Fogs -> DRL mod (02-03 models)

[daverman]

OK kids, gather round. The original foglight mod was great... but the mod had one drawback. Namely, the fogs would blink when you armed or disarmed the alarm. That's hard on the bulbs, so I read up the service manual to see if I can prevent that from happening.

I came up with the idea to turn the fogs into DRL's -- that it should turn on when the ignition was in the ON position (provided that you activated the switch of course) and will remain on until the switch was turned OFF (or ACC), regardless of the light settings. Furthermore, the fogs should not be extinguished when starting the engine.

Examining the fog relay switch, the idea is to apply 12V to Pin 3 of the foglight switch when we want to enable the fogs, and to disconnect that pin when we want to disable the fogs.

There is one lead that behaves that way depending on the position of the ignition--the IG1 line coming from the ignition key cylinder.

IG1 feeds Fuse #9 on the driver's side fuse box. So, tapping the #9 fuse and connecting it to Pin 3 of the foglight switch will do the trick. Additionally, we want to disconnect Pin 3 from its original source of power, or we'd be powering the equipment dependent on IG1 via the headlight switch.

A word of warning before doing this mod: In the course of my poking and prodding, I tripped something in the diagnostics routine, and now my Check Engine and SRS lights are on. I'm pretty sure the mod itself isn't responsible for this, but just to be safe, wait for me to return from the dealer's (and have made sure that everything is OK) before doing the mod.

[daverman]

Instructions follow:

First, pop open the driver's side fuse box and unscrew the brass screw that holds the kickpanel:
http://home.kc.rr.com/daverman/img/fogs/pic_02.jpg

Pop the kickpanel open and unplug the dimmer:
http://home.kc.rr.com/daverman/img/fogs/pic_04.jpg

From inside, pop the foglight switch outwards.
http://home.kc.rr.com/daverman/img/fogs/pic_05.jpg

Disconnect the foglight switch harness (there's a tab in the middle that you have to depress), and slip the harness through the opening and down into the kickpanel cavity:
http://home.kc.rr.com/daverman/img/fogs/pic_07.jpg

Pick out Pin 3 of the harness--it's the white wire with the red stripe. You'd have to cut the black rubber shroud around the cable bundle with a pair of scissors to expose enough cable to work with:
http://home.kc.rr.com/daverman/img/fogs/fog_harness.jpg

Take a piece of wire (20 or 22 ga. is ideal, 18 ga. is OK), about 10 in. long, and splice it onto the white/red wire with a splicer:
http://home.kc.rr.com/daverman/img/fogs/pigtail.jpg

Once you have done this, cut the white/red wire so that the splicer remains attached to the harness (i.e. cut the cable on the side of the splicer closer to the car). Make sure you secure the exposed cable ends from touching anything or each other by wrapping them in electrical tape.

Strip the other end of the wire.

Now, you have to slide the stripped end of the wire into the protected terminal of Fuse #9 (3rd from the top). The correct leg of the fuse is circled in the picture below:
http://home.kc.rr.com/daverman/img/fogs/fusebox.jpg

Use the fuse puller from the fuse box under your hood to pull the 7.5 A fuse out of its socket. Take the stripped end of the wire and fold it around the leg on the fuse, then stick the fuse back in. When you're done, the stripped end of the wire should be tucked neatly in the fuse socket, and there should not be exposed wires dangling around.

And that's it! Reassemble everything in the reverse order. If you did everything right, the fogs should turn on when your ignition is in the ON position:
http://home.kc.rr.com/daverman/img/fogs/fogs.jpg

You should be able to start the car without the fogs flickering on and off. While your car is running, the fogs should be pretty much independent of the light switch setting. However, switching to high beams will still kill the fogs (there's another mod I can do to defeat this as well).

When you turn your car off, the fogs should automatically go out. When arming and disarming your alarm, the fogs should now not light up at all.

[ken]

i truly believe you must be one of the most intelligent people on this entire website.

[daverman]

Originally posted by ken
i truly believe you must be one of the most intelligent people on this entire website.

That's because you haven't seen all the mistakes I've made!

Thanks for the compliment though.

[pianoman41]

Nice job daverman. This is a great mod for those that want to have "set-and-forget" DRLs. Just remember for those who live in colder climes, starting a car with any additional load on a battery can really put a strain on it. In reality, flashing of a halogen bulb on or off really won't shorten its life considerably but it's still a cool mod.

Out of curiousity (I don't have my Helms handy), what is the primary function of circuit #9 normally?

[fahoumh]

because you did this mod, I'm assuming your TL didn't come from the factory with the highbeams working as the DRL's like we have up in Ontario....is that correct?

EDIT: I'm sorry Dave, I forgot to say thanks for the info and nice work

[TypeSDragon]

A electrical genius for sure! Hmm... can you figure out how to have DRL for the high beams like the canadian models?

[Alphonse]

Nice, how about trying to make the high beams into DRL?

*edit* TypeSDragon, just beat me to it.

[pianoman41]

Originally posted by fahoumh
because you did this mod, I'm assuming your TL didn't come from the factory with the highbeams working as the DRL's like we have up in Ontario....is that correct?

Yep--only Canadian-spec TLs get DRLs.

TypeSDragon: Many members have looked into adding DRLs to our US-spec TLs. It requires some extensive rewiring and some specialty modules. I'm not saying it couldn't be done, but it would be hella $$$$$$$.

[fahoumh]

don't some US states have a DRL requirement?

btw, the highbeams aren't functioning at full intensity when in "DRL mode", right?

[pianoman41]

Originally posted by fahoumh
don't some US states have a DRL requirement?

btw, the highbeams aren't functioning at full intensity when in "DRL mode", right?

Nope--no states require them. Many recommend them and some have laws (like NY) where you have to have headlights on when your wipers are on. But it is not yet a DOT requirement. If it was, *every* car made in the country would have to have them standard, since they don't know where you may live or drive to. Same with cars sold in Canada.

And yes, that's why the wiring is so much more complex than just switching a couple connections. The highbeams run at a lower power/wattage. Plus they run independantly of the rest of the exterior lights.

[AKRY]

Hm.. so does the mod works with Canadian TLS?? I have the fog mod done a while ago, and this mod is even better.... but if I wire it per Daverman's instruction, wouldn't that turn on both DRL AND Fogs when I started driving??

[rominl]

that'sit! it will go to faq forum soon

[acuratlfan]

There is just one problem with your MOD....in most states *ESP California* it's illegal to have your foglights on without the headlights on. I have numerous friend who got ticket for this. Just alittle caution for ppl who live in CA

[pianoman41]

Originally posted by acuratlfan
There is just one problem with your MOD....in most states *ESP California* it's illegal to have your foglights on without the headlights on. I have numerous friend who got ticket for this. Just alittle caution for ppl who live in CA

If I read daverman's post correctly, the fog light switch still functions correctly so you can shut them off completely for those people in California. All he did was change my original mod from the fog light relay getting power from the taillight harness (requires parking lights to be on) to having the relay get power from the ignition switch and as such the fog lights will now (a) come on *without* the parking lights (or any lights for that matter) and (b) they will stay on even when you are cranking the engine. So CA peeps could still do this if they want, although I'm not sure what purpose it would serve if they could never use it.