Auxiliary lighting - think this will work?

[Zanzer]

The headlights on my car looked like crap when I got it so a couple of months ago I took the lenses off the buckets and bead blasted them to get all the rust out. I repainted the buckets with a highly reflective silver paint. I then used 50 year clear silicon to reattach the lenses to the buckets. I knew the output would be lower due to the paint not being as reflective as the original mirror coating so I sprung for a set of Sylvania Silver Star Ultra bulbs to replace the original ones (one was burnt out anyway). Now they look great and I can see better with the repaired lights than with the original ones that were rusted but I do alot of night driving and even though they work pretty good, they could use some help.

I'm thinking of installing some lights inside the air dam in the front bumper to help them out. I'm gonna add some fog lights for low beam and some driving lights for high beam. I'd like for them to work with/like the factory lighting so I'm thinking of wiring them through a relay that is actuated by the factory lights instead of a rocker switch. That way when I turn on my lights they will come on at the same time without the added switch.

So basically I'd be using a wire from the factory lights to engage the relay to turn on the extra lights. That way when I'm running my low beams only the fog lights are on and when I hit the high beams the driving lights come on (and maybe the fog lights go off), without having to hit an extra rocker switch to do this.

What do you guys think? Anyone here done this already?

[eurotiva]

Good idea. Easy enough to do. Not sure if it's been done.

[sasquatch]

ya that will work... you may want to have a small rocker switch to turn them off it you want incase cops give you any hassel about them... and if i where you i would have the fogs turn off when you turn on your high beams... they become pointless cause they are pointed low and you are trying to see far...

[freshtiva]

^ What no pics of Zippys lighting system ?

[Maxtiva]

I'm going to help you on this Sasquatch

[sasquatch]

you mean to tell me i just went thur all my old junk posts to find a pic of my lights and you have them up allready... that was a giant waist of time.... lol thanks

[freshtiva]

Thats more like it. What do you think zanzer ?

[blkfordsedan]

ya that will work... you may want to have a small rocker switch to turn them off it you want incase cops give you any hassel about them... and if i where you i would have the fogs turn off when you turn on your high beams... they become pointless cause they are pointed low and you are trying to see far...

X2.

Around here, it is illegal to operate fog lights unless the weather requires it. The cops will pull you over right away as an excuse to see if your drinking.

[freshtiva]

X2.

Around here, it is illegal to operate fog lights unless the weather requires it. The cops will pull you over right away as an excuse to see if your drinking.

What about all the new SUVs that have fog lights that are on all the time ? Maybe they dont call em fog lights but they have a second set of lights below the headlights. Like the ones on the header on this link.

http://www.pickupspecialties.com/

[wybnrml]

^ I think fog lights that are on top of a vehicle might be illegal because they shine straight into the eyes of oncoming traffic opposed to lights on the bumper that are lower and shinning more on the road.

[FestYboy]

^ that's why they're "for off road use only"

[Zanzer]

Thats more like it. What do you think zanzer ?

Hahahaha! That's freakin AWESOME!!! I was wondering what my car would look like with the rally light bar and some big PIAA's on it! I actually thought about doing it, but I figure that's EXTREMELY illegal on the highway

I'm not sure about the laws here regarding running fog lights but I see a ton of big F-250's and SUV's that run them all the time whether the lights are on low or high. I'll have to take the Fluke meter and see if the low beam side is still energized when the high beams are clicked on. Worst case: I figure it's only wrong if you get caught LOL

I don't think they'll give me too much of a hassle. Some of these ricers I see on the roads around here look like a friggin Vegas stage show coming at you from the opposite lane. You almost need a welding helmet when these guys come past.

[Team Lightning]

I'm sure that the low beams cut off when the high beam are on.

[Zanzer]

^^ That's what was I thinking too. This doesn't work on my Festiva, but I know on my 98 Mustang (which also uses a single bulb) that when I go from low beams to high beams both sets will stay on as long as I keep the dimmer lever pulled back. I sometimes use this trick when I need some extra light to see something beside the road. This only works on the Mustang because the dimmer is a "return to home" sort of switch that goes back to a certain position after being actuated. I was just going to verify on the Festiva since it has a 2 position dimmer switch that remains in one position or another depending on which beam is selected, low or high.

[blkfordsedan]

What about all the new SUVs that have fog lights that are on all the time ? Maybe they dont call em fog lights but they have a second set of lights below the headlights. Like the ones on the header on this link.

Hmm.....I don't know. I was not aware that any of the newer cars had that feature. I do see a lot of newer trucks driving around with the fog lights on all the time. Maybe they are considered "daytime running lamps" for safety issues. Either way, if it is a factory feature that they stay on all the time, then they must be DOT compliant.

One thing I do know, if your running around in an older car or truck with 55W Halogen fog lights on and it's not foggy, raining or snowing, you will get stopped (at least around here).