apalmer

iTrader: (8)

OK i know this has been done to death but i can't seem to find the answer to my problem. Any help would be appreciated.

I have two lights at the front of my car other than main and side, IE either spots, or fogs. The relector glass is not smooth it is crystalised i would say and the bulbs are good in that the filament is in tact. Driving lamps? The car is a 99JDM sti.

From my understanding these should both come on with main beam, undipped right, but needless to say they don't.. I have a fog light switch with green led but this lights up the back only when the headlights are on. Ther are no other switches for these so i'm left wondering how these are configured, am i missing a control or switch? Am i stupid haha

What can i check, what is a relay in the lighting sense, where should the wires be going to and from. They look mint but just don't work..

What ya reckon oh wise folks

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

As to WHAT they are, are they marked "Subaru" at all? If so, they are foglights which will only operate when dip beam is selected and lights are "on".

If they are branded anything else, eg: PIAA, Cibie, Hella, etc, they are driving lights.

As such, they should be connected so as to come on only with main beams, ie: with the lights on and main beam selected, and the switch may, or may not do anything, depending on who fitted them.

It may be worth your while removing one, (three 10mm bolts) and looking at the wiring. If it looks like OE Scoob stuff, they probably aren't wired as I've said, unless, of course, they are fogs.

If it looks like aftermarket stuff, try and trace it back to see if there is a fuse, relay etc.

Alcazar

apalmer

iTrader: (8)

Ta mate

I had them both off and there were two blue wires running into the headlight loom wires it seemed, as for where they went i didn't have a danny. I'll try and trace them back but as far as i know they are OE and have subaru markings on them, probably making them fogs etc.. If they were to come on with dipped beam am i right in saying they should turn off once undipped beam is activated ie blue light on dash board or stay on?

Are rear fogs law in Japan, just thought that the wiring may have been switched for the rear one that i have when it arrived.

@d

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Sorry, I can't remember whether fogs extinguish when you select main beam, I've a FEELING "not", but I changed mine for driving lights soooooo many years back.

Again, what, if anything, does it say on the lights' glass?

Alcazar

apalmer

iTrader: (8)

i'll check tonight dude, i'm sure its subaru....

apalmer

iTrader: (8)

yep

the glass outsides have subaru written on them and the bulbs have shields

fog lights then?

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Absolutely, can be nothing else.

So...........they SHOULD illuminate when you have your lights on and the switch for them is depressed.

If they don't, then check first the fuse, and then the bulbs. You'll need to take a bulb out to check it, don't touch the glass, and use a short length of wire to "splash" it briefly across the battery.

Alcazar

BTW: they are actually a waste of space. I sold mine years ago and fitted some high powered driving lights

apalmer

iTrader: (8)

excellent thanks, would there be a fuse in the wiring for these or more obviously in the fuse box. I have looked twice in here and have spare fuses but wasn't sure which was which. the back illumiates no problem so wonder is there is a seperate fuse then?

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

AFAIK, the switch itself isn't fused. The lights ARE fused though.

They are on fuse number 7, which is at the left hand end of the middle row in the fuse-box under the coin tray, driver's side.

At least they are in my '98 car

Alcazar

apalmer

iTrader: (8)

OK so i haven't checked the bulbs with a meter yet to be sure BUT i have discovered through random post searching that the fog light switch should have 5-6 terminals on the back.. The switch that i have has 4 spade terminal and three wires connected. Also i pulled fuse 4 and 7 from the car and it made no difference (the fuses were in tact) and the wiring from the existing fog lamp switch has an inline fuse hmmm.

I suspect that the previous owner (because of UK laws) had to fit a rear fog light so got a completely different switch and ran new cables to it himself. I gather that i should be looking for a type of plug that goes into the OE fog light switch (if it were present) much like the plugs you use for stereo harness's (mail-female) right? I have a black one of these tucked away behind the fascia that isn't being used.

Have you got a picture of what the switch should look like, and also whether i could make my own out of aluminum or something similar (a metal switch and metal switch panel type thing)

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Have you thought of sourcing a Subaru OE foglight switch from a scrapyard? GradeA at Hayfield in the High Peak, Midland Subaru, Essex Subaru, etc?

Then if the loom IS there behind the dash, it's a straight fit.
And igf it's not, it's still not rocket science to get the lights up and running.

Mind, are you certain you want to spend so much effort on getting FOG lights to work?

Alcazar

apalmer

iTrader: (8)

haha yeah i've heard they're pap lol, since they're on there though i want to get em working.. until i swap em for some driving lamps etc..

scooby Iain

are we sure that someone hasnt used the front fog light switch to wire up the rear fog light?

apalmer

iTrader: (8)

again very possible, but i dont know what a front fog switch (should) look like on my car.. Mine is all black, no fog light inscription with a green LED at the top? I took the dash off yesterday and behind there were two plugs pushed into the blanking sockets on the dashboard (no switches attached) so what are these for IC waterspray perhaps if it were fitted? The wiring at the front of the car looks as it should but the problem lies with the switch and wiring at the dashboard i think? perhaps i should take a picture or two?

scooby Iain

hmmm, what colour plugs were they, the front fog light switch takes a white six pin plug,and should be on the right side below the rear window de mister. could be that someone's just taken the switch out?

picture could help though

apalmer

iTrader: (8)

Yeah there is a white one and a brown one, they are pushed into the blanking plugs so not being used. I'm out in the car tonight so will get some pictures. They must have been from original switches right, they wouldn't be sitting there for no apparent reason unless as before IC waterspray or something

scooby Iain

I think you might just need to get a front fog light switch mate, plenty go on eblag for a couple of quid. No idea wat the brown plugs for tho, could be IC water spay like you say tho.
Hope its as simple as that mate

apalmer

iTrader: (8)

images of fog light switch

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...1/IMGP0614.jpg
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...1/IMGP0611.jpg
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...1/IMGP0610.jpg

any thoughts

scooby Iain

I didnt realise it was a facelift model mate sorry , but it does look like the original switch is missing. could just be someone took it out?

apalmer

iTrader: (8)

what about connectors behind, is that the white connector which you were speaking of? If so i'll just look for a switch as it looks like its disconnected!

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

That's defo an aftermarket switch and does appear to be replacing the foglight switch.

What does that one ACTUALLY do?

I've just had a quick look: my foglight switch has a BLACK connector going to it.

In the connector are FIVE wires, two purple with silver bands, two black with silver bands, and one black with a yellow stripe down it and silver bands.

Alcazar

scooby Iain

Go with what Alcazar says,

I was thinking you had an early classic like mine which has a white 6 pin plug to the front foglight switch like mine

sorry mate

apalmer

iTrader: (8)

The switch in the picture turns on the rear fog light only, the connectors in the picture don't seem to have the same wiring colours as yours alcazar i wonder whether they are the same interface though? do they look like similar sockets to yours?

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

I'll have a look for you tomorrow, I didn't disconnect mine, so I will in the morning.

Alcazar

apalmer

iTrader: (8)

OK so i bit the bullet and bought a new switch from a subaru garage £18 celavie... anyway when i switch it on it turns on the sidelights and dashboard lights as it is supposed to but no front fogs still all fuses seem OK.. According to the subaru people NONE of the jap imports from 99 came with front fogs as standard just the plastic covers. But the loom would have been there apparently which is why i managed to plug the switch right in! change bulbs next perhaps!

apalmer

iTrader: (8)

aha to resurrect this post from its very near demise i have the following to add:

I had the multimeter out last night and tested the bulbs across a resistance circuit, the continuity was good the bulbs are ok. I also spoke to the previous owner who said that the fogs came with a new bumper and he never had them properly plumbed in. So i have the switch, the fogs are good, and the loom is all there. When the switch is on, the instrument panel and side lights are lit but no fogs...

i gather i might need a relay as well? Would this be acurate?

where does it go in that case

cheers folks

apalmer

iTrader: (8)

It seems no-body knew the answer so i found out myself. For anyone who has a similar issue i found i needed the following:

1. Lights
2. Fog Light Switch
3. Front fog relay

Lucky for me the loom was al there and it was all plug and play but the guys at the local Subaru garage couldn't even tell me whether it would be as all STI's are hand built in Japan and different regions have different specs.. anyway.

..

This picture is of the relay that i fitted about £30 from a subaru dealer, it mounts into a spare slot just under the steering wheel behind the font dash fascia (next to the fuse box. The worry was that there would be no loom to plug it into but lukily i found the wires hidden and taped up behind the kick plate to the right of the accelerator, it was a RED cable plug and had never been used. here:

..

And the switch plugs into the white connector behind the dashboard where the blanking switches are, god knows what the brown socket is for, perhaps a rear fog light?

..


@dam