The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Fog Lamp Wiring

I have always liked seeing old vehicles with a single fog lamp. I found a beauty at a swap meet and now want to wire it up. I do not drive at night and won't in fog. Here is what I was thinking. It is a single wire and I imagine the bracket holding the light grounds on the filler panel in front of the grille.
I plan to run a wire from it to the terminal for the parking lights which is located on the driver side inner fender housing. I want to have a switch under the dash to activate the fog lamp. So basically the lamp wire would go to the switch under the dash and back to the parking light terminal.
If I understand it correctly the fog lamp will remain off until I activate the switch even though the parking lights will be on. I don't drive with the parking lights on although I always drive with my headlights on even in the day. I do the same with my car.
Any comments will be happily accepted.
Bill

I believe that the parking lights are on with the headlights. I'd have to check the switch I have in the garage to be sure. But pulling power from the parking light terminal on the fender would work if you run from there back to the switch, then back to your fog light. You could save a little wire by pulling power from the headlight switch park light terminal instead, then to your switch, which I assume you want in the cab, then out to your for light. Or you could use any other hot wire terminal (such as on the ignition switch side of the ammeter), but the headlight switch would be easier to get to. Just remove the headlight switch from the dash and lower it below the dash to access the terminals.

Thanks Kevin, good point. I do not think my parking work with headlights. But then again I would have to look. The light switch is original and it is easy to remove. I will be more inclined to look into it after this weekend as I have an ultrasound pending for my best buddy, my blind cat. Will keep you all posted.
Bill

The parking lights are on a separate terminal on the light switch. They turn on at the first detent and turn off at the second detent when the headlights come on.

Even if the parking light terminal isn't on with the headlights, you could just pull power from the downstream terminal of the circuit breaker on the switch, which would always be hot unless the circuit breaker trips. But even better would be on the battery side of the circuit breaker with a separate fuse to your fog lamp switch. I would use a lighted switch (lit when the switch is turned on) as an indicator that your fog lamp is on.

As I do not drive at night and will certainly not drive in fog I decided to wire it to my Low beam connection. I always drive with my High beam lights on because I have found that although they are bright, they are not as bright as modern cars. When I installed the light mount on the valance I noticed I was scratching paint so I put a teflon square pad under the mounting post. No light! The light bulb is grounded to the housing which is attached to a mounting bolt which I assumed would be a ground. I removed the teflon and now I have light! Bit baffled but it works. Having said that it will probably never be used again.