wiring rear fog light
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Lights, Neon, LEDs, HIDs
Forum Discription: Under Car Lighting, Strobe Lights, Fog Lights, Headlights, HIDs, DRL, Tail Lights, Brake Lights, Dashboard Lights, WigWag, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=5301
Printed Date: May 23, 2024 at 3:16 AM
Topic: wiring rear fog light
Posted By: robin
Subject: wiring rear fog light
Date Posted: November 10, 2002 at 10:06 AM
hey guys i have a '92 bmw 3 series and i need help wiring my rear foglight. i know what you're thinking, why would anyone want to have a rear foglight. well this is actually a safety feature, in bad weather (fog, blizzard, rainstorm) it will make your car more visible to the car behind you. anyway, my rear park lights consist of three bulbs on each side. one is a 21 watt single contact bulb for the brakes, another one is a 5 watt single contact for the park light and the last one is a 5/21 watt double contact bulb.. this is the one i'm planning to modify. only the 5 watt section is wired. so i got a wire and slpliced it to the positive wire going to the 5 watt section to an inline switch and then to the 21 watt section. when i turned on the park lights, the switch was lit up even if it was in the "off" position. the 5 watt lit up and when i threw the switch the 21 watt section didn't light up. what should i do? i tried using the positive wire from the other 5 watt bulb but it still didn't work. help!
Replies:
Posted By: geotexz71
Date Posted: November 11, 2002 at 4:36 PM
Watch out with this mod! You will actually be illegal in just about every State. If you have State motor vehicle inspection you will fail. While rear fog lights are the norm in Europe they aren't yet here in America, but more and more of the imports are coming in with them. The reason you will be illegal is that 1) reward facing foglights CANNOT be mounted directly adjacent to a brake light (yours obviously will be via sharing the dual filament bulb, and 2) have mounting height estrictions. So, while you may believe you are making a safer vehicle you may actually be attracting a visit from an officier... I'm not trying to flame you. I am an electrical engineer who designs automotive electrical systems for one of the Big 3.
Posted By: robin
Date Posted: November 13, 2002 at 2:20 AM
i don't think my car will be illegal with this mod. better research first before you talk, man. i already inquired with my local police dept and IT IS LEGAL. -first of all, i'm installing a SWITCH so I CAN TURN IT ON ONLY WHEN NECESSARY. i also have an indicator on the dash to reming me that the rear foglamp is on. -second of all, my brake lights use different bulbs. read my post.. my rear lights use 3 bulbs on each side, 2 for park lights and 1 for brake. the distance between my rear foglamp and brake light also exceeds the minimum requirement of 100mm. -i am only wiring one rear foglamp. (vehicles in the US can only have one rear foglamp, located at the leftmost part of the vehicle if possible, with a minimum distance of 100mm from the brake lights. only red is allowed.there must be an indicator light to remind the driver , indicator should be amber)
Posted By: Vision Audio
Date Posted: November 14, 2002 at 12:23 PM
This is my opinion. Run a positive fused wire from the batt or fuse panel to a spst non-lighted switch. From there run a feed to the light at the rear of the vehical and at the same time paralel a feed to an led mounted in the dash. This should solve your promlem. ------------- Should this be smoking?
Posted By: melvyn
Date Posted: November 15, 2002 at 11:47 PM
geo: I've noticed some new Oldsmobiles come with two rear fog lights mounted in the bumper. robin: Check the connections on your switch. Many illuminated switches have a particular polarity - one terminal goes to the feed, one to the load, and a third to ground for the indicator light. If you connect the feed wire to the load terminal, the indicator will light all the time. Probably the best way to wire this is start up front, and take a feed from the parking lamps, through a 5 amp fuse to the supply side of your switch. Take a wire from the load side to the 21watt side of the bulb, and connect the ground wire of the switch to a good ground.
Posted By: SOUND PRESSURE
Date Posted: November 16, 2002 at 12:02 AM
Some of the older Jaguars had them as well on the rear bumper. Not to sure of the newer ones.
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Sound Pressure
You know you have the right amount of pressure when your eyes start to water! Now you've got Juice!
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