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Foglight Wiring Using Factory Pull Switch


achman

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Hello everyone,

 

I have a 73 Tii and am installing fog and driving lights.

 

The foglights are in, and i used the advice found on the forum and used a 320i switch to take the place of the dummy switch in the dash to run the fogs (with a relay of course).

 

Now I am going to wire the driving lights tomorrow. My 73 Tii has a later (74 I think) dash that was installed in 1984, so I have the factory "foglight" pull switch which I plan to use.

 

The question is, I can't find/tell which wires are running from the switch if any. I know from what I have read that there should be an outlet near the radiator which I could use to power the light and operate the switch, but even with the MM I can't seem to locate which one it is. There is a wire with a factory plastic connector on it, but it seems dead. Is it possible that it only works when the high beams are on? I haven't tested that but think I may have read that somewhere.

 

If there is indeed no wiring, can the switch be pulled? Or do you have to take apart the entire dashboard to get to it?

 

The lights are Cibie with one wire, they ground to the bumper brackets.

 

Any help is much appreciated.

 

Thanks

brian

 

 


pic

post-42945-0-05800700-1377630341_thumb.j

1973 2002Tii Agave "Gerta"-----1972 2002Tii Verona project-----------2003 Porsche 911 X51-------2016 FIAT Abarth--------2003 Porsche Boxster----------2005 Honda Element

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I wired mine to that connector but I can not remember when it is hot. I do think it is only hot with the brights which makes no sense. I did include a relay behind that switch. I used one of the switches that is for a fog/driving light to fire it on. Can't remember which one, but it is in the owner's manual that the switch is for a fog light. It may be the lower left one, maybe?

 

 

drivinglightandrelay_zpsf269df95.jpg

 

This is from an Owners Manual dated 1973 on the back of it.

 

Foglightswitchona73_zps2d572eb2.jpg

Edited by BillWilliams

"90% of your carb problems are in the ignition, Mike."

1972 2000tii Touring #3422489

1972 2002tii with A4 system #2761680

FAQ member #5

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The switch is a dummy switch, at least mine is. You need to replace it with a switch for a rear defroster from another car. I'll be doing the same thing shortly. I have all the pieces, just need the time!

 

 

I wired mine to that connector but I can not remember when it is hot. I do think it is only hot with the brights which makes no sense. I did include a relay behind that switch.

 

 

yes, use a 2002 defroster switch in the dummy switch location.  not sure what you are using a "320 switch"  for.

 

the connector to use is on the wiring diagrams.  there are two. one is hot when high beams are on, one is hot when low beams are on.  they are located on left and right side of rad support behind the headlights.  DO NOT POWER LIGHTS from these taps.  use the tap to power the relay trigger with dash switch in line with tap.  power light relay direct from battery (through a fuse).

 

in foglight configuration, use the tap off the low beam trigger.  this way the foglights will only come on when the low beams are on.  they will automatically be off when high beams are on, when lights are off, or when dash switch is off.  this is the correct way to set up foglights.

2xM3

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There is no existing wiring for foglights that is usable, you have to remove the cluster to get at the back of the switch (pretty easy), if yours is still a dummy switch you can use a rear defogger switch in it's place.  The easiest way I have found to wire it is to run a ground to the switch and then run a wire from the switch to a relay under the hood, that way you don't have to bring a new circuit to the switch and the majority of the wiring will be under the hood, also the longest run of wire will be a switched ground wire and if it shorts out then the worst that will happen is that the lights will come on and not blow a fuse that could take out other things.

 

take a look at this link on the second page there are some diagrams that maybe helpful.

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/topic/125637-wiring-for-fogs-with-factory-features/

Edited by FunkyLaneO

74 Golf

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Thanks for the replies...I am not sure everyone is understanding my question.

 

I ALREADY have the fogs wired up to a switch in the console...I replaced the dummy switch with a switch from a 320i, one that looks like an original switch. It works.

 

My question was about wiring the driving lights to the factory pull-type switch on the upper left part fo the dash, labeled fog lights.

 

Any thoughts on that?

 

thanks

1973 2002Tii Agave "Gerta"-----1972 2002Tii Verona project-----------2003 Porsche 911 X51-------2016 FIAT Abarth--------2003 Porsche Boxster----------2005 Honda Element

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Thanks for the replies...I am not sure everyone is understanding my question.

I ALREADY have the fogs wired up to a switch in the console...I replaced the dummy switch with a switch from a 320i, one that looks like an original switch. It works.

My question was about wiring the driving lights to the factory pull-type switch on the upper left part fo the dash, labeled fog lights.

Any thoughts on that?

thanks

I thought the above posts answered that question effectively.

1. The lower left knob on a '74-'76 one-piece dashboard (which you have) is a dummy knob from the factory. If you have a bona fide pull switch there, some prior owner of your dashboard installed it. If you still have a dummy knob in that location -- and no actual switch -- you need to get a rear window defroster switch, or equivalent, and install it.

2. There is no factory wiring in place for fog or driving lights except for the following: '74-'76 cars have two unused power leads on the front radiator support. One is powered only when low beams are illuminated (a provision for fog lights). The other is only powered when high beams are illuminated (a provision for driving lights). My '67 had neither of these leads. I don't recall whether my '70 had one or both of these leads. But I do believe that one or both of these powered leads appeared well before '74; but I don't know the details. I have always liked this feature because it ensures (a.) your fog lights automatically shut down whenever your highbeams are illuminated -- they are antithetical in purpose and design; (b.) your driving lights automatically shut down when you dip your high beams; and (c.) you're not driving around with both fog and driving lights illuminated simultaneously -- not only are they antithetical in purpose and design, together they would probably exceed the capacity of a stock alternator. You must install a relay and all other wiring for each set of auxiliary lights (fogs and driving). There are lots of threads on this forum about the actual wiring. I'd recommend a search on "wiring fog lights" or similar.

And -- this is the part where I get to respectfully make a suggestion because I patiently summarized the thread -- why don't you wire your front fog lights to the switch labeled "front fog lights" and your driving lights to your 320i switch? This could reduce confusion, particularly on my part!

Regards,

Steve

Edited by Conserv

1976 2002 Polaris, 2742541 (original owner)

1973 2002tii Inka, 2762757 (not-the-original owner)

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I understood, there is no difference between fog lights and driving lights, they are wired the same way, if you want them to stay on with your high beams then you run the positive trigger wire from an ignition circuit or the parking light circuit.

 

What you need to do is get yourself a rear defogger switch from a later car and replace the dummy switch in your dash with it, to do that you need to remove the gauge cluster, to do that you need to reach around to the back of the cluster and remove two knobs and unscrew the speedometer cable and just pull it out (you may need to guide the cluster of wires as they tend to get hung up) then you can start your wiring, there was no existing wiring intact for this purpose, you need to make it.  I have always used a ground wire for the relay trigger because you only have to run one wire through the firewall and it is less of a problem if the wire accidentally grounds, also a ground can be picked up just about anywhere.

 

here is a quick diagram of how you would wire it, if you use switched ignition power then the lights will work anytime the car is turned on, if you use the parking light circuit then they will only work when your lights are on.

post-36452-0-51645300-1377711243_thumb.j

74 Golf

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I edited my post above to include scan from an Owners Manual that shows the switch on the dash for the fog lights. I used that one to fire the connector by the radiator in the touring.

Edited by BillWilliams

"90% of your carb problems are in the ignition, Mike."

1972 2000tii Touring #3422489

1972 2002tii with A4 system #2761680

FAQ member #5

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I edited my post above to include scan from an Owners Manual that shows the switch on the dash for the fog lights. I used that one to fire the connector by the radiator in the touring.

Bill,

Your touring is a '72. It sounds as if it has only one spare lead on the radiator support; at some point in production (with or before the '74 model year) they moved to two. So which lead does your touring have: Powered with low beams? Powered with high beams? Or am I reading your post wrong?

Thanks and regards,

Steve

Edited by Conserv

1976 2002 Polaris, 2742541 (original owner)

1973 2002tii Inka, 2762757 (not-the-original owner)

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  • 5 years later...

This is/was a really informative write up on wiring fog lights properly. Funky’s relay diagram was especially helpful. Thank you. But I’ve still got a problem with the fog light setup in my ‘76 and I’m hoping some more of that knowledge can be shared.

 

My car was a barn find. I’m the second owner. I know nothing about the history other than what can be observed. I noticed upon removing the grille that Bosch square fog lights have been installed. Not sure if this was done by the dealership or in the aftermarket, but they are not working. So, I do the following:

  1. Read forum
  2. Visual inspection - find nothing obviously wrong
  3. Replace bulb - no change
  4. Repace all fuses in fuse box - no change, but needed to be done anyway
  5. Inspect wiring and relay connection points - no change
  6. Read forum...

My fogs are wired to a relay. The relay is wired directly to the battery. That wire has an in-line fuse. The ground runs from the relay to the bolt securing the relay on the fender wall. The last wire runs from the relay to the switch in the dash. My dash however, has a toggle switch, not the push-pull defroster style commonly recommended. It also seems to have another wire running from the switch to the fuse box.

 

What am I missing? Bad relay? Bad in-line fuse? Dummy switch masquerading as the real thing? Wiring completely wrong? Comments and ideas appreciated.

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Get a test light and start checking the wiring. 

 

Check for power at the relay via the battery feed and inline fuse using an independent independent ground for the test lamp (battery negative). If you have power then tick that off the list. 

 

Connect the test light to the battery positive positive and the check the ground wiring at the relay. Lamp lit shows that the ground is OK, no lamp then check the quality of the ground at the relay screw. 

 

Flick your switch and see if you get a click out of the relay. If it is clicking then move on to checking for voltage at the fog lights and then checking their ground out. If it doesn’t click then you need to check the switch circuit. It sounds like this has a supply from the fusebox that goes via the switch to the relay. Just check for voltage at all accessible points working from the fusebox connection, to the switch and from the switch to the relay and then the relay to ground. 

 

If that all checks out but the relay still isn’t working then try swapping the relay out or false feeding it directly from the battery to see if it works. I have found that my original round can horn relay can ‘freeze’ if not used for a while.  A smart tap with a screwdriver handle will get it working again followed by a few good horn blasts. Perhaps your relay is similarly effected?

rtheriaque wrote:

Carbs: They're necessary and barely controlled fuel leaks that sometimes match the air passing through them.

My build blog:http://www.bmw2002faq.com/blog/163-simeons-blog/

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