Scott609 Posted February 13, 2018 Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 I am used to having a dedicated switch just for fog lamps. On my 2017 US model Edge, I see the lamp triangles below the bumper, but I can't seem to find a switch for them. Are they part of the running lights now? Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmr061 Posted February 13, 2018 Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 Those are not fog lamps. The NA (north american) Edge is not available with fog lamps. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
todd92 Posted February 13, 2018 Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 It would great if all NA cars removed fog lamps, since no one has a clue what they are for or when to use them. Mostly people leave them on all the time. Worse yet they replace the bulbs with 6-8000K bulbs because, 'blue is cool'. The worst is the few European cars that still have rear fogs. Nothing worse than being stuck behind someone that has them on all the time and probably has no idea the car even has them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candurin Posted February 13, 2018 Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 (edited) Deleted (even though I may have double posted). Sorry Todd,l, I had to reread your comment before your intention dawned on me. You are correct, misuse of fog lamps are annoying. Changing the color spectrum far away from its intended range (yellow), even more so. Edited February 13, 2018 by candurin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candurin Posted February 13, 2018 Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 I disagree there. Having driven through numerous European countries in some really crappy weather, its great to have the added visibility of the car in front of you when driving through some back roads or mountain passes (saved me a few times in Brocken and Berlin last year). If implemented correctly, they are a huge asset to your cars visibility. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
todd92 Posted February 13, 2018 Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 I am not saying fog lights are not useful. I'm saying for whatever reason, European drivers are educated about their use and NA drivers have no clue. Also, they are wired incorrectly on almost all domestic vehicles, which require the headlights to be on to use the fog lights. You should be able to use the fog lights with just the parking lights. When you are driving in thick fog, even the low beam headlights reflect way too much. Fog lights are meant to get you home slowly in thick fog when you can barely see the road. Instead, when they started appearing on higher end European vehicles in NA in the 70's they became a status symbol. Hey, look at me, I have an expensive car with fog lights! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWizard Posted February 13, 2018 Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 True, but since then auto manufacturers have added decorative lights they call fog lights as a selling point but which have no real relationship to a true fog light. They don't have a low wide beam with a sharp upper cutoff line and are mounted much too high above the road (look at the grille mounted "fog" lights on a Mustang GT). The "fog" lights in my wife's Kia Sorento are completely useless for fog because they throw light everywhere and cause more reflection than even the headlights yet she insists on them because they produce more foreground light which she likes (also wrong). Many bulb makers have started naming certain bulbs (800, 881, and some others) as "toy fog" bulbs. As such, the misuse is really not a big deal until you get fools who think they should be brighter and install HIDs or other overpowering bulbs in them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candurin Posted February 13, 2018 Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 (edited) True. It would be great to see a true differentiation amongst fog lights, DRLs, and led decorative lights. As it is now, form and function aside, its glaringly (pun intended) obvious to see other cars around you, day or might. There will always be those who will make them brighter or more purple, if it is a standard bulb size (or even if another bulb can be modified to work). I had a 84 golf and a 98 Jetta that had real, functional, yellow, fogs. I miss those... Edited February 13, 2018 by candurin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
todd92 Posted February 13, 2018 Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 (edited) It's always amusing to read car forums where the majority seek to match their fog light color to their HID's, make them brighter, and make them project further. I think the auto makers have caught on, which may be why they are disappearing. Edited February 13, 2018 by todd92 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted February 13, 2018 Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 The so called fog lamps that Ford uses aren’t really fog lamps anyway. I usually leave them on for better lighting to the side of the road near the car. The front ones are ok to leave on - they don’t blind you because they’re aimed super low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtyates Posted February 13, 2018 Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 I am used to having a dedicated switch just for fog lamps. On my 2017 US model Edge, I see the lamp triangles below the bumper, but I can't seem to find a switch for them. Are they part of the running lights now? Scott Scott, no one actually answered your question. The lights you see on your bumper are DRL's basically, but they are wired directly into your electrical system and there is no switch for them. As to the fog lights discussion, I really like having them on my Sport Trac as well as my older Explorer. On a rainy night they are very helpful in aiding the ability to see the often faded lane markings, especially on unlit back roads and highways. I also agree with others comments that swapping out the fog lamp bulbs for a "bluer" look is pointless, and in some cases dangerous to other drivers. As to DRL's they are pointless. In Minnesota a very comprehensive study was done on the use of DRL's and it found the benefit was negligible. A lot of insurance companies, including mine, do not even give a discount for them anymore. I wish our 2013 Edge had fog lights instead of the absolutely useless "bling" lights in the lower bumper. Those lights put out "0" useful light and they are a very high color temp so they almost impossible to match with headlamp bulbs. For anyone interested, here is the Minnesota study: https://www.dot.state.mn.us/research/TRS/2011/TRS1009.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candurin Posted February 13, 2018 Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 Thats why I put dans DRLs in place of the light tubes in my 2012 the second he made them (I believe cellbine and I were the first adopters of v1). Some actual usable light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ONEDGE16 Posted February 13, 2018 Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 One thing I miss about European cars is the rear fog light. Helps a lot in spotting the car in front of you in heavy fog or even white out conditions. Haven't seen any on NA cars, even those equipped with front fog lights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtyates Posted February 13, 2018 Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 (edited) Thats why I put dans DRLs in place of the light tubes in my 2012 the second he made them (I believe cellbine and I were the first adopters of v1). Some actual usable light. Candurin, you are saying that the lights offered by DTBL actually do have usable light at night? I have seen his kits, but I have no interest in DRL's, I only want to have more usable light at night, which is when it is needed. I also see his newest kits have a signal repeater, which I also do not have any interest in. And to ONEDGE16, I have seen an occasional European car here in Middle TN that has the rear fog light. My impression is it looks like a brake light is stuck on so it gives a perception that the car is slowing down. The biggest light in bad weather issue I continuously see is the simple fact that some folks absolutely refuse to turn on their headlamps/tail lamps in bad weather. If I ever get to pass them I will see about 90% of the time that they have DRL's on, but that does no good for people approaching you from the rear. I also notice it is generally Nissan and Honda drivers around here that can't seem to find the headlamp switch.. just an observation. Instead of DRL's, the motoring public would be better served if all cars had auto headlamps tied into the windshield wipers. Our Fords do, and it is a great feature. It does not solve the lights not on in fog issue, but at least in rain and at night the headlamps and tail lamps will be on for all to see. Rant over.. Edited February 13, 2018 by gtyates Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWizard Posted February 13, 2018 Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 I too had Dan's lights (both versions due to replacing the originals because of the infamous water intrusion problem) but although they were great for visibility, I did not find that they provided much useful light for the driver. Bright DRLs yes but fog lights no. The turn signal feature is attention getting (which is good) but if you don't want that feature you can just not connect the T/S wires and they'll function merely as DRLs. I recommend them for being seen but not so much if you're looking for more light. What I can't figure out is why I see so many cars that I know have automatic headlights (including Edge, Fusion, etc. plus upscale European models and others) but have them turned off. Of course I also don't understand people who will use just parking lights when driving instead of turning the knob that extra click to get headlights. Is there some "cool" factor I'm missing? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ONEDGE16 Posted February 13, 2018 Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 gtyates, agree that the biggest issue is drivers forgetting to turn on their headlights, even in normal good weather conditions. Keep on seeing them at night or early morning, cars on the road with only DRLs in the middle of the night. Options, equip all cars with Auto Headlamp, or change DRLs to include taillights. Manufacturers will have to find a way to block configuration changes. The other issue is cars running with one headlamp or burnt out bulbs (no taillights/brake lights). not sure why the feature don't exist anymore. In my 1986 BMW 323I, I had an indicator above the center rear-view mirror that would warn me for any burnt light bulbs (including licence plate bulbs), Today, aside form the Hyper-flash for turn signals, only a visual inspection will reveal any burnt out bulbs As for the rear fog light, I believe it is just a matter of getting used to it, but also driver's education . The main challenge with them always was to get drivers to not turn them on in normal weather. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted February 13, 2018 Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 To me the biggest safety change would be to require automatic headlamps that default to on when you start the vehicle. It's amazing how many vehicles drive without lights in the rain or after dusk. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candurin Posted February 14, 2018 Report Share Posted February 14, 2018 (edited) I will say that the v1 lights actually had horizontal light throw that would illuminate the sides (they were the Phillip led drop in kids that he epoxied into the ford housings). The v2s have more of a vertical light beam pattern. I will clarify. Usable in the fact they actually function as DRL. You do get some side illumination, but not much. Now, my switchbacks actually give off some light and do a decent job of filling in some dark spots. My apologies, again, if my initial description was misleading. I havent moved my headlight switch from auto since driving off the light 6 years ago (well, thats a lie... my dealer turns it off during service for one reason or another). Edited February 14, 2018 by candurin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtyates Posted February 14, 2018 Report Share Posted February 14, 2018 I will say that the v1 lights actually had horizontal light throw that would illuminate the sides (they were the Phillip led drop in kids that he epoxied into the ford housings). The v2s have more of a vertical light beam pattern. I will clarify. Usable in the fact they actually function as DRL. You do get some side illumination, but not much. Now, my switchbacks actually give off some light and do a decent job of filling in some dark spots. My apologies, again, if my initial description was misleading. I havent moved my headlight switch from auto since driving off the light 6 years ago (well, thats a lie... my dealer turns it off during service for one reason or another). Candurin, thanks for the clarification on the DTBL lights. If I were to replace the useless bling lights I would want something that can add some side illumination. That is my biggest gripe with the projector headlights that we have. Front vision is pretty good, especially with the Vosla +30 bulbs we put in, but side vision is terrible.. Just this evening I was driving home form the office. It was around 7:00 and definitely dark. As I am driving up an unlit parkway all of sudden I see red reflectors in front of me. You guessed it, a Nissan Rogue driving using those stupid DRL light pipes and NO other lights turned on.. I thought the Rogue, especially the ones with the light pipes, had Autolamp. If so, then they purposely had no lights on, even worse.. The irony is the as I passed her I could see that the driver appeared to be leaning a bit forward in the seat, as if straining to see the road. DUH!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWizard Posted February 14, 2018 Report Share Posted February 14, 2018 The dealer would turn it off because the lights would come on in the shop whenever the ignition was on - unnecessary if they're not actually working on the lights. I find they also tend to turn off the radio and HVAC. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candurin Posted February 14, 2018 Report Share Posted February 14, 2018 I have the diode dynamic switchbacks. I really feel they give me some usable side lllumination. They dont annoy nor distract oncoming traffic either. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.