Marauder Fog Light Switch...where is it???

[Crown Vic]

I tried looking at some interior photos of the MM and can't seem to find where it is. I'm curious because I'm thinking of installing some foggies and was interestd in using the MM switch so it will look more factory.

Thanx...
Danny

[engine23ccvfd]

You pull out the headlight dial switch to turn on the fogs

[Marauderman]

Well-can't believe someone hasn't replied as yet--well --it's included as part of the original "Headlight/parking" light knob.

When this knob is turned to the parking lights position and "pulled" outward " the fog lights are activated. Pushed inward--they go off.. There is not a separate switch for the fogs on the OEM.

[Crown Vic]

Oooohhhh....wow, that's pretty cool. I wonder if the headlight, autolamp, and dimmer are the same connectors as my car and then the foggies have a separate connector. That would be the easiest for me. :D

[Marauderman]

2 minutes late again--darn keys

[engine23ccvfd]

hehe....

[MERCMAN]

Also, when the brights are engaged, the fog lamps disengage until the dims come back on

[Crown Vic]

Also, when the brights are engaged, the fog lamps disengage until the dims come back on
I noticed that most cars with extra driving lights do that when you put your highs on. I wonder if there is a way to bypass so you'd have a ridiculous amount of light on the road...hehehe.

[LincMercLover]

I think that's more of the LCM's doings that what the actual switch controls. For his purposes, I doubt his LCM would recognize the fogs.

[Crown Vic]

Mine will be totally aside from the car. The only connection to the car will be to the relays and the power from the battery. I just wanted to retrofit/mod the MM switch for my purpose trying to get a factory look. :D

[UncleLar]

It may be possible to mod the switch to permit the fogs on with the parking lights and with the high beams,I recently saw a couple of threads on modding the Ford F150 and Expedition light switches to do so and their light switches work the same as the Marauders from what I can tell. If anyone is seriously interested in the mod let me know and I'll start digging for it.

[TripleTransAm]

There should be no link between the fog lamps and the light switch, on a Crown Vic. I'll double check the wiring diagram, but as far as I'm concerned, if the car didn't come with fog lamps, I'm sure cheapo Ford didn't include a Fog Lamp Cutoff Relay.

So, all he has to do is hook up the necessary Fog Lamp Relay (not the CUTOFF relay, that's what kills the fogs with the high beams on) and he's good to go. The lighting control module itself doesn't do anything except provide a path to feed the foglamp relay that can be interrupted by the foglamp CUTOFF relay.

[TripleTransAm]

Okay here comes the scans from the wiring manual... in these scans, the blue shading indicates 12 volts but no current flow, and the green shading indicates where current is flowing. Remember, unless the circuit is complete to a ground point, there won't be any current flowing.

In this first one, we see the foglamps in operation, with the headlights on.

The multiswitch is on low beams, so no current is flowing through the trigger of the cutoff relay, whether from the fuse 2.27 or through the lighting control module. So, because of this, the switch part of the cutoff relay should be closed (ie. connected). The diagram indicates it's open at this point, but that would never work, so it HAS to be closed so that current can flow through this relay to the actual foglamp relay.

The foglamp relay is normally open, until you flick the foglamp switch and complete the circuit to ground. So the current from the lighting control module can now flow through both relays, the second relay allowing current to flow from fuse 2.18 through itself, and then through the 2 foglamps in parallel (the red shade, just to be different).

Note that at the same time, some current also flows through the foglamp indicator bulb, which is located right beside the switch. This makes me nervous... with all three paths in parallel (the 2 fogs + switch bulb), if one or both foglamps burn out, all that current's gonna have to flow through your little switch bulb. I hope they spec'ed that little bulb for enough wattage... otherwise, I can imagine that if the bulb suddenly starts glowing much brighter than normal, it's time to check the foglamp bulbs real quick! Also, I hope it doesn't get too hot in that situation!

[TripleTransAm]

In this scenario, we had the foglamps on but we just flicked the multi-switch to high beam operation.

The multi-function switch now permits current to flow either from the lighting control module itself or directly from the fuse 2.27 depending on whether you selected high beams or "flash to pass".

Either way, the current flowing through the cutoff relay "cuts off" the flow of current through that relay on the switching side (path 3-4). I've shaded that part in blue since no current is flowing... the circuit is broken.

Now that the circuit is broken, the condition of the foglamp switch itself is irrelevant, since nothing is going to flow through the foglamp relay since the cutoff relay now prevents this. So no current flows from fuse 2.18 either, because the foglamp relay is now open since nothing is flowing on the 1-2 path... ie. the 3-5 path is open. So no current to the foglamps and no current through the foglamp switch bulb either.

My foglamp mod is essentially going to consist of defeating the cutoff relay... ie. installing a switch such that the 3-4 path on the cutoff relay is ALWAYS connected regardless of whether the highbeams are on or off. No extra strain on either the lighting control modules or any other fuses since the fog lamps are fed by fuse 2.18 alone.

[SergntMac]

Wow...Neat info. Great 411. Thanks.

Sadly, for every advancement, there is a drawback.

Now every dope head who wants to conceal a power source for his concealed compartment, has a hidden source of power.

Every cop impersonator that wants to hide his activitaion link can do just that. This will have the cops scratching their bald heads for a while...

Goes with the territory I suppose, eh?

[martyo]

TTA: When you do this mod, would you be good enough to post a "how to"?

[TripleTransAm]

I intend to. Problem is, like everything I do (such as disabling the auto headlights on my WS6), I have to do it in a factory-looking way. So I've thought of an idea to buy a spare foglamp cutoff relay and see if I can rip the guts out. Or at the very least, just wire a short across the pins that would have otherwise been kept open from each other once the high beams flicked on.

So the only thing left to get is the spare cutoff relay and figure out a safe gage of wire to short things with. (but, now that I'm typing this out, I'm realizing I'd be shorting a LOW current line from the lighting control module, not the actual higher current line feeding the foglamps, so any small wire should be safe!!!)

Expect a 'how-to" by the weekend.

[Crown Vic]

WOW!!! You guys are awesome. I knew I'd get the answer I needed...and more that was valuable...hehe. I think I may just pick up the switch panel and begin my playing with it. :D

[TripleTransAm]

Just make sure the feed to the relay (the trigger feed or whatever you call it) is hot at all times, and you connect the other side through the foglamp switch. That way, all you have to do is trip the foglamp switch, that will set up a current through the trigger side of the relay, and connect the switching side such that power feeds the fogs. If you're brave, you can even wire up the third parallel high power line through the switch bulb, too!

[Crown Vic]

Cool. I'll experiment. All I really needed was a SPST switch through a relay. I'll see what I end up doing. I just wanted a factory look instead of re-engineering the car. :D I'm an EE but I myself and skeptical when it comes to trying new electrical things on my new car...lol.