im looking to wire up my fog lights to stay on when the high beams come on. i was thinking of just jumping some fuses together, but the fog lights don't have a fuse and the high beams fuse gets 12v even if the high beams arent on. so now im thinking of just running wires directly from the housings. just splice in the 12v wire of the high beam and add it to the 12v wire on the fog light. the only reason i dont like this is that the fog would come on with the DRL's that way. anybody have any ideas? preferably i would like to have the fog lights come on when the high beams are on, but not when the DRL's come on. (the DRL's on the catera are the high beams at reduced voltage)
In the U.S. there's a 147 page document entitled, "49 CFR Part 571 Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment; Proposed Rule". In it they specify what can be used depending if the lamps are all in the same housing. If not, it depends on how far apart they are, etc. However it doesn't specifically prohibit or allow the usage of fog lamps. Looks like it's left up to the states.
The regulation in Saskatchewan (for you Canadian readers) is "4 Sep 87 cV-2.1 Reg 10 s33."
The states regulate this independently.
For instance, Minnesota's regulation says, "Subd. 2. Fog light. Any motor vehicle may be equipped with not to exceed two fog lamps mounted on the front......... Lighted fog lamps meeting the above requirements may be used with lower headlamp beams as specified in section 169.60."
Pennsylvania's and Virginia's regulations say that the fog lamps, "If installed on a vehicle with a four-headlamp system, or a vehicle equipped with driving lamps, they must be wired into the low beam circuit."
I'm looking in the BMW M5 manual - it says that the fog lamps are switched off when the high beams are turned on to "Comply with the legal regulations concerning the use of fog lamps".
In the UK, if you get caught using your fog lamps when there is no fog, you get a ticket. I understand this happens quite a bit.
That is absolutely correct, and is also why most vehicles require the low beams to be on for the fogs to work, though some allow them to be on with just the parking lams, for extremely heavy fog I would guess. Some cars (euro) have rear fog lights too.
Despite that indeed being the law, I would be AMAZED if you actually get pulled over for it. Auxilary lighting is one of those things that has so many rules that anything that looks pretty much stock is ignored. FWIW you could claim there driving lights, which are only supposed to be on with the high beams and have a pencil point beam, unlike the fogs which are short distance and wide.
To help with modifying them to work though, I'd need to see some kind of wiring diagram.
:rant2: 99.9% of fog light-equipped vehicles run around in fine weather with every possible light on, some blue, some yellow, some white, and blind everyone in front of or approaching them. The misplaced idea that DRL's somehow increase your visibility to other vehicles is a cruel marketing joke. If you drive over 2 mph in a dense fog, you're a fool. Witness some of the 100-200 vehicle accidents on the Jersey Turnpike over the years. Look at the thousands of skid marks leading into ditches along I-95 on the East Coast. Most of us have NO IDEA how to drive in bad weather, much less foggy conditions. So there.......(If you've ever driven a German Autobahn or Italian Autostrada, the sight of a single car accident which strews bloody car parts for over a third of a mile is sobering. I have, honestly, seen a half-mile long Ferrari. Air bags? rotsa ruck!:want:
^^ Wow. That is kinda depressing. I dislike DRLs because I think they are ineffective most of the time, and they are probably just shortening the time to replace the bulbs in your car.
i took out that relay to see if it had any markings on it. it didnt. so i dont know which pins are 5 and 2. also what will connecting the pins together do? will the fog lights be on when the drls are on as well as when the high beams are on? any further help would be apperciated.
Really? did you look on the side, usually theres a drawing of the relay there with the pin numbers.
Anyway, connecting those two pins will accomplish what your looking for. the fog light switch will work exactly as it does now EXCEPT for going off with the highs. Only difference.
ah alright! i got it working! if you look closely at the diagram posted, it has the numbers that were listed on the side of my relay. you have to connect pin 87A (pin 5 as you said) and pin 30 (pin 2 as you said). works like a charm. thank you Dave for your help and thank you Warren for posting the diagram.
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