Fog Light Mod- How to run Fog lights without headlights

[enzo100]

I really want to be able to run my fog lights either by themselves or with at least the parking lights but not headlights only. I looked at the fuse box and see relays near the fog light fuse but not sure which relay belongs to the fogs. I was wondering if any one has tried to do this or knows more about the wiring to accomplish this task.

[mckmnstr]

talk to shusaka he has done it for my 240 to run fog's only, problem is if you forget to turn them off when you turn off your car you will run the battery

[Shusaka]

Hey there enzo, whats happening? in order to do this mod you are going to need to know about, and be willing to play with wiring in your fuse box, its not for the "faint of heart", you could really screw some stuff up in your car

(i take no responsibility for the outcome of your project, its your call and your car, i am not telling you to do anythhing, nor am i liable for anything you do with or without my advice) safety disclaimer

anyways on to business, this is from memory from my 240, it should but is not guaranteed to work on a rogue, i dont have one to test this on therefore this is all as good as garbage, but in one mans trash is anothers treasure, this trash could be yours, there is a fog light relay somewhere underhood of your car, the input to that relay come from your low beams only, hence why the fogs will only work on low beams, this is what we are going to fix, theoretically, you need to pull the entire relay block for your fog lights out and find the input from your low beams, then you will gently remove the entire connector out from under the relay block for that input, tape it thoroughly with electrical tape, and put it aside where it wont hurt anything, then crimp a female spade connector to your replacement wire, about 2 foot should do, it should plug right back into your relay, again in theory, it does on an S14, i dunno how a rogue looks under relay, then put your whole relay block back into place, making sure your replacement wire comes out the top without hurting it, you may have to play with it to get it to find a new fitting home, then discreetly wire it to your + battery post, now instead of the foglights only getting powered by the low beams, they are always powered therefore can turn on at all times with the factory switch, also if you would like i live in San antonio, which doesnt look too far from leander, if you want some help, and are in the area for something i would be glad to help you with this project

check your local laws, in many states, it is illegal to have fog lights and high beams on at the same time and i hope it works for you, it did for me, if it doesnt, please dont sue me

[enzo100]

Thank you so much for the info. I took apart the fuse box quickly yesterday and under the relays is a circuit board. I am going to have to investigate it further and see if I can get to the wires underneath. I just hope I can trace the correct wires and not cut the wrong one. Thank you again.

[Shusaka]

for sure and like i said i live in san antonio, if you need any help and are in the area for whatever reason i would be happy to help you out

[enzo100]

Thanks for the offer. I go to San Antonio often. I might have to take you up on that if I cannot figure it out.

[enzo100]

It looks more complicated than I thought. I downloaded the service manual and studied the wiring diagrams. It appears that the input comes from a main power line but first goes into a computer inside the fuse box. The computer decides whether the low beams are on or not and then sends power to the fogs based on that decision. It is nothing but a circuit board below the relay block and I am a little weary about tearing into that. I am going to study it more to see if I can tie a wire directly from the battery to the relay. Oh, well. Not a big deal but would have been great to have.

[sprocket]

enzo100, you are correct. The Rogue's foglamp system is more complicated than Shusaka's 240.

On the 240, it's all hardwired and easy to modify. However, the Rogue uses a CAN network to communicate between the Body Control Module (BCM) and the Intelligent Power Distribution Module-Engine Room (IPDM-ER).

The combination switch on the steering column which houses the fog lamp rotary dial switch is part of a ladder matrix (which includes turn, headlamp, wiper) ... the BCM reads the switch signal and "decides" whether the fog lamp can be allowed to turn on based on prerequisites (if the low beams are on). If it meets the criteria, the BCM and sends a CAN message to the IPDM and instructs it to turn on the fog lamp relay.

There is no simple way to re-wire using the existing switch and fog lamp relay.

[Shusaka]

Ok it looks like i wont be able to help you, that ish is way over my head, lol, sorry bout that, i didnt realize what a PITA it would be to d!ck around with the CAN BUS, i wish i could be more help

[enzo100]

Not a problem. It just sucks that cars are getting so complicated these days. They have more computers than the space shuttle.