Turning on Fog Lights

[Guido]

Thanks for the fog light info Lscman, that reminds me of a question...how can I wire the lights so I can turn them on whenever I want? Even with the low beams off. I know it should be a simple matter of supplying ign. switched power to the fog light switch, but I just wanted to make sure, because you can never be sure of anything considering the "engineering" that went into this car!
Thanks!



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'92 LSC, fully loaded... except CD!

[Lscman]

I never saw any sense in foglight-only running aside from uniqueness, so I never researched it. I think the stock setup is perfect. It's probably not real simple to do what you want, since the existing wiring is cleverly interlocked with the ignition, the auto off system and the low beams. You would probably not like having to turn off the foglights manually when you stop the car or have them on all the time with high and low beams etc.

[Guido]

I wasn't sure if it was an easy thing to do (that's why I asked) but after hearing your reply I don't think I want to mess with it. How about getting rid of the daytime running lights? I defeated the system on my friend's Sunfire by bypassing the switch on the hand brake. Is there an easy way with this car also?

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'92 LSC, fully loaded... except CD!

[hmplslncln]

LSCman,Do you have to make everything so difficult? All it is,Is a relay that uses power from the low beams to turn them on. So all you have to do is find out which wire on the relay that is and replace it with a power wire from either the parking lights, or a key on source. Gez man , don't make every thing sound so hard when it's not!!

[Eyelawdoc]

As far as I know, there are no daytime running lights on a 1992 Mark VII. If you have them on your car they must be something a previous owner added from the aftermarket It could be also be that your autolamp control switch has shorted out, causing the headlights to remain on all the time that the car is running. New switches are available from the dealer or at Autozone for a lot less.

[Guido]

Daytime running lights have been mandatory on Canadian cars for many years now. As fas as I know with this car the high beams are on but at reduced power. I wouldn't mind if the lights come on 10-15 seconds after the engine starts, but for them to come on even BEFORE cranking the engine bugs me.
Anyway, I was just wondering if there were an easy way to "defeat" this "feature".

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'92 LSC, fully loaded... except CD!

[Lscman]

Guido,
I know both the Canada and USA wiring is shown on the Helms wiring Diagrams. Several wires are different and it appears the running "dim" headlight feature for Canada comes on just like the regular headlights do, when the key is turned ON. Since the running lights are energized with the same circuitry as the night time headlights, I'm not sure how easy it'd be to separate them, sorry. The headlight current is insignificant, compared to cranking current. For this reason the running lights won't make the difference between cranking and not cranking with a marginal battery.

[David Clarke]

"Fog Lights" and "Driving Lights" are for the most part decorative playthings for the average driver, since for the most part, they aren't qualified to use them properly. I don't know how many times I've been hit by a pair of high beams and auxillary lamps that have been installed improperly. The reason foglamps installed to work with the low beams is because as everyone is supposed to know, high beams don't penetrate fog they reflect off of it. Driving lamps are for those few highly skilled drivers that have the ability to overdrive their headlights.
GM saw this coming and utilizes fiber optics to prevent altering the lamp configuration.

[Lscman]

I noticed foglamps usually tilt backwards from vibration or bending of mounts on curbs. They are usually in the eyes of oncoming cars unless you adjust them yearly. The adjusting bolts on the Marchals tend to rust solid, making this difficult.

[Guido]

What is the factory wattage for driving lights? 55W? Is it possible to put in higher wattage bulbs, 100W or so? Without blowing fuses. I travel on many "backroads" with no lights and very little cars, I have more chancees of nailing a deer than irritating someone with my bright lights.


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'92 LSC, fully loaded... except CD!

[b4black]

I took my fog lights off. They look like something cheap from K-mart, especially when compared to most newer cars with the fog lights intergarted into the bumper/fascia. And they didn't seem to make much of a difference when on.

Most people I know that drive with fog lights on, do so because they want people to notice them or "it looks cool" http://www.lincolnsonline.com/ubb/rolleyes.gif, not to help see in the fog. They don't consider that it sometimes makes it harder for oncoming traffic to see.

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Rich George
b4black@flash.net
1988 Lincoln LSC

[Lscman]

The Marchal's when new had an incredibly wide, short pattern for fog. As they age, the reflector rusts and light output drops drastically. The low loss lead crystal lens are very crack prone, designed for maximum light dispersion. If they were adjusted properly, they provided the most wide illumination lighting from 55W possible and met their intended purpose. No, they aren't asthetically pleasing but they are necessary if you want a stock "look". They looked good integrated into the '79 Mustang Pace Car airdam or on a boxy Cherokee bumper, but Ford got carried away as other companies did. Ever see the monster round fog's on similar vintage Subaru's & Porsche's? Most small lens foglamps that are integrated into the bodywork of modern vehicles do not provide an illumination pattern equal to these top Marchal or Cibie foglights. they are simply there as "party lamps" to sell cars in the showroom. Personally, I agree they are somewhat of a novelty & basically a waste. You can pop a big wattage bulb in the std headlight assy if you want more light and don't care about blinding other's. It's much cheaper and the first rock won't crack a bulletproof lexan lens.

[Lscman]

Guido,
Sure, there are many different illegal wattage bulbs that'll fit sold by many web sites, including old J.C. Whitney and carparts.com. Perhaps that is not your problem, though. Few 10 year old Fords have glass-clear lexan headlamp assemblies. Simply buffing them with rubbing compound, polishing compound, then wax can easily double light output on a car that has seen some time outdoors. Your yellow rag will tell the story when you're done. The stock wiring harness uses wiring gauges designed for stock lamps, no more. I have heard about people running the higher wattage 80/100 and similar illegal non-DOT bulbs and melting the wiring in sister Mustangs. If you don't want a mess on your hands, you'd have to splice the wiring at each bulb socket and install a larger contact wattage relays and larger gauge feeder wiring from positive and negative battery. The existing car wiring would be used to energize the relay coils and the "light burned out" indicator on the dash would sense a problem and you'd have to defeat it. You could try the bulbs and see if anything burns up, but personally I wouldn't take the chance of melting wiring from the bumper to the dash area and possibly the auto lamp circuitry.