Factory Foglights Console Switch & Label

Mine's a euro-spec car (Germany) and fogs were factory installed. There's a small clear-acrylic push button mounted under the dash; I can post a picture when I get home. There's no label or plate, just a switch.

 

AFAIK, only the Euro QV's came with factory installed lights in the grille , however solely for the purpose of using as passing flasher lights controlled by the light stalk. No fog light, always on switch.

 

Only the rear fog light has a switch from the factory when the car was optioned.

Front fog was just passing flasher light as cmt6891 said
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My 308 is a euro with fog lights or are they extra headlights? They are controlled from the main light stalk and come on with the low beams. They go off with the high beams. This may have been wiring required by a state where the car was used/inspected.

 

Driving lights on with the low beams and off with the high beams is the way it is "supposed" to be wired. I remember cars doing this even back in high school in the 80's. My 05 Touareg does it this way.

I think it is a Fed law or something but I could be wrong. Maybe state law. Either way, it is an easy fix if you want them to stay on with the high.

 

It's on my mid-term list to address those Euro driving lights. They seem a wasted lamp, wired in the "blink to pass" configuration. I'd much rather have them wired to an independent on/off switch, the way driving/fog lamps are in all my other cars.

Given the hassle of that rewiring though... just living with it for now. Too many other things have my immediate attention.

 

I would do what's needed to have a manual on/off switch AND retain the flashing function. That should not be difficult. Not a waste at all as people used to do that as warning of intent to pass (not necessarily legal anymore in some countries) or as a general warning to an on-coming vehicle or pedestrian. Could be critical in an emergency situation. It would take much longer to get the headlights to pop up.

 

I think a latch relay + original switch would work, but I haven't done more than theorize.

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I have some Cibie Type 35 Fog Lights for anyone interested. I have them in Clear and Fluted Lens. Let me know.

 

I would think you would just need to wire a switch to the original "flasher relay" to provide the +12 volts (or ground - whichever it utilizes) to the same terminal on the relay being fed by the flash contacts in the stalk. I would not be keen on losing the flash ability since flashing lamps attract more attention than lamps that are turned on and then stay on. On the other hand it's cheap extra insurance to have some form on daytime running lights on (especially for a low, small car) without having the headlamps up all the time.

 

Mine don't flash - they stay on constantly, as long as I'm pulling the stalk back. You'd have to pull-release-pull-release to get an actual blink. And I don't hear a relay click when I activate them. It's almost like they are hard-wired directly to the toggle.

(They are also sloooooow to reach full brightness...)

My car might not be wired in a stock manner, of course. Or faulty.

 

Yes, that's normal (you are the "flasher"). When I wrote flasher relay I simply meant the relay activated when you pull back the stalk. It would be bad electrical practice to have power go directly to the lamps instead of a relay but quite possible with older Italian cars!

And you bring up the next problem... if you only pull back the stalk for a short period of time the lamps are almost useless and they don't get to full brightness. I've been meaning to (for years!) install a time-delay relay on my car so that even if you just activate the stalk for a fraction of a second it will hold the relay closed for half a second or even a second and then the lamps will reach full brightness. Installing LEDs would eliminate this problem as they light up instantly (for all practical purposes).