Need help with fogs modification..., How to re-wire fogs...any help would do!!! Options

[str8thugginit4ya]

Hey guys,

I was about to put back on my fogs on the car when I thought, it would look nice if I could turn on the fogs with the parking lights alone. Is there any way I could re-wire the fogs to come on whenever I turn on the parking lights alone??? I thought that there would be a remote wire or something of the sort that turns it on, but not too sure. Right now, they can only come on when I turn the headlights on(factory setting). I also have the factory lights switch inside where you can turn on and off the fogs when the headlights are on too. People may have "How-to's" for this, but I have searched and haven't found anything about this yet. Please, if you can help me out it would be much appreciated.



Thanks, Ryan

[trdproven]

I wouldn't wire up to the parking lights for power just because you want to use the relay for turning it on with the headlights. You will be pulling an extra 55watts on top of the parking light. You will pull too much power from your parking lights which it cannot handle and possibly burn your harness to the point where it becomes an electrical problem. That is the reason why fogs need to be run seperately or through its own relay. Ever wonder why accessories always have its own independant wiring, fuse, or relay? Because thats the way its suppose to be. However I could see it work if you only use the relay wire of parking light but DO NOT USE it also for power.

This post has been edited by trdproven: Jul 5, 2009 - 4:55 AM

[razor7]

I wouldn't wire up to the parking lights for power just because you want to use the relay for turning it on with the headlights. You will be pulling an extra 55watts on top of the parking light. You will pull too much power from your parking lights which it cannot handle and possibly burn your harness to the point where it becomes an electrical problem. That is the reason why fogs need to be run seperately or through its own relay. Ever wonder why accessories always have its own independant wiring, fuse, or relay? Because thats the way its suppose to be. However I could see it work if you only use the relay wire of parking light but DO NOT USE it also for power.

I wired it that way and have been fine for 6 months. I don't believe the draw on fogs is really that strong. I'd understand if you swapped them for HIDs, but with stock halogens there shouldn't be such a draw to short your harness.

The biggest issue I foresee happening would be killing my battery at night/not giving enough time for the alternator to kick back power to the battery.

The reason why they have their own relay is solely to turn them on and off under different conditions (on without any other lights, on with only highs, etc.) Since I have them come on whenever the parking lights are turned on, they only come on when I turn on my headlights (who drives around with only parking lights on?). I'd rather pull power from the running lights than from the headlights.

If you really wanted to be safe, you'd wire power directly from the battery with a relay and switch inside the cabin. This seems like overkill for something this small.

-TC

This post has been edited by razor7: Jul 5, 2009 - 7:41 PM

[str8thugginit4ya]

I wouldn't wire up to the parking lights for power just because you want to use the relay for turning it on with the headlights. You will be pulling an extra 55watts on top of the parking light. You will pull too much power from your parking lights which it cannot handle and possibly burn your harness to the point where it becomes an electrical problem. That is the reason why fogs need to be run seperately or through its own relay. Ever wonder why accessories always have its own independant wiring, fuse, or relay? Because thats the way its suppose to be. However I could see it work if you only use the relay wire of parking light but DO NOT USE it also for power.

I wired it that way and have been fine for 6 months. I don't believe the draw on fogs is really that strong. I'd understand if you swapped them for HIDs, but with stock halogens there shouldn't be such a draw to short your harness.

The biggest issue I foresee happening would be killing my battery at night/not giving enough time for the alternator to kick back power to the battery.

The reason why they have their own relay is solely to turn them on and off under different conditions (on without any other lights, on with only highs, etc.) Since I have them come on whenever the parking lights are turned on, they only come on when I turn on my headlights (who drives around with only parking lights on?). I'd rather pull power from the running lights than from the headlights.

If you really wanted to be safe, you'd wire power directly from the battery with a relay and switch inside the cabin. This seems like overkill for something this small.

-TC

I'm sure what I should do. I understand what everyone is saying about the pulling too much power from the parking lights, but doesn't HID's supposed to draw LESS power than halogens??? The reason why I ask is because I amplanning to get HID's for the fogs as well.

[razor7]

I'm sure what I should do. I understand what everyone is saying about the pulling too much power from the parking lights, but doesn't HID's supposed to draw LESS power than halogens??? The reason why I ask is because I amplanning to get HID's for the fogs as well.

HIDs actually pull in a large amount of power all at once, then slowly trickle it out. Ever notice how they take longer to "warm up?" Halogens technically draw more power if you look at standard usage, but HIDs pull more all at once. This puts a huge strain on your battery if you try and crank the car. Personally, I feel like our cars were never made for HIDs. They weren't around at the time when these cars were sold, there is no reason why they're needed. Halogen projetors though, those are quite nice.

-TC

This post has been edited by razor7: Jul 6, 2009 - 2:47 AM