely love them.
 

21st Century Truck

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I just noticed my matrix headlights working tonight on highways within Arlington County, Virginia... and this is a pretty densely populated area.

Between their swiveling turn function and their zone-dimming function, I agree these matrix headlights are a game changer. They help with pedestrians and bicyclists as well.

It's the best FORScan mod I did so far on my Lightning XLT.
 

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Runaway Tractor

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Federal DOT (FMVSS) regulations are slow to be updated when it comes to allowing new technology. Therefore, Ford is not allowed to manufacture and sell a vehicle with the feature enabled. In the US yet. Federal DOT regulations apply to manufacturers, dealers, and shops. They do not apply to owners/drivers.

You ans I as owners and drivers are under state and local laws which are what your state and local police can enforce upon us. Every state will have their own patchwork of laws written regarding vehicle headlights. These laws are also old and generally don't take into account this kind of technology. However, in the worst case scenario, the glare-free automatic high beams will comply with the spirit of the law in virtually every state.
 

Robob

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Is there any indication or option in the sync menus that shows up when you do this? Or is it only enabled/disabled using forscan?
 

WoodduckMN

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Yes it's in the lighting settings. The same menu where you have the auto high beam and DRL buttons. There will be a new button for Glare Free Lighting.
Did Ford send a OTA in the USA to add this option or do we need use Forscan to activate?
 

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Firn

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Did Ford send a OTA in the USA to add this option or do we need use Forscan to activate?
As i understand it the US government has approved it but still not provided implementation guidance. As a result Ford cannot enable the feature but we can (through forscan)
 

21st Century Truck

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For clarity, there are several FORScan changes to implement this function across multiple software modules. One of the changes (IPC) shows an active glare-free headlight function with a changed IPC telltale. This IPC implementation changes the white circled "A" headlight indicator to a green circled "A" indicator.

Another FORScan change activates Synch screen toggle choices that turn the automatic and the glare-free (my words) headlight functions on.

Yet other FORScan changes in other control modules actually turn on the glare-free function, in vehicles so equipped. As I remember, these other changes involve the IPMA and also the BCM.

The point here is that unless all these FORScan functions (described under other, FORScan-focused threads) are completed across all relevant modules, the glare-free function will not necessarily work... for example, the IPC might show the green circled A indicator yet the glare-free function will not actually turn on ...so those users attempting to turn this function on should meticulously complete all the FORScan changes across all related modules. It took me two attempts to get it right several weeks ago.
 

MaintGrl

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Yes it's in the lighting settings. The same menu where you have the auto high beam and DRL buttons. There will be a new button for Glare Free Lighting.
Not available in My Truck. Latest update, 6.5.0
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