Fog Lights

[ken]

I have just been turned down for a warrant of fitness for my 94 Bighorn. The tester said that fog lights had to be wired up so they only work on high beam!!
Whoever dreamed this one up must have been the same person who dreamed up our turning rules. Hasn't done much driving. Having driven in fog, dipped headlights is the only way to go. I took the foglights off.
Ken.

[geeves]

proper fog lights work best with no other lights on. It sounds like the genius who wired yours thought they were driveing lights which should be on only on high beam

[MattMU]

What a load of crud!! The lights are hooked up the ONLY way they are supposed to be hooked up! They are not DRIVING lights they are Foglights!!!

Unless you guys in Eastern Tasmania have some wierd rules, then I think this guy doesnt know foglights from his backside!

I would go and talk to another mechanic/inspection station or give your transport department a ring directly.

The WHOLE idea of fog lights is to shine below the level of the fog so that the light isnt relected straight back in to your face.
But in saying that......what type of lights and where have you got them mounted. foglights are not allowed to be more than 50 watts and the must be lower than the standard headlights otherwise the inspector is right in assuming they are SPOT lights and not FOG lights!

Matt.

[Andrew]

he is correct....

the problem is that the Isuzu's come with the wiring in place which everyone uses.

All you need to do it remove the fuse from the fuse box before you get your WOF. Thay way they can not fail you as the lights are not operational.

Just tell them you have bolted them on but not finished the wiring. ;D

[morpheus]

Im pretty sure if it is attached to the car it must be in working order or else you will fail a warrant
I once took the car in and it had a blown lamp in the hi stop light so the guy said he would fail me the warrant, since the hi stop light was an add on anyway i asked if it wasnt there would he pass the warrant, he said yes so i tore it off with my bare hands in front of him.
Needless to say i passed the warrant (bastards)
Dont ever get a warrant at the vehicle testing station, find a nice quiet garage somwhere who has not got all these strange rules you have never heard of.
One guy said it was illegal to drive with the sun visor down all the time, its only for when the sun is in your eyes

[geeves]

I know someone that was failed for no sunvisor Problem was he was 6foot4 and the car was a Morri 1100 With the sunviso fitted but up he couldnt see the road. I always drive with sunvisor down. How can the position of a movable device fail a warrent as driver should position correctly for his driving position etc. This is like a 6 foot6 mechy geting into my car which is driven by 5foot 5 me and failing the car because he cant see in the mirror

[Garth]

With NZ WOF laws if you have lights fitted (eg fog lights) they must be operational. so if one is blown or you don't use them then they have to be removed to pass a wof. Crazy laws. My fog lights have decided to stop working, still getting around to finding where the fault is as I don't use them much anyway.
Does anyone know if there is a relay in the circuit somewhere and where it is? 1989 Bighorn

[andy]

My local WOF tester noticed that my fog lights were cracked and pulled the fuse out himself just so i would pass the WOF! VTNZ or onroad would be alot stricter no doubt. I was of the understanding you can have the lights fitted as long as they are inoperational or wired correctly...

[geeves]

All you have to do is remove the bulbs Hide the wireing and tell the tester that they are reflectors not lamps

[ken]

On a recent visit to my WOF garage I checked up on the fog light rule. The girl behind the desk read the rule to me and it said that fog lights must be wired to come on only with headlight dipped. So the mechanic got it the wrong way round. However the result is the same as the Bighorn could have the fog lights one either way.
I was thinking of putting driving lights on and asked about the rule for these. She said driving lights must be wired for low beam only! There must be a lot of illegal ones out there.
Ken

[andy]

That sounds like bollocks to me! Why on earth would they want driving lights blinding all the poor oncoming traffic when you dip your lights at people
Makes you wonder about who comes up with these rules...

[Amber]

I have just got a brand new warrant for my Mu. The fog/spot lights are mounted on top of the nudge bar. They are operated from one of the factory buttons on the dash. They are 100 watts each. They were taken off the vehicle when it was imported into NZ before certification as NZ does not recognize these brand or CIBIES (which are standard Mu spots) as makers of lights on their books or something. They were refitted after initial certification and continue to be accepted for W.O.F's as they are working as built. One thing I noticed after the last WOF was that they had adjusted them down so they are effectivly dipped.

Amber

[DavidM]

My recently imported Mu also has factory fitted Cibie fog lamps. They seem to be pretty useless as they are althought they light up the road for about twenty feet in front quite well. Peering through the lens the bulbs seem to be completely shielded (I haven't got around to taking them to bits to investigate yet) thus giving only reflected light through the lens. Has anyone tried removing the bulb shield? Does this give a better middle distance illumination or are the ribbed lenses the problem?

David

[MattMU]

I think you will find all Quartz Halogen globes are made to shine onto the reflector first and there is no light directed straight forward....try removing the shield, pretty hard to do, its inside the glass!

If they are fog lamps and illuminate out 20 feet or so, then theya re good and doing the job they are meant to do. If you want driving lights...fit them!

Matt.