456 Fog Lights

One for the non-US owners here....I have a UK spec 2002 456M, and am looking through the workshop manual.

I see that on page H9 it references a fog light, and also a rear fog light.

I didn't realise there was a front foglight on the 456M, I thought the two lights in the grille were only available for flashing.

Is the entry in the manual a generic carry over from another model?
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Hi,

I have just checked this as my 456 is due for it's MOT tomorrow. I have just test the front "fog" lights and can confirm they are just for flashing when the pop-ups are down. The vehicle only has rear fogs.

Now to solve the issue with my nearside position light (which seems to be far too small and weak to be a proper sidelight) and my nearside indicator where I have managed to let the wiring disappear back inside the body work.

 

As a general rule, front fogs are illegal outside of the USA and rear fogs are illegal in the USA. That's why there are different wiring diagrams for Euro/rest of world and N. America. The front foglights on USA cars (with pop-up headlights) are multipurpose. They are also used for daytime flashing.

 

Interesting. Front fogs are definitely legal in the UK (my German daily driver has them as did my 1997 Ford Escort) so in Europe they must be generally allowed.

 

Interesting indeed. Maybe it's not a legality issue in UK/Europe (regarding the front fogs), but simply that Ferrari ran out of space to put buttons for both front and rear fogs.

The available workshop manuals for FCars tend to be Euro-centric and don't mention daylight flashers and front fogs being the same. Owner's manuals may offer more specific information.

 

Can't speak to the M, but on my Japan-spec GT the front fogs can be switched on, but only if either the parking or road lights (headlights and tails) are on. When the lights are off the fogs serve as daytime flashers via the turn signal stalk. Nothing happens if I toggle the switch on the dash.

My rear fogs will only come on when the front fogs are also on.

 

US/Canada/Japan sometimes have similar regulations. However, cars imported into Canada on an individual basis are often (creatively) modified by importers or owners to suit specific Canadian regs. However, I'm not exactly sure what's happening on your car.

How are you switching on the front fogs (do you have two switches for fogs?) or are they coming on automatically with just parking lights and headlights? Doesn't Canada require automatic daylight runners? (ignition controlled, not light controlled). Is this some kind of workaround?

So your rear fogs are on when your sidelights or headlights are on?

 

My car was over 15 years old when I imported it, so no modifications on it whatsoever.

Fogs are off by default. To turn on front fogs, I have to toggle the foglight switch. This switch does nothing if the running lights are off--it only turns on fogs if the running lights are on.

To turn on rear fogs (separate switch from front fogs, they are also off by default), the headlights have to be on.

 

Ah, thanks. Now I'm with you. The logic on your car is standard for those cars with one switch only. Fronts need sidelights, rear needs headlights.

Are rear fogs not illegal in Canada?

 

As far as I know, they aren't mandatory but are not forbidden. Many new euro cars have them. Unfortunately our average driver's awareness is woeful so a good 30% of cars on the road are driving around with both front and rear fogs on all the time, which is very annoying/funny (especially for those cars with a single rear fog).

 

Hi,

FWIW mine (1995 Japan) is exactly the same. Front fogs serve also as daylight driving lights over here, work only if sidelights or headlights are on.

And the rear foglights only work if the headlamps are on.

Cheers!