Anyone have their fog lights activated by the headlights via relay?

[firefighter_2000]

Anyone have their fog lights set up on a relay and the relay triggered by the headlight circuit? Was thinking that since I always turn the fogs on just for visibility that I could save doing the whole factory switch thing and just have them triggered when I turn the headlights on. It would be easy to do. Just wondering if anyone has done it and gather some feedback.

Thanks

Craig

 

[mpaulson]

I have done this with the fog lights and also on a separate relay the off road lights also. I used a typical relays that can be purchased at any automotive store and tapped into the high beam wire just behind the head light and ran that wire to a switch in the cab(so I can manually disable it) and then to the relay to trigger it. Then from the relay to the fog light wires just behind the bumper. I did this same set up for the offroad lights. I it nice to just hit the high beams and get the fog and off road lights with one hit of the high beams. This does wonders to the idiots that flash you or leave their high beams on, it almost runs them off the road. You can really see the deer in the head lights look on their face as you go by. :-laf

Easy and only about $30 for the parts. Most relays have the wiring diagram on the back of the package to show which pin is for what use.

 

[HBarlow]

It is a violation of motor vehicle laws to have foglights on with high beams and also to use foglights when fog is not present. Commercial drivers can and often are ticketed for this violation.

Foglights are not driving lights. Foglights are not focused so the beam is more diffused and blinds oncoming drivers. Driving lights are more focused and direct their beams down low and out in to the distance.

Every dimwit with foglights now drives fulltime with their foglights on blinding other motorists.

 

[AH64ID]

The brite-box does just this, and makes a lot of additional light!

I have never understood the illegality of fogs w/ highs. It's illegeal to have your highs on with oncoming traffic, so why would adding more light to this be an issue. . illegal is illegal! If it's becuase fog's are blinding then they should only be available with parking lights, not low's which are legal for use with oncoming traffic.

 

[HBarlow]

The brite-box does just this, and makes a lot of additional light!

I have never understood the illegality of fogs w/ highs. It's illegeal to have your highs on with oncoming traffic, so why would adding more light to this be an issue. . illegal is illegal! If it's becuase fog's are blinding then they should only be available with parking lights, not low's which are legal for use with oncoming traffic.

You'd have to ask the bureaucrats who wrote the regulations.

If you were using foglights as designed and intended, in fog, you wouldn't want to use highbeams because they would reflect the light back in the driver's eyes. Foglights are not driving lights.

 

[seafish]

Fog lights by design are SUPPOSED to illuminate WIDE and LOW where they can help a driver identify the road margins that are often obscured by fog. Throwing light other then wide and low actually LOWERS a drivers ability to see the road, as there is so much glare being reflected back as to make it that much harder to see at all... it's like blinding yourseld!! That being said, I DO use the foglights on my truck even when there is NO fog for addtional forward lighting as the stock headlights are SO cr*ppy. The oem foglights, with slightly upgraded bulbs, do a good jopb of filling in the light just in front of and to the sides of the truck, letting me see hazards that otherwise might go missed. In California, it IS legal to use 2 sets of DOT approved forward lighting at any one time, so it IS legal for me to do so. That being said, I DO turn them off if I am approaching someone from downhill, as they DO glare more then the regular headlights, and at that point I aiming UP into their line of vision. I will also turn them off if I am blinked, simply because I realize that some drivers are more susceptible or sensitive to brightness and glare then other drivers are. I realize that driving on public roadways is a consensual affair that demands respect and care for others.

All that being said, I also have modified the headlight switch on my truck -- https://www.turbodieselregister.com...31-bombed-multifunction-high-beam-switch.html

so that I can make use of ALL my forward lighting as I try to drive safely on the dark and curvy and critter strewn roads (in the winter dark, curvy , critter strewn and slippery) where a single miscalculation or mishap might send me plunging 300' to a cold and miserable death by drowning. I am NOT trying to be overly dramatic, but IMHO about the only major design failing my truck has is TERRIBLE forward lighting. And while I understand that there are laws and regulations that MUST govern safe forward lighting in general, I also realize that when there is NO ONE driving towards me, it is safer for me to ignore the letter of the law in favor of the spirit of the law, and see better so that I can drive better!!! As soon as, or even just before, there is actual oncoming traffic, I lower my lights to what is legal and safe and hope that they do the same !! This is, of course, country driving skills and respect... . in the city, with there alweyas being oncoming and same way traffic, I do NOT use all of my forward lighting at the same time ever!!

 

[firefighter_2000]

Why

It is a violation of motor vehicle laws to have foglights on with high beams and also to use foglights when fog is not present. Commercial drivers can and often are ticketed for this violation.



Foglights are not driving lights. Foglights are not focused so the beam is more diffused and blinds oncoming drivers. Driving lights are more focused and direct their beams down low and out in to the distance.



Every dimwit with foglights now drives fulltime with their foglights on blinding other motorists.

If foglights blind other motorists, then why are most vehicles that have fogs designed to go off with high beams and come on with the lows. The point of fog lights is to shine low, under the fog near the ground, not up higher in the eyes of drivers like the highbeams. I never notice vehicles with foglights, but ALWAYS notice when the brights are on.

 

[HBarlow]

I already explained why once.

Why don't you ask the truck manufacturer's why they designed the lighting wiring and switches so that fog lights cannot be illuminated when high beams are on? Would it be reasonable to assume that the manufacturer's have good reason for wiring them that way?

 

[mwilson]

I already explained why once.



Why don't you ask the truck manufacturer's why they designed the lighting wiring and switches so that fog lights cannot be illuminated when high beams are on? Would it be reasonable to assume that the manufacturer's have good reason for wiring them that way?

I knew that I had something I wanted to bring up regarding fog lights and the light bulb just came on... ... .



When I went on my trip last fall to get the Freightliner Cascadia and drive it home to Maine I had noticed that in lieu of a factory switch for "FOG LIGHTS" it had a factory switch marked "AUX HIGH BEAMS" and that it worked in reverse. . the bumper mounted lights came on with the High Beams and went out when Low Beam was selected.



I just did a quick study and found the technical bulletin from Freightliner explaining how to change a Freightliner Cascadia truck from FOG to AUX HIGH lighting. This chassis uses a SAM module for electrical control which is a relative of our Dodge CAN BUS system I believe.



It boils down to changing the switch in the dash, a little witchcraft in the SAM unit and different part numbered lights that fit in the same location in the truck's bumper to make what ever set-up is desired.



I think that it must all come down to the OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE LIGHT USED that defines it as FOG or AUX HIGH BEAM in the eyes of the DOT.



The legal team at Daimler would not allow this if it violated federal standards.



If someone was trying to mess with you trying to run driving lights with the High Beams simply explain that they are AUXILIARY HIGH BEAMS and it is all good. :-laf



I find it interesting and have attached the Freightliner Technical Bulletin that outlines the procedure and parts needed to do it.

I know the odds of anyone on here owning a Cascadia are slim to none, I attached it just to show that the DOT law may be dependant of the type of light that is used.



Had to break it up into 5 pages to get it on here, sorry... .....



Mike.

 

[mpaulson]

What ever the law says, I don't know what it is in Alberta, but I don't care because when I'm using the lights in this fashion, I'm all alone on the road and when I dim the lights, they go off and I'm not blinding anyone. Like Seafish said, I would rather have seen that deer or moose, which I see some almost everyday on my way into work, than worry about some law that may apply too me while I'm all alone on the road bothering no one. As for the fog lights, they make a big difference at night. I like the chance to see that last second item on the road that the high beams wouldn't light up. I have the off road lights aimed at the ditches on either side and a fair ways ahead to spot the wildlife well in advance so I can react proactivly rather than by surprise, especially on ice in the winter which is when most of my dark driving is done. I just have a habit of dimming the lights well in advance of the legal limits out of courtesy for the oncoming drivers.

 

[HBarlow]

What ever the law says, I don't know what it is in Alberta, but I don't care because when I'm using the lights in this fashion, I'm all alone on the road and when I dim the lights, they go off and I'm not blinding anyone. Like Seafish said, I would rather have seen that deer or moose, which I see some almost everyday on my way into work, than worry about some law that may apply too me while I'm all alone on the road bothering no one. As for the fog lights, they make a big difference at night. I like the chance to see that last second item on the road that the high beams wouldn't light up. I have the off road lights aimed at the ditches on either side and a fair ways ahead to spot the wildlife well in advance so I can react proactivly rather than by surprise, especially on ice in the winter which is when most of my dark driving is done. I just have a habit of dimming the lights well in advance of the legal limits out of courtesy for the oncoming drivers.

I agree. The fogs are very effective for lighting up the road shoulders on each side of the highway. I use mine all the time when I drive or ride my motorcycle at night but always extinguish the fogs as a car approaches.

 

[SWithrow]

It is a violation of motor vehicle laws to have foglights on with high beams and also to use foglights when fog is not present. Commercial drivers can and often are ticketed for this violation.

Foglights are not driving lights. Foglights are not focused so the beam is more diffused and blinds oncoming drivers. Driving lights are more focused and direct their beams down low and out in to the distance.

Every dimwit with foglights now drives fulltime with their foglights on blinding other motorists.

The headlights on my 03 are junk and I run the low beams with the fogs all the time. I have noticed that you seem to have a lot of knowledge about a lot of things, but the thing is you don't know everything.

I live in the State of Virginia and the law states that I can run no more than 4 lights for illumination at one time including the headlamps. So most 2nd gens and ALL 3rd gen Rams have only 2 headlamps (except the 2nd gen sport models with 9005/9006 bulbs), which means in the State of Virginia I can run my high beams and my fog lights at the same time (if I have the fogzilla installed).

If you know of a Federal Law that trumps the Virginia State inspection I would like to see it.