Wire up factory foglights so that they can be turned on without the headlights on?

[DailyDriver]

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[coololddude]

Some state do not allow a car to be driven with just the foglights on, therefore the manufacture does not include that option.

 

[coololddude]

Some state do not allow a car to be driven with just the foglights on, therefore the manufacture does not include that option.

 

[BoostisLove]

I'm interested in this as well... Let me know.

 

[DailyDriver]

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[Cannondale]

Check out this thread. It has a link to a how-to on a 2007 non-HID MZ3, but it looks like no one has tried it on a 2010 yet. Who wants to be the first?
http://**********************/index.php?topic=156772.msg3394562#msg3394562

Also, I checked the law in Maryland and it looks like there's no prohibition on running fogs alone. Can't say with regard to other states.

Patrick.

EDIT - Ok. The forum software keeps blocking out the name of the site where this info is located. Guess that means I'm not allowed to post it. In any case, if you do a web search, it's pretty easy to find.

As for the Maryland law, the state code says, "Lighted fog lamps meeting these requirements may be used with lower headlamp beams as specified in 22-222 (a) (2) of this subtitle." Md. Code Ann., Transp. sec. 22-217(b) (emphasis added).

 

[Stavesacre21]

Still waitin for a DIY on this to be posted before I got splicing wires under the hood. Its usually one of the first and few mods I do on almost every car I have.

I'm ok waiting for not...

 

[DailyDriver]

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[JrTekSilverP5]

like this u mean?

this is how my car used to look...

 

[Stavesacre21]

I was out yesterday looking at the car from afar with just the parking lights on only... just not enough to serve as effective DRLs. I then put on the headlights and foglights, walked away and looked from afar, and even though the foglights are down low and are not overly powerful, they do seem to be just enough, in conjunction with the parking lights, to serve as decent DRLs. From my little observation test, it would seem to me that running the parking lights WITH fogs would serve as a great DRL set-up. So I'm really gung-ho at this point to figure out a way to get those fogs to turn on without having the main headlights on.

Again, just this morning, I was zipping along a somewhat twisty backroad, was a little overcast, this road is lined with trees so it generally shaded, and TWICE a car pulled out pretty much right in front of me as if they did not see me. I'm glad this car has good brakes. I had just my parking lights on. I guess these incidents aren't specifically due to not having fog lights on, but I think having the fogs on would make the car that much more visible. I guess I SHOULD have had my full headlights on this morning... but it just seems a bit much to run full headlights all the time in the daytime.

Man, between the lack of a good "DRL" set-up and that terrible little horn, I'm wondering if this is part of Mazda's plan to sell more cars... perhaps they want guys to crash `em... then they can sell more cars.

I never drove a small car on a regular basis before... I wonder if what I'm experiencing now (having people cut in front of me often) has to do with people in general just having a lack of "respect" for small cars....??? Maybe when they see a small car coming they think, "oh, it's just a little tiny buzz bomb, I'll just pull out, the car is so small, how hard can it even hit, probably won't feel a thing, it'll probably bounce off". I don't know... but this usually doesn't happen often when I'm driving other larger cars. I really do feel like I'm often being "dissed" when I'm driving this car.

I do specifically love the color silver because it's "bright" and easy to see. I'd think it's just one step below white which would be best in terms of visibility. My silver MS3 should not be so "difficult" to see, even coming along a shady road. By comparison, black would be harder to see. And it's not just a question of "seeing" the car, but also being able to judge distance and speed well. The "better" someone can SEE a car, the better they will be able to judge speed and distance, and thus hopefully make better and safer decisions with respect to pulling out in front of the car (or not) etc.

I think I'm just gonna keep the headlights on from now on until we can figure out a quick, easy, painless way of getting those fogs to come on without the headlights.

And then next thing I'll do to this car is a horn upgrade for sure... it's critical... cant believe they are allowed to sell cars with an essentially useless horn set-up like this... it's really a joke. Cars have to pass all these special safety standards, zillions of dollars are spent on all kinds of research into airbags, stability controls, etc, etc, etc, but yet they neglect to put an extra $15 horn on the car. In the past, many times a horn has saved my butt when some fool on a cell phone etc was about to jump right out into my path and the horn totally woke them up and made them stop dead in their tracks as I flew by etc.

The vendors that make and sell aftermarket parts for the MS3.... here's an idea... instead of worrying too much about special air filters and stuff like that, put together a "safety kit" for the MS3... a special wiring kit to get the fogs to come on without headlights, and a special horn kit with custom harness, fuses, instructions etc all ready to easily install by the DIYer.... specifically for the MS3. This would be a very useful kit. After all, you can't go fast on the street if you cannot be seen or heard, it's a serious accident waiting to happen... and all the high performance goodies in the world will be of no help when your car is totaled because some shmoe, half asleep behind the wheel, pulled right into your path and caused an accident.

And I'll leave you with this little story... I'll never forget the time, I was a little kid, riding my bicycle along the sidewalk, nice sunny day, some guy just got what appeared to be a brand new 1970 Chevelle, likely a 454 SS, had all the goodies, the stripes, cowl hood etc..... I have a very clear memory of it... car was beautiful... he was burning down the road, some old man starts backing out of his driveway in some big old Cadillac, he comes right out into the path of the Chevelle, BAM!!!!... big crash, right in front of me... the old man just never saw the Chevelle coming... what a site... what a tragedy... I nearly got hit myself, I got sprayed with debri from the impact, I was right there like 30 feet away. This beautiful new Chevelle musclecar was wrecked pretty bad, whole front end was crunched ... the guy got out, he was ok, he nearly strangled the old man, boy was he pissed.... I think I learned all my major curse words right then and there that day. He was yelling how he had JUST picked up the car, it was new, etc. It was pretty violent. I do not remember hearing the Chevelle driver using his horn before the crash though... if he had only used his HORN!!!! He didn't have his headlights on either... and it WAS a shady street. Ahhhh... see... you need lights and a good horn set-up! It still pains me to this day to think of that brand new 454 SS getting wrecked because some old man just pulled out without paying attention etc... no need for this. Let's get some good horns on our MS3s and some good lighting.

holy long story, batman!

cliffnotes??

 

[ZoomZooMee]

I think the best way solve this problem is to have a auto shut-off timer on the headlights. Everything should go off 30 sec after turning off the ignition so that everything just comes back on when turning on the ignition.
I do not miss DRLs but I love to have auto on-off feature on this one.