13 replies to this topic

[jeffnat68]

Gonna buy some fog lamps of fleebay and fit them to my car but there is no wireing loom to em so thought about splicing them into the side light wires and get led bulbs and use them as drls seeing as no fog lamp light will show up on dash.Anyone done this and will it work?Cheers Jeff.

[artscot79]

sorry to say its illegal mate if fog lamps are fitted they must do the job thought about that myself putting led bulbs in designed as drls but sadly no i was informed by the mot gut if they dont work as they are meant to they are illegal if fitted remember it's an offence to use fog lights when it's not foggy and if the plod see you they only have to state the fog lights were on, the are not obliged to
check the type of bulb or function... Original fogs on are fogs on

 

at youre own risk up my way you get a £30 fine the first time the second time youre caught its points and a fine and to take it to an mot tester up to you if you wish to do it everyone seems to be flouting the rules technically you can prove doing it that way they arent fogs they must be under 21 watt bulbs but i doubt any copper will look to them they ar efogs and its illegal at mot time it may also cause issues if the fogs dont light up on the dash but are fitted they are defective

[Andy H Dibley]

sorry to say its illegal mate if fog lamps are fitted they must do the job thought about that myself putting led bulbs in designed as drls but sadly no i was informed by the mot gut if they dont work as they are meant to they are illegal if fitted remember it's an offence to use fog lights when it's not foggy and if the plod see you they only have to state the fog lights were on, the are not obliged to
check the type of bulb or function... Original fogs on are fogs on

 

Would disagree here, for example, Minis, they have sidelights fitted in the front fog lamps, or what appear to be fog lamps at the front. As long as they are 21w fog lamp bulbs I personally would've thought you'd be fine. In some ways its a car marker lights and there is no rule against how many sidelight bulbs etc you can have, so long as they're not blue or red. 

 

Another thing, 'if its fitted it needs to work' - in a lot of cases this is true, but when it comes to optional extras like front fogs, heated screens, stuff that is fitted but not on the MOT check list, it really doesn't matter. In fact you'll find most testers don't even check the front fog bulbs, just the rear, as thats the only one that needs to work. I know this from having an old Mondeo that went through around 5 MOTs with knackered front fogs. I only left them in there to give the look. 

 

OP, if you're going to do it, I wouldn't fit anything too powerful or blinding as you will be drawing attention to it, not just the plod, but vigilantes who are keen on letting you know its not foggy  

[artscot79]

Rear fogs must work not fronts its still illegal to drive with fogs on if the weather does not permit also many of the led replacements i was informed by the local traffic cop arent even e marked making them illegal also i like the idea but i require a clean licence for me its not worth getting points for a fad

To make it legalish i believe the leds must be 6k and 21 watts max and a switch to turn them on or off you should also be aware that drls may soon vanish as drivers are being taken to court if a drl is proved to dazzle its been found that a drl enabled car when it hits a bump exceeds the 1% dip angle causing dazzle making them ilkegal under highway code rule 94 i believe vosa will be implimenting tests and mot rules to clear this up

[Stoney871]

If a front light is originally fitted as a fog light then by law it must function solely as a fog light no matter what wiring modifications are carried out.

(Trust me on this one).

If a DRL ring was fitted on the bezel of the light then that is acceptable as it would be fitted solely as a standalone DRL and did not interfere with the functionality of the factory fit fog light.

The mini's are different in that they have a two part light which is half fog and half DRL and therefore work as per original design.

[artscot79]

Thanks stoney as i was saying in the eyes of the law youre driving with fogs there's no argument points and a fine there are kits on ebay that are legal far cheaper if you want them then i would do it that way saying that ive lost count of how many illegally fitted ones ive seen including illuminated at night with headlights on

[jeffnat68]

Thanx for all the mixed advice guys.As I stated the car currently has no front fog lights fitted,no wireing loom and no switch on dash so I thought that by fitting some fog lights with surrounds and use low watt leds instead of fog light bulbs and then have them scotchlocked into the side lamp wireing loom I will not be breaking any laws because they are not functioning as fog lights nor is there any dash light illumintated to say fogs are on.So in theory they are just drl's.Am I right or wrong?As confused by mixed responses....
Was thinking about retro fitting these bad boys..and they don't cost that much lol
http://www.ebay.co.u...=item53f2418596

[artscot79]

Wrong once you fit fig lights in the eyes of the law they are fog lights not drls it doesnt matter that they arent fitted as fogs by fitting them they should be fogs all that will happen is the cops pulk you and do you for section 94 of the highway code i gaurantee it

Also the lights you linked to arent even e marked or road legal as said once you fit fog lights thats what they are and should function as such
thats from a traffic cop i got the lecture when i mentioned doing the same thing is it worth risking being the unlucky sod who gets pulled and points added to youre clean licence he also told me a lot of new cars drls are illegal and dont conform to uk law as to position etc
All this gets on my goat halfords and ebay etc sell stuff saying its legal its e marked but dont tell you once you fit it its not legal legal to sell not to use on the road

[Stoney871]

I believe the relevant term is "Buyer beware"

Sellers don't care as long as they get your hard earned beer vouchers out of your wallet.

The law was recently tightened up on car lighting, all new cars designed after February 2011 must have them fitted as standard. 

 

http://www.dadrl.org...mpensation.html

 

http://www.visitcars...ning Lights Law

 

http://www.roadweb.o...ome-compulsory/

 

http://www.businessc...ing-lights-drl/

 

http://www.carpages....on-07-02-11.asp

 

You will notice that the new (MK3) Focus does not have DRL as standard because the car was designed and in production prior to the February 2011 deadline.

[jeffnat68]

Rear fogs must work not fronts its still illegal to drive with fogs on if the weather does not permit also many of the led replacements i was informed by the local traffic cop arent even e marked making them illegal also i like the idea but i require a clean licence for me its not worth getting points for a fad

To make it legalish i believe the leds must be 6k and 21 watts max and a switch to turn them on or off you should also be aware that drls may soon vanish as drivers are being taken to court if a drl is proved to dazzle its been found that a drl enabled car when it hits a bump exceeds the 1% dip angle causing dazzle making them ilkegal under highway code rule 94 i believe vosa will be implimenting tests and mot rules to clear this up

Dazzled by drl's going over speed bumps I find hard to believe seeing as most speed bumps are in the 30 mph limit so cars going fairly slow to crash or it someone or something.Its just another reason for these insurance scammers to make false claims and bump my premiums up by loads each year.But I guess law is law and I don't fancy being stopped by the bill every 5 mins or blamed for dazzleing someone and causing an accident...I think I will give fitting them a miss for now...But thanx for all your replys...

[Stoney871]

The unfortunate thing is that the EU decreed the law amendment and it's us (the PBI on the ground) that have to be the miserable bleeders to enforce it..

[jeffnat68]

 Curse those eu beurocrats.....  

[artscot79]

Fronts dont have to work but if you have them working they are still classed as fogs was what i meant the test was done by what car and believe it or not a speed bump is enough to cause dazzle as the lights are over the 1% threshold hence why there are many complaints that they are dazzling other road users also dips and gradients also take them over the 1%

it is true if theres a cyclist in front and a car with drls coming at you its proven youre eyes see the bright light tests show any driver will inadvertantly look at them missing pedestrians etc its also going to court that the tests that state drls reduce accidents and the data were from countries like sweden where its dark far more than other parts of the world the eu proved the data is misleading in the states as many cars were hit by other drivers with drls as without other countries found the same results and given my neighbours new foci had a car pull out on her and hit her with the response i didnt see you despite drls says it all in sweden etc they work it was osram who did the tests saying they cut accidents so i wouldnt worry the eu courts may well revoke the need for cars to be fitted with them there are many motoring groups wanting the law changed auto lights that reduce the intensity by 50% do the same job

[artscot79]

I agree osram did a david cameron and made the figures show what they wanted check it out http://www.dadrl.org.uk/