So i rewired my fog lights so theyd run seperate from the headlights using the write up on i believe vqpower. anyway that was about a year or two ago, recently one of the bulbs died so i replaced it and that day both fog lights stopped working, and im pretty certain its the wiring. so i took it apart and checked all the connections and the relay and all check out.
so heres my question: could i have blown both bulbs that quickly? seems to me to be the wrong answer, but maybe im wrong.
my guess is that i used the wrong gauge wire a year ago and its coming back to bite me, could that be the problem? if i used a thicker wire than was required could it cause an electrical problem?
if neither of those make sense please give me other ideas, I know its not the relay, and im going to go test the light bulbs right now.
here are pics of the wiring and what not for those who don't know what im talking about.
(relay box all the way on the left of the engine bay its already opened)
(connection in the box, usually connected, but i took it apart to make sure it still had connection black wire is what makes the fogs rewired, green/yellow is preexisting)
(wire pops out down here to the side running lights, its the black wire again)
tried to make this as detailed as possible, hope someone has an answer for me. thanks.
Your wire gauge looks fine as long as it's similar to the other wires you should be OK. I did the same mods to my 98 SE but I did not have to do anything with the side running lights so I'm kind of confused. You can consider hooking things back to stock just to see if lights will work then.
I know that the relay is snapping open and that im getting positive power before the relay, but between the relay and negative side of the battery something is going wrong, im gonna directly wire the plug to the negative side to check the bulbs and other wiring, then ill figure it out. so anyone have ideas for what could go wrong between the relay and battery?
no dont use that writeup. the one I used only needed about 4 inches of wire and it tapped into the wiper relay allowing you to turn the fogs on without anything, even without the corner and bumper lights. and the wiring stays in the fuse box. i was just gonna go check my wiring but i dont have my needle nose pliers here to open the box up.
One of my fogs burned out, i replaced the bulb and then they both stopped working. I had a bad switch on the stalk. I don't know if this helps but you might want to look into it.
Personally, I don't like the idea of the completely independent foglight rewire. I prefer leaving the foglight switch on and flipping the main switch for all lights. Check to see if you used too high a wattage bulb and blew a fuse maybe, especially if you've monkeyed with to the wiring and are still running a 7.5 amp "Tail lamp" (i believe) fuse You might need a different bulb or a 10 amp fuse (be careful with doing that). Also check the fog light fuses under the hood on the driver's side as well as the fuses under the dash.
i know i grabbed the right bulbs, so that cancels out the wattage problem, however i will check the fuse. I know its not the switch/stalk cause i hear the relay snap as it should when i turn the fog light switch.
I guess ill try the other way of wiring it to see if that changes anything. any other ideas from other people? also does anyone know what could cause problems between the relay and the battery? because I'm almost certain the other side is working (positive to fog lights to relay).
You can have someone turn on the fog lamps while you listen to hear or feel the fog lamp relay turning on. The relay is located in the relay box near the power steering fluid reservoir. If you can hear or feel the relay being activated you know that part of circuit is probably OK and the power/fuse side for the fog lamps is the problem. Also the fuse for the fog lamps that you want to check is 15 AMPS (fuse #63) the fuse box is located just to the right of the battery. First of all this relay has to work be activated properly before we worry about the fog lamps or fog lamp power circuit.
Let me know what happens and I may be able to steer you in the right direction.
I just noticed there is also a 15 Amp fuse (fuse #53) under the dash, this one provides power to the fog lamp relay. Both of these fuses have to be good other wise fogs won't work. If fuse 53 is blown headlights and anti-theft system would not work also, so if headlights and anti-theft work fine fuse #53 is fine.
OK, just noticed that you said relay snaps so that part of circuit and Fuse #53 is OK. That should make the trouble easier to find. Make sure fuse #63 is OK if it is you should always have 12VDC from battery at the orange wire of the foglamp relay, when the foglamp relay turns on it provides 12VDC to the orange with black stripe wire that runs fom the relay directly to the fog lamps. You need to check this area.
You will need a test light or a voltmeter to check for the 12VDC just check with one lead to orange and other to ground and then check with one lead to orange/blk and other to ground.
If you made any cuts or splices into the orange or orange/black wires you will probably need to remove them. The orange wire should be one one complete connection with no breaks and same with the orange/ black wire. The black wires at the fog lamps should also be one one complete connection with no breaks.
You might need a different bulb or a 10 amp fuse (be careful with doing that). Also check the fog light fuses under the hood on the driver's side as well as the fuses under the dash.
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