My fog lights didn't turn on. The blue high beam indicator did come on and would go out of I turned the fog lights off. The amber running lights and tail lights do come on.

Does this mean that I've lost a fog light bulb?

 

this is interesting...

check the fuses... also, check the relays.

this is not the result of a lost bulb... maybe 2 lost bulbs...

 

the fog lights run off the tail light fuse i believe so if your tail lights come on the fuse is fine. possibly your bulbs are burnt out.

 

Might want to give us some more info. If you're saying your foglights don't work when your high beams are on.......they are not suppose to. If they don't work at all, check your bulbs.

 

Thanks for the posts...true the fog lights aren't engineered to work with the highbeams on. I drive with my fog lamps on gloomy mornings and this morning I turn on my fog lamps and the didn't come on and the highbeam indicator was on. I depressed the highbeam switch cutting off this highbeam light and the foglight accessory request. The taillight and amber lights came on. I have not tried running the headlights so I think that would take them out of any equation but just wondering will the foglights illuminate if you lose both headlights (that's a side question)?

I'll check fuses...I was unable to find the access to the fog light bulbs after purchasing the brighter bulbs and just left it for a rainy day...how do you gain access to the foglight bulb to replace? I know you go in from the engine bay but I can't see any way of getting my hands in there to do the swap.

 

if your vintage is like mine, you get at the fogs from below....

there are little doors just below and behind the fogs, under the bumper.

 

We need more info. It is possible for the hi beam light to go on with your low beams on, and this is due to poor or no ground on the black wire (ground) from the headlight connectors. If so, you should have dim or no hi beam headlights. The fog light switch is a separate section on the headlight switch and should have no effect on the hi beam indicator. With the fog light sw off, jump 12 volts (safe to do) on the purple wire on the fog light sw (your wire may be diff color than my 87) and the fog lights should come on. The fog lights can be unplugged and checked with an ohmeter.

 

I had a bit of intution about this I must have read it somewhere. If you loose both headlights the highbeam indicator will come on even if the fog lamps are the the only accessory light requested. I replaced both headlights. After replacing the first headlamp I tested my theory and requested the fog lamps only and the fog lamps illuminated and not the highbeam indicator. Store that one in the memory bank...if both headlights go out, the fog lights will not work and the highbeam indicator will come on.

:yesnod:


[Modified by Ivory 90, 5:59 PM 8/21/2001]

 

I was looking at the wiring diagram for my '89 trying to see if there was an easy way to be able to flash the fog lights to signal oncoming drivers. It turns out that the ground end of the fog lights isn't connected to ground, but to the hot side of the high beams! This was done as a cheap way to shut off the fog lites when the high beams are turned on. I.e., when you turn on the fogs, +12V goes into the hot side of the fog lamps, out the "ground" end of the fogs lamps (which actually doesn't get grounded) into the high beam lamps' hot side, and then to ground: The fog lamps and the high beams are in series! Since the fogs are a lot less wattage than the high beams, most of the 12V falls across the fog lamps. But when you turn on the high beams by putting +12V on the hot side of the high beams, there's then +12V on both the hot and "ground" side of the fog lamps, so they go out. Or if both high beam filaments are burned out, there's no "ground" for the fogs.

I know it's hard to believe that, but you can actually see it by doing this:
- After dark, turn on the headlights, make sure you're in low beam, then turn out the headlights but leave the parking lights on so that the headlights stay where you can see them.
- Turn on the fog lites. If you look into the headlights you can see the high beam filament slightly lit!

In my car with stock fog lamps the high beam filaments light up about the same color as a cigarette lighter. I'm curious how bright it gets if you replace the stock fogs with 55W lamps. Since any power spent lighting the high beams doesn't go to the fogs.....