Fog Lights

[redwolf624]

i'm buyin new fog lights tomorrow since i tested my current ones and they don't even light up when hooks up to a power supply and yes i made sure everything is good, but anyhow, is there a way to hook the fog lights up to where once the high beams are turned on the fog lights shut off? i never saw a "switch" on my light switch for fog lights, just tryin to get everything right :)

 

Redwolf

[yxmj]

Yes there is

[redwolf624]

Yes there is

how would that be done, is there a fuse slot in the fuse box that'll shut em off when the high beams are on,

 

Redwolf

[skidoo_j]

Tap a wire off the high beams to control a second relay. When the high beams are on they will break the normally closed position on he relay and turn off your fogs.   like this:  

 

 

 

diagram by skidoo_j, on Flickr

[yxmj]

Tap a wire off the high beams to control a second relay. When the high beams are on they will break the normally closed position on he relay and turn off your fogs.   like this:  

 

 

 

diagram by skidoo_j, on Flickr

:clapping:  Just as the man has drawn  :rock on:

 

But I think it might be above and beyond the OP's level

[redwolf624]

Tap a wire off the high beams to control a second relay. When the high beams are on they will break the normally closed position on he relay and turn off your fogs.   like this:  

 

 

 

diagram by skidoo_j, on Flickr

thanks for the diagram, that'll be very useful, only question right now is, where are the relays located, on the fuse box or inside the dash?

 

Redwolf

[yxmj]

One should come with your light kit.....you would have to supply the other

[skidoo_j]

I get my relays from the jy. I usually pull every relay and bracket that's good in the "relay center" on our era vehicles so i can keep my accessories looking stock

[redwolf624]

ok, if my truck has fog lights where would the relay be if the previous owner had em installed right?

 

Redwolf

[yxmj]

Trace the line back from the lights......were does it go?

[yxmj]

I get my relays from the jy. I usually pull every relay and bracket that's good in the "relay center" on our era vehicles so i can keep my accessories looking stock

 

I do much the same thing....I have parted out a few jeeps over the years and have boxes of relays and sections of wiring harnesses....so up till now (Knock wood) I have never come across a missing or broken connector that i had to go to the parts store to replace....a bit of rummaging in the bin and BINGO

[redwolf624]

Trace the line back from the lights......were does it go?

to be honest i haven't traced it yet, i'm waitin till i buy new fog lights untill i trace em,

 

Redwolf

[Eagle]

 

Tap a wire off the high beams to control a second relay. When the high beams are on they will break the normally closed position on he relay and turn off your fogs.   like this:  

 

 

 

diagram by skidoo_j, on Flickr

thanks for the diagram, that'll be very useful, only question right now is, where are the relays located, on the fuse box or inside the dash?

 

Redwolf

 

They aren't "located." You provide them, and you put them anywhere you want them. Your new lights may come with one relay, but to make the lights go off when the headlights are on high beam (which is required by law, so it's not a bad idea) you need the two relays in series, as drawn in that very excellent wiring diagram.

 

The onlyy thing I would do differently would be the power tap to the toggle switch. Where Skidoo shows the white wire going to the ignition, I would tap it of one of the parking lights. That way, the fogs won't work unless you have at least the parking lights turned on. But -- that's a matter of preference. It'll work just fine as drawn -- provided you know how to find a circuit to tap that's controlled by the ignition switch.

 

Also, pay close attention to the relay terminal markings. Skidoo shows only four terminals, but the relays have five. On one of them you use terminal 87, on the other you use terminal 87a. This is important.

[redwolf624]

 

 

Tap a wire off the high beams to control a second relay. When the high beams are on they will break the normally closed position on he relay and turn off your fogs.   like this:  

 

 

 

diagram by skidoo_j, on Flickr

thanks for the diagram, that'll be very useful, only question right now is, where are the relays located, on the fuse box or inside the dash?

 

Redwolf

 

They aren't "located." You provide them, and you put them anywhere you want them. Your new lights may come with one relay, but to make the lights go off when the headlights are on high beam (which is required by law, so it's not a bad idea) you need the two relays in series, as drawn in that very excellent wiring diagram.

 

The onlyy thing I would do differently would be the power tap to the toggle switch. Where Skidoo shows the white wire going to the ignition, I would tap it of one of the parking lights. That way, the fogs won't work unless you have at least the parking lights turned on. But -- that's a matter of preference. It'll work just fine as drawn -- provided you know how to find a circuit to tap that's controlled by the ignition switch.

 

Also, pay close attention to the relay terminal markings. Skidoo shows only four terminals, but the relays have five. On one of them you use terminal 87, on the other you use terminal 87a. This is important.

noted eagle thanks, and like ya said, tappin it into the parkin lights is preference, i like to select all my stuff, fog light or just parkin lights,

 

Redwolf

[Stacks]

I'll toss this out in defense of tapping the IGN as the source for the switch.  If you were to lose your headlights/parking lights in the dark of the night in a snow storm perhaps, you would be without lights at all.  Tapping the IGN would allow you to have at least the fog lights to see by and get out of the way and stopped.   I've wired my fog and/or driving lights so they can be turned on by the switch but still be turned off by the high beams being on ever since an incident many moons ago when a fusible link blew that controlled the power source for all vehicle lighting.  This was not a Jeep product but one of my old Dodge D50 turbo diesel 4x4's.  The link blew in a heavy snow storm at night and I was still 50 miles from home.  Just something to consider... plan for worse case scenario. 

 

Later,

 

Larry

[redwolf624]

I'll toss this out in defense of tapping the IGN as the source for the switch.  If you were to lose your headlights/parking lights in the dark of the night in a snow storm perhaps, you would be without lights at all.  Tapping the IGN would allow you to have at least the fog lights to see by and get out of the way and stopped.   I've wired my fog and/or driving lights so they can be turned on by the switch but still be turned off by the high beams being on ever since an incident many moons ago when a fusible link blew that controlled the power source for all vehicle lighting.  This was not a Jeep product but one of my old Dodge D50 turbo diesel 4x4's.  The link blew in a heavy snow storm at night and I was still 50 miles from home.  Just something to consider... plan for worse case scenario. 

 

Later,

 

Larry

that's how i wanna wire it in, so modifin the wirin diagram skiddo shared to us what on the diagram would be different to make it like that?

 

Redwolf

[Stacks]

Nothing would need to be modified on the diagram at all.  Just tap the white wire into a source that is hot when the IGN is on.

 

Larry

[fiatslug87]

The easiest thing is to find an XJ with fogs, pull the entire front light harness (which contains the relay) and switch and use those. The rest of the wiring for the switch is already there and they will turn off when the highs come on.

 

Harness looks like this:

 

It disconnects at the 10 pin connector right by the air box and the relay attaches to the hole in the upper left in the picture.

[redwolf624]

alright thanks folks, i got it now  :thumbsup:

 

Redwolf

[jpdriver1]

when wiring the overhead lights on my truck, I used the existing wiring behind the dash to trigger the relays (after market wiring harness's) --- right side of the steering column --- on with headlights off with high beams or just the parking lights --- planning on using the stock wiring to do this with the cargo & fog lights  (again with aftermarket harness's)  

[Eagle]

The easiest thing is to find an XJ with fogs, pull the entire front light harness (which contains the relay) and switch and use those. The rest of the wiring for the switch is already there and they will turn off when the highs come on.

 

 

IIRC, with the factory harness the fogs ONLY operate when the headlights are on. Not with just the parking lights, and definitely not by themselves with no other lights on. The wiring diagram posted by Skidoo allows the use of the fogs only, even if no other lights are on. My alternate suggestion would still require the use of the parking lights.

 

IMHO the factory wiring was a dumb setup for that reason. I don't know why they did it that way, as I had owned AMC cars in the early 80s that had factory fog that did NOT require the headlights to be on, yet still went off when the high beams came on.

 

Redwolf ... just use Ski's wiring diagram. EXACTLY as he posted it. Just remember that the relays will both have five terminals, and pay attention to which one uses terminal 87 and which one uses terminal 87A.

[redwolf624]

 

The easiest thing is to find an XJ with fogs, pull the entire front light harness (which contains the relay) and switch and use those. The rest of the wiring for the switch is already there and they will turn off when the highs come on.

 

 

IIRC, with the factory harness the fogs ONLY operate when the headlights are on. Not with just the parking lights, and definitely not by themselves with no other lights on. The wiring diagram posted by Skidoo allows the use of the fogs only, even if no other lights are on. My alternate suggestion would still require the use of the parking lights.

 

IMHO the factory wiring was a dumb setup for that reason. I don't know why they did it that way, as I had owned AMC cars in the early 80s that had factory fog that did NOT require the headlights to be on, yet still went off when the high beams came on.

 

Redwolf ... just use Ski's wiring diagram. EXACTLY as he posted it. Just remember that the relays will both have five terminals, and pay attention to which one uses terminal 87 and which one uses terminal 87A.

gotcha, bought fog lights yesterday from advance, they didn't come with a relay but it had all the wires and a huse  :dunno:  :???: took em back though cause i didn't like how the housin was plastic and the lense was glass,

 

Redwolf

[fiatslug87]

Eagle, this might be a dumb question, when would you run just the fogs without the headlights?

[Eagle]

In

 

Eagle, this might be a dumb question, when would you run just the fogs without the headlights?

 In fog, of course.

 

I grew up spending summers with my grandparents on the coast of Maine. Fog often was VERY thick, and even low beam headlights created more blinding reflection than they provided useful illumination. The whole point of "fog" lights is to have a very low, very flat beam with a sharp cut-off so as much light as possible goes on the road, and as little light as possible gets reflected back into the driver's eyes.

 

Both my wife's and my 2000 XJs and my '88 XJ have fogs. I don't think they've been used more than four or five times the entire time I've owned the vehicles, because we don't often get real fog in these parts any more (we did when I was a kid -- more proof of global warming?).I am continually amused by all the cars and SUVs I see driving around on clear nights and clear evenings with their fog lights on. Fords (Exploders, mostly) are among the worst offenders -- the "fog" lights are aimed higher than the headlights, which is blinding to on-coming drivers and would be worse than useless in real fog.

[Eagle]

gotcha, bought fog lights yesterday from advance, they didn't come with a relay but it had all the wires and a huse  :dunno:  :???: took em back though cause i didn't like how the housin was plastic and the lense was glass,

 

 

 

Redwolf

 

Almost all of them today have plastic housings.

 

Plastic doesn't rust.