[Shop-talk] Fog and Driving Lights

[Jim Stone]

Sorry for the long delay.  We lost internet service for a few days right after Neil sent this note and I forgot all about this when it returned.  Neil asked a really good question: “Why you would want fog & spot lights on together?”

I am ashamed to admit that I never really gave this much serious thought.  My unsatisfactory answer is that there was a period switch available to do this and I wanted the functionality of that switch without the looks* of it.  However, now that Neil asks the question, I am left wondering if this is really worth it.  I live near the coast and a fog light would be nice, and there are times when I would love to have the addition of a driving light, but would I ever really want them both on?  I assume there must be a good reason, since 1) Wipac made the switches for a while and 2) they seem to be a desirable accessory for many classic car owners.  Can anyone here give me a good reason why I should go to the trouble of wiring the lights so that both can be used at once?

Thanks, and thanks to Neil for making me step back and consider this.

Jim


*Someone asked me for a photo of that switch outside the group discussion.  For anyone else who is interested, you can see pictures here: wipac rallyman switch <https://www.google.com/search?rls=en&source=univ&tbm=isch&q=wipac+rallyman+switch&client=safari&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiMgqbumqzpAhXKl3IEHd3SAxsQsAR6BAgKEAE&biw=1440&bih=728>

> On May 1, 2020, at 2:39 PM, Neil Sherry via Shop-talk <shop-talk at autox.team.net> wrote:
> 
> Should work, I think. Just connect the first one to one light and the input of the second, then the other light to the output of the second relay.
> What you are doing is effectively binary counting, stepping with each successive press of the switch:
> 00
> 01
> 10
> 11
> 00
> …
> Although I would question why you would want fog & spot lights on together – I wpuld have thought one or the other – it’s either foggy and you want the wide flat short beam or clear and you want the narrow longer throw.
> Neil
>  
>  
> From: Shop-talk <shop-talk-bounces at autox.team.net> On Behalf Of Jeff Scarbrough via Shop-talk
> Sent: 01 May 2020 01:56
> To: Shop-talk at autox.team.net
> Subject: Re: [Shop-talk] Fog and Driving Lights
>  
>  
>  
> On Thu, Apr 30, 2020 at 5:47 PM Jim Stone via Shop-talk <shop-talk at autox.team.net <mailto:shop-talk at autox.team.net>> wrote:
>> 
>> Does anyone know if such a relay exists?  If not, is there a simple circuit that would make a standard relay work as described?
>  
>  If I recall correctly, a pair of old VW headlight dimming relays would be a period-correct solution.  Grounding the relay by pulling on the turn signal lever would flip-flop the relay between high beam and low beam.  Or, in your case, on or off.  The old relays had to have the headlights on to power them, you would need to figure out how to remind yourself to turn the lights off or use a relay on the ignition wire to control the power.
> 
> Or, use one of them high-falutin' electronic gadgets...
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