Fog Lights & MFS Question

J

jonroe

Registered User
Folks,

I just replaced my multi-function switch because the high beams no longer worked. I noticed that one of the 3 connectors on the switch (the small 4 pin vertical one) was cracked and melted. Luckily, it still works with the new switch.

Question: Will I avoid further connector and switch damage if I leave the fog lights off until I can re-wire them around this multi-function switch? I don't want the connector to fail or to kill another switch.

Jon
 
Jon, I was extemely lucky when I first bought my 35th in 2001. The headlight switch had gotten hot and would cause the headlights to flicker. My previous SC experience was when they were newer. The SCCoA guys here revealed this flaw in Ford's system. The fogs overwork the wiring circuit. Yes until you correct the problem, my .02 is not use the fogs. You can install a relay for the foglight circuit as outlined here, http://www.35ththunderbirdregistry.org/Fog/RewireFogs.htm, and there are variations of this rework. You can also purchase a high performance lighting kit that helps everything. That kit is found here, http://www.supercoupeperformance.com/Miscellaneous.htm. Either way, the stock system just cannot handle the stress apparently over time. I hope this helps some.

A great week all.
 
Thanks, Lance!

I think I'm okay for now. The damaged connector looked a little poor but not totally destroyed so I think it will continue working with the new switch as long as it doesn't get too hot again.

I will look into the re-wire of the fogs now and will not use them until then.

Thanks, all, for your help on this.

Now, on to lowering the wattage of the bulbs in the top mounted stop light to try to eliminate THAT melting problem - what were they thinking?!?!

Jon
 
Lance,

I wonder if you could explain your modified wiring diagram a little more to me. I don't quite get your picture. You could e-mail me if we don't want to bore others here.

I understand the concept of having the new relay switch the heavy juice with having the existing wiring only switching the relay juice. I just don't see the complete picture of how existing wiring is used with new wiring and a new relay to eliminate the heavy amps going through the existing switches. For now I would like to just install the new relay to run the fogs in the same mode they are run today (only with low beams on). That seems simplest plus I can go up a little in wattage on the fogs if I want to.

Sorry for being thick.

Jon
 
Jon, I would be happy to help if I can. You can email me at webmaster@35ththunderbirdregistry.org and I'll see if I can explain. You aren't thick. Many people are hesitant when dealing with automotive electricals. I have just been doing stuff like that for a lot of years and am still no expert.

Have a great week all.
 
I'm not sure if Lance is using my instructions or not, as I can't open his page. But the idea is, the new relay gets it's power from a power source (fused to battery) The lights retain their original negative wire, but the original positive wire from the car will "switch" on the relay. Then from the relay, you run new positive wires to both lights.
 
Still can't get in?? Let's see if this link to the diagram works.

ModifiedFog2.gif


I checked my stats and there are way too many 404's for my taste. I will be talking to these people with the server. My apologies.

The main thing here is to use a relay to actually power the fogs from the battery directly through a separate fuse and use the existing system to turn on the relay. This saves the system by only using it to turn on the relay and letting the relay take the load of powering the lights. Hi, Jason. Hope everything is going well.

If I can help further, email me at tbirdsc35th@cox.net. THAT will get through. :)

Have a great week all.
 
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Lance & Jason,

I'm away from my office a bunch this week so won't have much chance to correspond. let me try to digest what you write and get back to you soon.

I'm not hesitant about doing the re-wiring as I don't mind doing electrical work when I understand the whole circuit. I will try to draw it out for myself and check my understanding with you guys.

I understand the concept but just don't get Lance's picture. Where in the picture would the existing Fog light switch on the console be? It would have to now control the relay in the new circuit. Are there 2 wires for each fog? Do they get the negative side of the circuit from the car ground or from the wiring harness?

I'm looking for a simple picture of the new circuit that includes all components, the lights, the new relay, the new hot feed from the battery, the existing on/off switch, etc.

I'll get back to you.

Jon
 
Jon, I'm sorry. I still have the old drafter in me when I do diagrams. The rewiring I show in the lower diagram just has to do with the foglights and the relay that you add. The original switch in the console and everything inside the car remains as is. You locate where the wires come out of the foglights and cut the hot feed to them. You splice the hot feed from the relay to the hot leads going to the foglights. You tape off the original hot wires in the original wiring harness so they will be isolated. Here is the link to the entire page, http://www.35ththunderbirdregistry.org/Fog/RewireFogs.htm , hopefully you can get in. I will be happy to elaborate via email at your convenience. Try me at tbirdsc35th@cox.net if you can't get webmaster.

Have a great week.
 
Lance,

So, here is what I see I must do:

-- locate a new relay of appropriate rating under the hood someplace, probably near the left fog light and ground it to frame.
-- run a new fused (appropriate rating) wire from the battery to the relay so it can feed it to the lights when energized.
-- cut hot feeds to both fogs (tan/orange stripe) from wire harness and tape them off.
-- leave negative leads from wire harness to both fogs alone.
-- run new wire from new relay high amp output to feed hot side of both fogs.
-- NO work inside car at all???

I don't get your drawing of the wire from the driver fog wire harness (tan/orange) to the new relay. What is that supposed to represent? Isn't that covering all the existing wiring through the MFS and console fog switch? Please elaborate on this part of your drawing. I think I got the rest.

Jon
 
Jon,

on the passenger side fog, where the hot lead comes out to feed the light, tape off the end of the tan/orange wire that comes out of the harness and essentially that kills that wire. Connect the driver's side tan/orange wire that comes out of the harness to the relay energizer circuit. This makes the original system turn on the relay instead of the foglights. The headlight and MFS switches only have to worry about the small amp 12volt feed to turn on the relay. Then the driver's side tan/orange stripe that feeds that light should be connected to the passenger side fog feed and then they splice to the relay hot feed. What I did was mount the relay close to the battery with an inline fuse and run a single hot wire from the passenger fog over to the drivers fog and then up to the relay. I put these wires inside a small diameter corrugated plastic harness wrap that you can buy at a parts store. All the work was done under the car and under the hood. As far as the inside of the car is concerned, everything is as it was.

Have I helped some? The worst time I had was snaking my hands into tight areas sometimes.

Let me know if I need to help more.

All the best.
 
Lance,

Got it!

Again, I'm sorry (to all) for being so dense on this. I figured it out last night after I went to bed and your latest clarification is exactly what I thought. I hadn't realized, at first, that the energizing of the relay comes from the cut left tan/orange AFTER it has passed through the headlamp switch, the MFS, and the console switch.

Many thanks! What amp rating relay did you use and where did you get it? I want to put a fairly heavy one in to be able to increase my fogs wattage over stock - maybe 2 times. I was thinking of a 20 amp or 30 amp rated relay and suitable wire size. Does this sound okay?

Jon
 
Hi, Jon.

I'm glad you understood. Sometimes I'm just not the greatest at explaining things. You aren't dense at all. The relay rating I used is just like Jason said,..30 amp. I think I used 14 gauge wire but am not sure. Use Jason's recommendation and go with 14. If we can help further, don't hesitate to ask.

Hope everybody has a great week.
 
Well, I guess we've beat this subject to death!

Thanks so much, Lance and Jason, for all the patient help. 30amp relay and 14 gauge wire it is! That's about what I was thinking.

Now, I'm off to revitalize my fogs!

Jon
 
Done

jonroe said:
Well, I guess we've beat this subject to death!

Thanks so much, Lance and Jason, for all the patient help. 30amp relay and 14 gauge wire it is! That's about what I was thinking.

Now, I'm off to revitalize my fogs!

Jon
Click to expand...

Well, I FINALLY got around to doing the rewire with the new 30 amp relay last weekend. Works like a charm. Now I can finally use my fogs again. Haven't used them at all since I replaced the MFS last fall. Thanks for all the help, guys!

Jon
 
Upgrade Fog Lights??????

jasonLmarsh said:
If you REALLY want to make a difference, replace the foglights with Glass replacements and 55w each of power. This made a huge difference!!!

Jason,

What exactly do you recommend for a substantial fog light upgrade for my 93 SC? I like the idea of 55 watt glass fogs or driving lights but don't want to do a whole bunch of mounting fabrication to make after market lights fit. I have looked at the 1500 series PIAA fog lights and driving lights that have exactly the same rectangular size and shape but have different mounts. How could I make those work?

Any suggestions on upgraded fogs welcome!

Thanks.

Jon
:confused:
Click to expand...
 
unfortunately my original post on this issue is now dead. I found a very inexpensive glass replacement at a local Pep Boys. The brand name was RALLYE but I dont remember the model #. The mounting point was almost identical, and only required a little finess to get them to mount onto the stock foglight brackets. I think they cost around $20 at the time.
 
jasonLmarsh said:
unfortunately my original post on this issue is now dead. I found a very inexpensive glass replacement at a local Pep Boys. The brand name was RALLYE but I dont remember the model #. The mounting point was almost identical, and only required a little finess to get them to mount onto the stock foglight brackets. I think they cost around $20 at the time.
Click to expand...

Thanks! If you dredge up the details on these, let me know.

Jon
 
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