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fog lights - add switch to turn on whenever I want them on?

7.1K views 9 replies 4 participants last post by  DragonSubie7  
#1 ·
2017 FXT Touring - I have fog lights on my model that come on with the headlights and can be turned off with the left stalk, what I want to know is can I install a switch that turns on the fog lights whenever I want even if the headlights are off?
 
#2 ·
So messing around with my lights and thinking it over, the fog lights get power when the headlights are on, either from automatically coming on or when I turn them on manually, so the power for the fog relay must come from the headlights. In theory all I would need to do is move the power for the fog relay off the headlights and to something that gets power as soon as the car gets turned on. Then the stalk switch would be my ON/OFF like normal but independent of the headlights.
 
#3 ·
The foglights are controlled and powered from the Body Integrated Unit (BIU), i.e by a computer. It makes the decisions. Don't try mixing circuits. Safest approach is to totally disconnect them from the existing circuitry and power them straight from the battery via a relay. Power the relay from a convenient key-on circuit.

There is a very fine grained mod described somewhere here on the forum that involves swapping some wires at the BIU. It's not for the faint of heart to attempt.

Computers can help a car do amazing things, but they sure do get in the way of mods.
 
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#4 ·
Ah ok, thank you. I thought it would be more straightforward with just some relays like previous models. I’m in HVAC/Electrical trade but I think if I went that far with altering wiring I could lose out on some free repairs with my gold warranty. I’ll just stick with the current setup then.

Thank you for the response and knowledge.
 
#5 ·
@mason_sol,
Some states treat fogs like high beams - You have to turn them off for approaching traffic.
Others allow their use only when foggy.
In Kentucky (and nationally) it is illegal to drive on a public road with your fog lights being turned on without your headlights being on at night.
That is why manufacturers require the headlights to be on with the fog lights, and why the fog switch is on the light stick.
It is a legal compliance issue.
If you are seen by the PD driving without headlights and your fogs on, you can and likely will be cited for an illegal vehicle modification.
If cited, you would need to prove your vehicle was repaired to operate within the law in order to clear the citation, along with paying a fine.
If you decide to go the route of enabling "fog light only", you may want to make it easily reversible, because you may have to reverse your modification if you are ever caught using it..
 
#6 ·
It actually had nothing to do with driving on streets with just the fog lights on. Sometimes I use some dirt paths to drive through fields before dawn or after dusk and in the process my headlights shine on houses, typically the back of the house where peoples bedrooms are, I’m driving slowly so don’t need much light but still need enough to see right in front of me. The fogs were to keep from shining headlights into their bedrooms.
 
#7 ·
@mason_sol,
I'm not saying there isn't an advantage to using them as you describe, just that there can be consequences.
In some states with annual inspections, a vehicle will fail inspection with your intended modification.
There are some people who think they can drive on the roads with only their fogs on, which is why "they" want the mod, but that is against the law in every state.
 
#9 ·
Check your local laws. Each State will have regulations that cover "auxiliary lighting". Here in Oregon, I found as long as the tail lights are on with the fog lights, it's considered legal to operate.

I wired the fog lights in our '95 Neon to operate independently years ago & no legal problems. No DRL - Daytime Running Lights on the Neon, so we use the fog lights during the day for DRL.

I also wired my '03 X, now my son's Forester, to operate the same way. No legal issues encountered. :wink:

Bobby...

['07 FSXT MODding Journal] ['03 X MODding Journal]
 
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#10 ·
2.5x - Hmmm ...

According to Oregon.gov:
:
" Auxiliary driving lights and/or fog lights must be used like the high beam headlight system of your car. You must use a distribution of light or composite beam so aimed that the glaring rays are not projected into the eyes of the oncoming driver. Fog lights may be either white or amber (yellow). They may not be blue, bluish or any other color than white or amber.

Oregon Revised Statute (ORS 811.515 Section (8) states: A light other than a headlight, that projects a beam of light of an intensity greater than 300 candle power shall not be operated on a vehicle: (b) when use of low beams of the vehicle headlight system is required under limited visibility conditions.

(So if you need lighting, you also need your low beams on in Oregon - No mention of tail lights in the statutes - but no specific prevention of fogs as DRL's)

ORS 801.325 "Limited visibility conditions means: (1) Any time from sunset to sunrise; and (2) Any other time when, due to insufficient light or unfavorable atmospheric conditions, persons and vehicles are not clearly discernible on a straight, level, unlighted highway at a distance of 1,000 feet ahead."

To me, this means if you are using your fogs because you need them, you also need your low beams on.
If you use fogs as headlights at night, you can be cited, and the fact that you have not means you have not, not that you can or should.

If you are talking about using them during the day as DRL's it should be okay in OR or other states when visibility is NOT an issue, but like you said, in some states local laws make it a violation to use fogs anytime when it isn't foggy. In Oregon, at night fogs are considered to be "high beam" lights, even though they aren't.

For the OP, that scenario doesn't apply, because he is talking about using them at night (not on the road in his case so the law doesn't apply).
 
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