I would like my fog lights to be on all the time as "daytime driving lights". I've been able to get to the connector on the back of the passenger side light. Can anyone suggest wiring techniques to do this?

unless you are really good with wiring I would have a shop do it

Without putting in a separate switch, the best way to wire up the fogs would be to rewire the input to the switch that is already on the car. This way it all looks factory.

Without schematics, only assumptions can be made..

Fogs came with my Grand Touring package, but with stock wiring they are nothing but ornaments. They go on only when the Xenon low beams are on -- useless. The light is already so bright that I can't tell any difference when I put the fogs on. The only use I might want to make of them is in, guess what, fog, WITHOUT the Xenons, which are so bright they probably make a blinding reflection. If anyone figures out how to do this, using the stock switch, please post a detailed description of how to do it that I can show to my non-dealer mechanic.
Mitch

If anyone can point me in the direction of the schematics, I will put together a procedure.

After I do it myself of course....

Originally posted by Mitch Strickler
Fogs came with my Grand Touring package, but with stock wiring they are nothing but ornaments. They go on only when the Xenon low beams are on -- useless.
That really annoys me. The whole point of fog lights is that you use them when the fog makes headlights useless. On the RX-8, they're not fog lights at all.

I have been thinking about doing this as well. I just encountered a lot of fog over the last few days and went to turn on the fog lights and they didn't work. I though my car was broken, until I realized the headlights need to be on - dumbest design ever. I guess they are just for show. Where can we get schematics for this car?

Originally posted by Len

That really annoys me. The whole point of fog lights is that you use them when the fog makes headlights useless. On the RX-8, they're not fog lights at all.

Blame the regulators in the USA and Canada.
They mandate that any front lights ( other than marker lights) must only come on IF the low beams are on too. They are lumped together sa "driving lights".

Yes, this totally defeats the purpose of fog lights.

If anybody wants the appropriate pages from the Mazda RX-8 2004 Wiring Manual faxed to them, send $5 to my Paypal account..
I will fax anywhere in N.America for that..

If you need this email me at:
maurice@harddata.com

Originally posted by LL7
I have been thinking about doing this as well. I just encountered a lot of fog over the last few days and went to turn on the fog lights and they didn't work. I though my car was broken, until I realized the headlights need to be on - dumbest design ever. I guess they are just for show. Where can we get schematics for this car?

The Mazda 2004 RX-8 Wiring Diagram shop manual part #: 9999-95-040G-04 sells for $135.27 ( Canadian list price).

The Mazda RX-8 2004 Shop Manual part #: 9999-95-064B-04 sells for $179.47 ( Canadian list price).

I bought both and got 15% off from my dealer..

If anyone needs a few pages faxed I want $5 to cover my long distance bill and troubles.
Paypal works for me..

can I get the whole thing from a dealer or where do I get it

I ordered mine through a dealer here in Edmonton.
Weber Motors discounted it 15% for me without my having to ask.
Nice.

Took about a week to come in.
Most dealers do their stock order for parts about once a week, so may take slightly longer depending on what day of the week you order it.
I paid $114.98 for mine ( plus GST)

The wiring manual is invaluable..

Originally posted by Magnesium
If anyone can point me in the direction of the schematics, I will put together a procedure.

After I do it myself of course....

Email me a fax # I can send it to.

maurice@harddata.com

Originally posted by canzoomer


Email me a fax # I can send it to.

maurice@harddata.com

Email sent. I will see what I can come up with.

Appreciate it magnesium. I too would like to be able to have fog on, Xenon off, when just turning on marker lights.

Can someone post how to do this lator

I have received the schematics and looking into it further tonight. I spent a little time with it yesterday but need to get under the hood a little more.

The good news is that the power for the fogs is done via relays under the hood and not in the actual switch at the steering column.

Stay tuned.

So, how does the aftermarket rear fog lamp connect and get switched? Does it connect to the existing front fog lamp relays or some way else? If the latter, then could the front fog lamps be switched in common with the rear to simplify the separation from the headlights? I'm sure most would like to be able to switch front and rears separately, though.

P.S. Off topic, but my parking light blinks on door locks just stopped working at just past 3000 odo. Did I click something off inside?

Thx

isnt it simple to wire the fog lamp to the battery and connect a relay to the side marker. thats what i plan to do.
but not before i build the garage first.

yes, you can wire it direct and hopefully not burn out the wires or anything like that.
I am trying to come up with the simplest way that does not take a mod that looks and performs like hell. Not to mention noticed by a technician at Mazda that says your warranty is voided due to mods.

Now, if I could just find that fog relay on the car..

Originally posted by come 8 me
isnt it simple to wire the fog lamp to the battery and connect a relay to the side marker. thats what i plan to do.
but not before i build the garage first.
There is a fuse location provided in the fuse box for the rear fog light.

Originally posted by MPG > HP
Off topic, but my parking light blinks on door locks just stopped working at just past 3000 odo. Did I click something off inside?Check the trunk. Mine stopped working at one point, too - turned out the trunk lid was ajar. The lights will only flash if all doors, trunk and hood are secured.

Originally posted by Magnesium
yes, you can wire it direct and hopefully not burn out the wires or anything like that.
I am trying to come up with the simplest way that does not take a mod that looks and performs like hell. Not to mention noticed by a technician at Mazda that says your warranty is voided due to mods.

Now, if I could just find that fog relay on the car..

Magnesium,
As the original poster of this request, I want to thank you for your effort. People like you are what makes this site so important and valuable.

Good luck, and thanks again. RTRYRKT

Ok, located the fog relay. It was under my nose the whole time. I missed it when I looked in the main fuse block. :P

The mod. that I have done to get the foglights to work is simple but can be seen if you ever have an electrical problem and the technicians open your fuse block to look underneath. You cannot see any mods just by taking the top off the fuse block.

Locate the fuse block and fog relay. It is the second relay from the bottom right. It is actually in the third position, but a relay is removed by the factory so it is the actual second relay. Look at the fuse block cover if this doesn't make sense....

You will need to get to the underside of the fuse block. With the cover removed, locate the four push tabs around the edge of the fuse block and gradually remove the fuse block from it's housing. Rotate the fuse block so that you can see the underside. Be careful not to stress the main power cables connected on the topside.

When you open the fuse block to get underneath, locate the brown wire that goes to the underside of the relay. You will need to cut that wire about 3 inches from the fuse block. Essentially cutting it in half. Cutting this wire, removes the headlight circuit from the fog and the fog from the headlight.

Next, locate a wiring connector. I used a bullet connector that you would normally use to do a disconnect between two wires. Strip the jacket back about 1/4" on the short 3" pigtail. Crimp the connector on the end of the 3" wire. Now, carefully push the bare end of the connector into the fuse block next to the red/blue wire that is connected to the fog relay(almost next to the brown wire that you cut). If you get the right size connector crimped on and pushed into the block, it should be tight so that it won't fall out with road bumps, etc.

Caution* Make sure the other brown wire will not short against anything else. You can cap it with and insulated crimp, or tape it up with electrical tape.

Warning* Once the fogs are connected in this manner, the buzzer/chime will not sound when you turn off your car and the fog lights remain on.

I will post some pictures in a day or so. Maybe later today. I forgot my camera at work. :(

Originally posted by Magnesium
Warning* Once the fogs are connected in this manner, the buzzer/chime will not sound when you turn off your car and the fog lights remain on.Could you not find a power source on the accessory or ignition circuits, that would kill the fogs when the key was removed?

I could if I had all the schematics. I used the same source that it uses from the factory, but bypassed the headlight circuit.

note- The headlight circuit and fog circuit are not switched via ignition key. If you go out to your car and turn on the lights, they come on without a key inserted.

I will need to get a manual in order to figure out about the buzzer circuit. Too many pages and circuits to have someone fax over to me.

Magnesium.
thanks for all your hard work. Hopefully there is a way to figure out how to wire this so they only come on when the ignition is on. Otherwise, it looks like a sure fire problem with a dead battery at the wrong time. Hang in there...

rtryrkt

If someone could send me the parking light circuit, that would be the best way to tie it in.

Most likely someone won't want the fog lights on without the tail lights anyway.

I think it is section F-1 of the schematics.

How's that sound?

Originally posted by Magnesium
If someone could send me the parking light circuit, that would be the best way to tie it in.

Most likely someone won't want the fog lights on without the tail lights anyway.

I think it is section F-1 of the schematics.

How's that sound?

I take it "someone" would be me?

I left my manual at the shop, but i can do this for you Monday..

I am not going to need it. I traced it down tonight with my meter and unplugging relays.

The parking lights work on the Tail light circuit and relay. I will confirm tomorrow the color code and exact location to tie into.

This scenario will allow the fog lights to be turned on with the parking/tail lights instead of the headlights. Pretty simple actually. This way it will give you the alarm buzzer if you leave your lights on with the key off. Wish I had though of that before....

My original thought was that the fog lights would be on ALL the time the engine is on, being used as daytime driving lights. If we were to wire it this way, then we would have the option of just turning on the tail/parking lights if we wanted (say in a real fog), or with the headlights on. Wouldn't this be easier to find a power source?

thanks, as always. rtryrkt...

While I won't argue your desire for driving lights, I have to point out that it is somewhat flawed:

1) driving lights need to be mounted higher to be useful.

2) Driving lights are normally used when the high beams are on, to add more brightness to the illuminated area.
With the HID and Halogen dual light configuration on the RX-8 there is little reason to add brightness to what is already a VERY good lighting solution.

If you want a driving lights thread I suggest you should start one.

However the proper place to put those is higher on the nose, say at the front license plate location.
These would also require a separate switch, and a separate relay to power them.

The topic of this thread is fog lights.

Fog lights need to be on when the other lights are off (except the park lights).

They are mounted low so that the angle of reflection between them and your eyes is greater than regular headlights, reducing the effect of light bouncing from fog to your eyes. The same applies to reflections from falling snow.

The fog lights have been made useless by Mazda having to follow misguided North American regulations requiring that the headlights be on before fog lights can activate. This effectively treats fog lights as if they were driving lights, which they are not.

Magnesium has found a way to easily rewire the fog lights with a bare minimum of modifications to the cars wiring.

I agree that it should also work that if you shut off the car it will turn off the fog lights.

As Magnesium just posted that he has figured out how to do that too, I look forward to his next post so I can go out and "adjust" my fogs!

Thanks once again to Magnesium for his efforts on this!

great work, magnesium!

I like having my fog lights on when my headlights aren't in two situations: when I autocross (it just looks cool) and when I pull into my driveway at night, my headlights shine right in my neighbor's window, but the foglights wouldn't.

Here is the fuse block with the Tail Relay noted. Locate this relay using the drawing on the cover.

Here is the fuse block section released from the housing. The Fog relay is located here. Note the brown wire coming from the relay. This is the wire you will need to cut to disable it from the headlights.

Here are the disconnects that I used. You can use any style that you like. These are blade style with good insulation. They are also hard to pull apart. I did the disconnect so that I can hook it back up the original way. You can put a connector on the other end of the cut brown wire and when you feel like it, unplug this and plug it back up. No more cutting!

Attach a 4-5" wire to extend the brown wire over to the Tail relay.

Here is a bad picture of where to put the other end of the extension. You will want to use a non-insulated blade connector to push in next to the wire terminal. The wire that the extension needs to be connected to is the larger green/white wire which attaches to the underside of the Tail relay.

Hope this helps.

wow great instructions

The headlights look on, but it is the reflection from the flash.

just did it.... 8mins total. Awesome instructions - works like a charm.

many thanks for the great mod.

Magnesium. Thanks for the pics and instructions. I'd still like to find a power source that turns on ONLY the fog lights whenever the ignition is on. Any suggestions?

The only circuits I know of that comes on only with the key would be the radio and ignition circuits.

Thanks. One other that I know of would is the wipers. To wire in to either the radio or the wiper circuit, can you tell me what to do. I suspect you have better things to do, so if it's a bother, please disregard.

rtryrkt

I don't have all the wiring schematics. I only had the headlight and fog circuit drawings.

I would be careful with your connections. If you get hold of the wrong circuit that is fused low, you could take out the fuse when you need it most.

Thanks. If I plug in to the wiper circuit as you did the tail lights, will that be safe? Or is it even possible? I don't pretend to understand auto electrics!!!

Good stuff!

The green/white is a fairly heavy gauge wire.

Couldn't you tap into maybe the ignition fuse wiring, or something else where you can use a simple wiretap?

I haven't tested the relay yet but the brown to the fog relay is the trigger wire, right?

Yes, the brown is the "trigger" power to the relay. When connected to power it energizes the coil and closes the contacts to route power to the bulbs. When the fog switch is on of course...

Hmmmm, just as I thought.


Oh lookie, what's that DSC relay? The first thing I do when I start my car is hold the dsc button down for a few seconds. Wonder if that's a quick fix, or if there will be issues with limp mode if that relay is just simply GONE
;) ;) ;) ;)

Quick question/clarification from you please Magnesium...

You are essentially jumpering the fog light relay trigger (brown) wire to another power source, correct? If so, this means the brown wire that originally led to the fog wire relay is just capped off, correct? In other words, the end of the brown wire leading away from the fuse box is capped, right?

Thanks...

Well, I did it today, with a twist of my own... cut that little brown wire, capped off the end leading away from the fuse box, then used a wire tap to hook the fuse-box end of the brown wire into the "ACC" relay. Took me about 15 minutes.

Now my fog lights will come on with the turn stalk switch whenever the ignition is in the run position. So I can use them independantly of the headlights, and even use them as daytime running lights if I want to, without fear of running down the battery when the car is off. Nice!!!

Many THANKS Magnesium for figuring this out and posting such excellent directions! It's people like you - and directions like these - that REALLY make this board stand out!

Which wire did you tap in to in the ACC? Thanks for this variation. This is exactly what I was hoping for when I first posted this question. Doing it your way give all the options of how the fog lights are on. You're brilliant!
rtryrkt

Originally posted by rtryrkt
Which wire did you tap in to in the ACC? Thanks for this variation. This is exactly what I was hoping for when I first posted this question. Doing it your way give all the options of how the fog lights are on. You're brilliant!
rtryrkt

Brilliant? WOW, that's a nice thing to say... nice enough, in fact, that you motivated me to not only go check but also to take a pic of my mod and try to figure out how to post it here. :D

I used a "red" wiretap to tap into the thin white with red stripe wire leading away from the "ACC" relay, which is in the 5th position in the same row as the fog relay, or 2 positions to the right of the fog relay if you look at the fuse box from the right. I picked this wire by removing the relay, then testing with a DMM to find a wire that was "hot" with the ignition key on only.

Hope this helps!

Omicron:
As I said, brilliant. Just did the job and it's easy. For clarification, I tapped in to the small white w/ red stripe wire, not the bigger one. I also disconnected the battery to be sure... When reconnecting, the DSC light flashes. The procedure for fixing this is on page 5-22 of the manual, so no one should freak out (like I almost did).

Thanks to you and Magnesium for this great mod.

rtryrkt

Happy to be able to contribute to the knowledge base around here. :)

Here are the disconnects that I used. You can use any style that you like. These are blade style with good insulation. They are also hard to pull apart. I did the disconnect so that I can hook it back up the original way. You can put a connector on the other end of the cut brown wire and when you feel like it, unplug this and plug it back up. No more cutting!

Attach a 4-5" wire to extend the brown wire over to the Tail relay.


Magnesium, I am not the most knowledgable when it comes to simple electronics, where can I purchase these "connectors" - pretend I am a 2 year old :-)

Originally posted by Irish_in_a_RX8
am not the most knowledgable when it comes to simple electronics, where can I purchase these "connectors" - pretend I am a 2 year old :-) Try your FLAPS.

(Friendly Local Auto Parts Store :))

Originally posted by rtryrkt
Omicron:
As I said, brilliant. Just did the job and it's easy. For clarification, I tapped in to the small white w/ red stripe wire, not the bigger one. I also disconnected the battery to be sure... When reconnecting, the DSC light flashes. The procedure for fixing this is on page 5-22 of the manual, so no one should freak out (like I almost did).

Thanks to you and Magnesium for this great mod.

rtryrkt

Yes, what rtryrkt said! I did it this way too. Works and is easy to do. My avatar now shows the results of this mod.

I did the mod successfully (or, to be honest, my mechanically talented brother did). The directions and pictures were excellent. Thanks.

I want to run the fogs as DRL's and be able to have them on with the running lights but without the low-beams (so they actually function in fog) as well. Has anyone come up with a rewiring method that does not involve a separate switch. All I can think of is to disconnect the leads at the lights and reconnect them to a separate switch which would have to be added at the dash. If anyone has another suggestion I am interested. If not, I will proceed with the separate switch.

I think I understand what you want and this mod is exactly it. You have all the options. You can have the fog lights on with headlights, with parking lights, or only by itself. Do the mod described by Omicron. The pictures are excellent and directions very complete with the additions of other posts after it.

Good luck
rtryrkt

Burt, the separate switch is actually the one on the turn signal stalk. If you wire it my way, you can just leave it on all the time and the fogs will come on with the ignition, and go off when you turn off the car - just like daytime running lights. Or you can just turn them on when you want them for fog, as long as the car is running. They're not connected to the headlights at all this way, just the ignition.

I think some may want to wire their fog lamps to be on with the running lights and not just the ignition so that you can leave the fog lamp switch on and they will only come on when you turn on the lighting circuit, but not only with the headlights.
This is how you wire them to be tied to the running lights and unaffected be the presence of the headlamps:

First, open the hood and fuse panel, then unclip and raise the buse block out of the tray:

http://www.mazdamaniac.com/images/rx8/fog/fog_01.jpg

http://www.mazdamaniac.com/images/rx8/fog/fog_02.jpg

Locate the two wires needed to complete the modification - the BROWN fog lamp relay wire and the BLACK and RED tail light fuse wire:

http://www.mazdamaniac.com/images/rx8/fog/fog_03.jpg

http://www.mazdamaniac.com/images/rx8/fog/fog_04.jpg

Cut the BROWN wire about 2 inches from where it loins the harness and strip a small section of the BLACK and RED wire in the middle of its accesible length:

http://www.mazdamaniac.com/images/rx8/fog/fog_05.jpg

Place a small piece of shrink tubing over both parts of the BROWN wire - one to cover the splice that you will create and the other to cover the unused section as it enters the harness:

http://www.mazdamaniac.com/images/rx8/fog/fog_06.jpg

Attach the BROWN wire to the stripped section of the BLACK and RED wire, solder the connection and cover the junction with the shrink tubing. Shrink the two sections of tubing with the heat from the solder gun:

http://www.mazdamaniac.com/images/rx8/fog/fog_07.jpg

http://www.mazdamaniac.com/images/rx8/fog/fog_08.jpg

Here are the two relevant wiring diagrams:

http://www.mazdamaniac.com/images/rx8/fog/fog_09.jpg
http://www.mazdamaniac.com/images/rx8/fog/fog_10.jpg

Now your fog lamps will come on when they are switched on and the lighting selector is set to either the first or second positions.

Enjoy!

Just a note:

I just switched my forum name from "Maniac" to "MazdaManiac". Please address all correspondance accordingly. Thanks!

You guys have done some real good work here. I went ahead and did the Mod today, only took a handful of minutes after reading all the good info on this thread. I decided to go with "Omicron's" variation as it opened all possibilities of using the fog lights independently from other lights, offering full control to keep the fogs on or off by using the turn stock and no possibility of draining the battery since it's tapped into the Accessory relay.

Hat's off to Magnesium for doing a lot of the early investigative work. Thanks all. As Tony the Tiger used to say it’s GREEEATTT!!!

Here's the results:

Wow this is an amazing thread. You guys are great. I nominate this to be a sticky!!!

OUTSTANDING! I did the "Omicron" procedure - I just cut the brown Fog wire (capped off the power-supply end) and branched the brown line to the Fog relay to the smaller white/red wire from the ACC relay. I now have full control of the front fog lights. So far, I leave the Fog switch "on" so that they come on as DRL's whenever I am driving (they are mounted a bit low, but better than nothing). It is so simple, once you identify the relays and wires (a test-bulb is also useful to confirm which wires are hot under which conditions). Thanks for the very useful insights!

Sweet! I just did it in about 6 minutes.

3 of which were looking for a wiretap ;)

Ok i went to do this mod with the ACC wire(the bigger of the two). I used a wire connector to splice into the wire with the fog light wire. So i figured i had everything fine, so when i went to turn the lights on i didnt get the fog lights to come on, so i was a little suspicious. I did disconnect the battery, but it was reconnected. So I went to re-examine what I did. I could not find any mishap, so i disconnected the wire splice to find a gash in the acc wire from the splice. All this time my car would not start and i got this security indicator light blinking on my dash. It looks like a car with a key cut out in the middle. So I went to start the key and the car would not start. So i redid everything, connected all the wires and cut the acc wire completely (which i prob. shouldn't have done) and reconnected it back to its original wire, still the car wouldnt start and that icon kept flashing. Im freaking out here, what did i do wrong?

You first took a wrong turn, you were supposed to splice into the the "smaller" of the two wires (small white w/ red stripe NOT the big white/red wire) of the accessory relay. As for what's wrong, I dunno. :( When you say your "security light" flashes do you mean the lights indicated on page 5-22 of your user manual. There's a procedure in there to reset after disconnecting the battery. If you undertake these procedures you have to carefully read the entire post, because there are a few variations and changes, if you read only part you could get led astray. Good luck, sorry it didn't work out the 1st time.

Sounds like you might have run a power source directly to ground.
Start looking for popped fuses and I'll take a look at the wiring diagram tonight to see where you might have gone wrong.

Originally posted by Maniac
Sounds like you might have run a power source directly to ground.
Start looking for popped fuses and I'll take a look at the wiring diagram tonight to see where you might have gone wrong. Good call Maniac, blown fuse is very probable. :confused:

No i mean the light on page 5-43, but a blown fuse is a possibility, do you think I blew the ACC relay fuse? I went to autozone and they dont even carry that relay fuse yet, is there anyway another fuse might have blown. I cant look at the car now but any suggestions would be appreciated.

Edit: Ok I found it, the IG fuse was the one that was blown, its a 15 amp fuse, so i replaces that and it started. Fogs look great when there's no head lights on, Thanks guys :D

As a devout tinkerer, I couldn't let this go without one more variation. I decided I wanted the fog lights to be able to be on when the ignition is on, but not necessarily when the ignition switch is in the "accessory" position --- so I did it.
The attached photo shows the necessary wires to identify:
Wire #1 is the wire that carries the power TO the fog light relay.
Wire #2 is the stock connection.
Wire #3 brings power from the accessory circuit.
Wire #4 brings power from the ignition circuit.

I put a male tab connector on wire #1, a female tab connector on wire #2, and female tap-in tab connectors on wires #3 and #4.
You can use anything that works, of course. The ones I used are available at Radio Shack.

This photo shows the fog lights connected to work as they originally did.

This photo shows the fog lights connected to work when the key is turned to (or past) the '"accessory" position.

This photo shows the foglights connected to work when the key is in the "run" position. With the fog light switch is left ON, the fog lights work like Daytime Running Lights.

Note that I can connect my fog lights any one of three ways just by lifting the fuse block and moving a connector.

Originally posted by SiCkRx-8
Edit: Ok I found it, the IG fuse was the one that was blown, its a 15 amp fuse, so i replaces that and it started. Fogs look great when there's no head lights on, Thanks guys :D Glad to hear everything worked out!

Originally posted by bobclevenger
Note that I can connect my fog lights any one of three ways just by lifting the fuse block and moving a connector. Nice work, I didn't see that blue splice/wiretap when I went to Kragen. Was there a particular name and/or brand for that part? Thanks.

EDIT: Oops, just noticed you mentioned you got the connectors at radio shack...

I used the Maniac twist described here. Works great. Thanks to all the contributed to the info here.

Originally posted by Racer X-8
DON'T GO THERE!!!!!!!

Don't go where?

I just did this tonight using the directions here. Super easy, and very useful. Thanks to you all for being bold.

I just had my first chance to try the fog lights by themselves on a foggy night. It was great to get rid of the dazzling reflection from the Xenon low beams, but not so great to drive by a rather dim light that ended not very far ahead of the car. How about more powerful lights (new bulbs)? I remember some posts on other threads describing how to get at fog lights, but saying that it was a difficult job. Suggestions and instructions welcome.

Look at this thread, it should offer some information.
http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8553&highlight=bulb+replacement

For those who have done the fog light re-wire, does this mod remove the feature whereby the fog lights turn off when the hi-beams are switched on? If so, might there be another easily-done mod that would restore it?

Originally posted by stormchase13
For those who have done the fog light re-wire, does this mod remove the feature whereby the fog lights turn off when the hi-beams are switched on? If so, might there be another easily-done mod that would restore it? Yes, this mod defeats the "off when high beams are on" feature. This was the main point of the mod. If you put a connector on the brown wire that supplies power to the fog light relay as I did (see photos in earlier post on this thread) you can return the fog lights to stock any time you want.
If you want to have the fog lights come on with the ignition (like DRL's) but go off when you switch the main (high) beam headlights on, I think you would need to install another relay.

I did my mod tonight. Appreciate the early efforts of Magnesium, Canzoomer and Omicron. If I can do it, almost anyone can. I missed one wire on the first connector but it was very simple (especially after staring at all the very nice photographs posted for hours the past two months).
A couple clarification points. I used a small connector called "Quick Connects", 3M brand, found at Wal-Mart 3pk $1.23,for 18-14 gauge wire. It takes a bit of effort to lift the tray once you push the 4 little tabs out that hold the tray down. As one can see in the pics, it is about 2" in depth and uses several small guides that the tray must be lifted over to free it. I didn't disconnect the battery. I did use a very strong light to make sure I could see the colors very well. (have trouble with brown/green/red in low light). I started out using a small screwdriver to prop up the tray but it kept slipping, so I used a small cardboard box which worked much better. I had to pull the brown wire up a bit to get enough length before cutting, and the same for the small white/red wire to get enough length to get it into the connector.

Great job Daniel! :)

Thanks for everyones effort on this post. I did the mod in about 15min. and I love it. No problems.
-Ron

You guys might want to check this out but I did this same mod on my MR2 and all I did was run a jump between the prongs on the relay switch. On the switch it would only come on or move to the postive position if the lights were on. If you were to jump it with a wire it would always get a connection regardless of whether or not the lights were on. I don't remember needing to cut or splice any wires. I will look at it on my car and see what I can figure out in the next couple of days.

I found this site which has several ways of rewiring Mazda headlights http://www.miata.net/garage/foglights.html . I couldn't find the original one for my MR2.

I have been following this thread and it was intriguing and vey informative. Thanks to all the contributors.

My variation is:
1. A dashboard switch to flip power source from light switch to ACC by running a multi conductor cable from the fuse box to the dashboard. In the up position the fog lights come on with ACC and in down position with lights only. This way I can have the fog lites stay on even on high beam, ha ha

2. one of the conductors in the wire carries power from the Fog lites relay to an LED, so I can tell when the fog lights are on.

Picture of the switch attached.

Unser that is sharp man. Imgoing to drive over to your place and payyou to install the exact samething on mine. I dont live too far from Lighthouse Point anyway--haha!

Very, very nice indeed Unser. Great new version of the mod. Coupla questions though...

First off, why a separate LED? Why not just a switch with an LED? Secondly, did you realize that my version of the mod allows you to have the fogs on with the high beams too?

Here is my set up

Here is my attempt

Originally posted by Omicron
Very, very nice indeed Unser. Great new version of the mod. Coupla questions though...

First off, why a separate LED? Why not just a switch with an LED? Secondly, did you realize that my version of the mod allows you to have the fogs on with the high beams too?

Omicron
Hats off to you and the others who were the pioneers.
As you said a new version is what I wanted, so this is version 1.4

1. the separate LED is to know when the lights are on, but I guess that is overkill, you can just look at the stalk switch, in either position of my add-on switch, they would only be on with the stalk switch on. hmmm why did'nt I think of that before ?

2. Fog lites with high beams was a welcome side benefit, but I just wanted a switch handy instead of going under the hood again.

Again, the fog-lite rewire and the maplight LED are the simplest and best mods for DIYers, thanks

Fair, 'nuf, thanks. Again, good job! :D

since were on the topic of foglight wiring, does anybody know how difficult it is to remove the stock foglight assembly and all wiring leading up to the stock foglight switch? i am planning to sell these when i get my new bumper.

I had some time, so went ahead attempting this mod.

Looks simple enough even for a newbie like me.

Anyhow, I have a problem.

I have the "brown" wire (which isn't brown on mine, but black and white, I have confirmed that is "SHOULD" be the same as the brown wire as it is the small wire from the FOG black box that leads to the TAIL bigger black box) cut in half and then (manually for now until I get a connector) wound around a spliced portion of the red/white wire from the ACC black box.

But now everything just works the same as before, fog doesn't turn on with key in ACC and lights turned in "normal/rest" or "parking/1st click" position. Fog turns on in "2nd click" position as normal.

I will try again when I can get a proper connector, but please if anyone can point to what I am doing wrong so far, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Originally posted by AcuraEL
I had some time, so went ahead attempting this mod.

Looks simple enough even for a newbie like me.

Anyhow, I have a problem.

I have the "brown" wire (which isn't brown on mine, but black and white, I have confirmed that is "SHOULD" be the same as the brown wire as it is the small wire from the FOG black box that leads to the TAIL bigger black box) cut in half and then (manually for now until I get a connector) wound around a spliced portion of the red/white wire from the ACC black box.

But now everything just works the same as before, fog doesn't turn on with key in ACC and lights turned in "normal/rest" or "parking/1st click" position. Fog turns on in "2nd click" position as normal.

I will try again when I can get a proper connector, but please if anyone can point to what I am doing wrong so far, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks. Sounds to me like you're on the wrong relay. Far as I know, every RX-8 has the same relay positions and the same light brown wire leading from the foglight relay. If you could post some pics, I may be able to help.

In the mean time, here are a couple of pics that may do it for you. In the first, the fog relay is shown. Note that it is in the third from the bottom right position in the fuse/relay box under the hood, as you face it from the front of the car. The light brown wire comes from the underside of this relay.

And here's a better pic of the light brown wire underneath the relay:

Thanks Omicron for your quick reply.

I don't know how to attach a pic yet.

But I can explain to you that my black/white wire is equivalent to the brown wire. IE. the smaller wire (near the driver's side rear) of the FOG relay (black relay near the driver's side front) of the fuse box. This wire leads to the large black relay labeled TAIL.

So seems like the color is the only difference.

I will try the connectors later and see if it helps.

What I can tell is different right now as I have patched it to the ACC relay is the green driving light on the instrument (light that shows two lights pointing left and right) is OFF in the headlight switch "normal/rest" position. All other functions and indicators appear the same.

How many ways to say "wrong relay"?

I know this is an old thread, but I just wanted to say that I did this mod today. (the one with the fog's as running lights) Wanted to say thanks to all that came up with it. Made the wiring a piece of cake. Great forum.

OK, I have had a chance to open the fusebox again.

I have looked at my fusebox time after time and "looks" like my black/white wire is equivalent to everyone else's brown wire.

Take a look at my temporary (non-working) mod.

Yellow tape shows connection.

1. Empty plug for REAR FOG
2. First black box for FOG
3. My "brown" wire coming out of the FOG black box
4. Other end of the "brown" wire that was cut, going to TAIL box
5. Wire coming out of the ACC black box

OK AcuraEL, I've done some comparing.
Yes, the wiring is different on your 8 than it is on my 8.
I believe all the successful mods were done on US spec cars.
Dumb question time -- is your car a US spec car?

Our brown wire does NOT go to TAIL relay (that's what those black boxes are), but rather goes into the wiring loom.

Question: how do you want the fog lights to work? I might be able to figure out how to do it.

And no, you are not hooking to the wrong wire; your car is different for some reason.

Hi Bob, thanks for the confirmation that I was in the right direction.

My car "should" be a Canadian model, as I bought it in Toronto, Canada.

I just want the simple mod to use the foglights in the middle of the three headlight switch position. So that I can turn it on in foggy weather without the xenons overpowering it. That's it.

If you can help, that would be great. Thanks all.

so if I connect the brown wire to the black/red wire as maniac described on page 5, that will connect the fogs to the parking lights? is that correct? Even though its the tail light fuse, those are only one with the parking lights right?

Will that afford the availability of having the parking/fog on without the headlights as well as having the fogs and the highs on at the same time? Did I read that correctly?

PMACWILL -

You have it exactly right.

You can still turn the fog lights on and off with their switch, but now they will come on with the first click of the headlight switch and will stay on even if you pull the highbeam trigger.

First, to those who posted the "how to" and the pics... you guys ROCK!

That was SOOOO easy! My Mini Cooper had driving lights that came on with just the parking lights or headlights and I missed that feature. Not anymore!

Thanks again!!!

Add me as one more happy Club member. This mod took ~10 minutes and gave gratification on both ends. First, because I had an excuse to drive to the store to by the connectors and second, to drive it knowing I had control over the fog lights. Great stuff guys.

I also put in the gutter guard screens in front of my Oil Coolers. Easy to do and it seems like it will work fine. Much easier than the HYMEE kit albeit perhaps not quite as elegant. However, I may still look to something a little more secure and long lasting such as a metal screen of some sort once it warms up and I feel like crawling on the ground.

This is what the an owners forum is all about!! Excellant work to all that put the time in to figuring the wiring out. Maniac - I followed your step-by-step instructions for the rewire and they were perfect. Thank you. I only took enough time to do in between coats of paint on my calipers!

Originally posted by XcelR8
This is what the an owners forum is all about!! Excellant work to all that put the time in to figuring the wiring out. Maniac - I followed your step-by-step instructions for the rewire and they were perfect. Thank you. I only took enough time to do in between coats of paint on my calipers!

Glad it worked for you!

I can't even remember how they were before I made the mod...;)

Just finished r&r highbeam,parking,turn signal and fogs to a hid like Philips bluevision and am very happy even the chrome reflectors look blue in the daylight.changed the turnsignals to siver bulbs that light up yellow but off look silver further enhancing the effect.
this was not as cheap as I first thought and taking the frontbumper off really made me mad that the fogs had no chance of removing bulbs any other way.
rewired the fogs using this threads pointers,really made easy work of it used m/f covered spades so easy retro.
did them on the acc trip wire.
thanks for the well laid out photo's
Robert

Last night I rewired my foglights. First off, thank you everyone who posted here previously... I went and spliced the brown relay wire into the green/white wire. This way I could turn the fogs on with my parking lights or full lights. It was really easy after analyzing the wires, the diagram on the fuse cover, and the posts here. One thing I have to say though.... Maniac/MazdaManiac, the Black/Red wire you pointed out goes to my rear defroster circuitry. I don't know if this is the way on all vehicles, but you might want to recheck things to make sure. my power source was a low gage Green with a white stripe wire that led to the back light assembly. anyway, the mod works and I love it.

-JiM

MazdaManiac-

Just implemented your driving lights solution ... thanks to you and all who have contributed to this thread.

I also wanted to say thanks, especially to bob...i didn't get it done as fast as other people, but I am no means a whiz with wiring...in fact, this was my first ever electric DIY project, and the instructions and pics posted here were helpful to no end...

Alright I did this mod as per Omicron's instructions, but I didn't like the fogs on as DRL's and I didn't like having to switch them on and off with my parking lights.

So I followed the original instructions that connects them to the TAIL relay, but I added a little twist. I don't have my camera so I'll try my best. This way isn't as clean (who cares its in a box under the hood!) but it's alot easier.

Remove the tail relay and located the top spade terminal that runs parallel to the front of the car. there's two that go left/right and two up/down. this is the terminal that the heavier gauge green/white wire runs to from underneath.

use a piece of low gauge wire and strip about an inch off the end. insert the stripped end into the previously mentioned terminal.

replace the relay, being sure the wire doesnt come out of the hole

run the wire through the vent holes to the left of the relay and across the bottom of the fuse block. cut and cap the brown wire from the fog relay and use a tap or splice the two (extension wire that your provide, and the brown wire)

now the fog switch only works when the parking lights are on!

Uh, Epitrochoid?
That was the function that I already implemented in my version of instructions.

i havent read over the entire thread in awhile...

but the other method involved running a wire and using a spade to connect it underneath the relay, mine did the same thing from above. i found it diffifult to access the bottom of the fuse block, so i did that part at least from the top.

or maybe you did the same thing, and i just missed it. sorry

Originally posted by Omicron
Brilliant? WOW, that's a nice thing to say... nice enough, in fact, that you motivated me to not only go check but also to take a pic of my mod and try to figure out how to post it here. :D

I used a "red" wiretap to tap into the white with red stripe wire leading away from the "ACC" relay, which is in the 5th position in the same row as the fog relay, or 2 positions to the right of the fog relay if you look at the fuse box from the right. I picked this wire by removing the relay, then testing with a DMM to find a wire that was "hot" with the ignition key on only.

Hope this helps!

you da man!

I just got to do this mod tonight. it was kind of a pain to work with the short wires. if it wasn't for that, it would be a 30 second job.

I drove on some back roads after doing this (where it was real dark). with just parking lights & fogs, you can't see very far ahead (i was going slow and the moon was almost full tonight).

but I often find myself in situations where I wish I could turn on only the fogs, or just parking lights & fogs, so this is perfect. thanks again.

I just got this mod done today, I was so jealous to see other cars at dusk driving down the road with just the parks and fogs on. Now... I've got it too, and the fact that the ambers don't come on with the parks, only for the turn signals just sets off the front of the car, I saw people staring like... Deer in headlights! Hmmm, strange... cause... mine weren't on!

ok...so my car is wierd...followed the directions, and when i turn on the parking lights...for some reason, my high beams come on...i hooked up the male/female disconnects, and when i wire it back to normal, everything works like normal...any ideas???

Yup, hate to say it, but you miswired things. Check the instructions closely and try again. Usually it's something like tapping into the wrong wire, or tapping the wrong end of the light brown wire into things.

i verified the right end of the brown, and that it is going into the green/white cable...i am going to post a pic later tonight...see if anyone can spot what i am missing...i figured it was a wiring thing, but i don't see what i am missing...guess we will see in a few hours.

I used the thin white with red stripe wire, a few relays down. Fogs come on whenever turn stalk switch and ignition are on this way. Maybe try that one?

Thanks Omicron...that is what i was looking to do anyway...do you happen to know which relay...if not, i am sure i will hunt for it tomorrow anyway.

Thanks in advance.

Fifth relay from the front. There's a light blue relay, then a blank slot for one, then third, forth, and 5th relays (which are all black). The light brown wire comes out of the third position, and the THIN white w/red stripe wire comes out of the 5th position. Check this post (http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=152255#post152255) again.

damn...i must have missed a few pages of this post...thanks for pointing it out...now to go fix my wiring.

Cool. Let us know when you get it working!

ok...so my car hates me...my Quick disconnect cable works fine when in the factory position...everything works as it should...

http://www.havenbbs.com/rx8/images/fog_lights/factory_wiring_with_qd.jpg

however as soon as i try to move to the red/white little wire...with all light switches off, my parking lights are on, and my head lights flash...

http://www.havenbbs.com/rx8/images/fog_lights/new_wiring_close_blurry.jpg

http://www.havenbbs.com/rx8/images/fog_lights/new_wiring.jpg

Sorry about the blurriness, it's time to get a new camera...anyway...

does anyone have any ideas???

whoops...let me check that today...i'll get back to you guys...

Yup. You are tapping the light brown wire leading AWAY from the fuse panel into the white/red wire.

What you want to do is to tap the light brown wire leading INTO from the fuse panel into the white/red wire. I've circled the wire you want to tap into the white/red.

So I must be crazy...that is exactly what it was...and now it is fixed...thanks Omicron...

You betcha. Glad you got it working. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. :D

I just did this myself, using Omicron's method (tapping into the ACC relay using a simple wire-tap). This allows me to leave the fog lights on all the time (kind of like driving lights) without worrying about running down the battery. Excellent instructions guys, you all make this forum the best. This really was a very easy mod, due to all the help. Once again, bravo!

Quick question before I make this mod to my fogs, The different options we have are just to switch the fog relay on correct, Its not used for the power load for the fogs, correct.. I just dont want to be putting more load on another fuse that already one... thanks

If the mod directions are followed....yes, you are just shifting the relay coil load, not the fog lights load. The relay load is insignificant in terms of load on the fuse. This assumes, of course, that you haven't installed a ton of 'other' mods for which the ACC fuse wasn't designed.

The fog lights' load remain with the fuse designed to deliver power to the lights.

Kewl, Thanks for the quick response, Now I can make this change without worrying about blowing fuses... By the way does any one know if we can change the color of our fogs to match our headlights color.

Kewl, Thanks for the quick response, Now I can make this change without worrying about blowing fuses... By the way does any one know if we can change the color of our fogs to match our headlights color.Kewl's explanation is exactly right. Ain't he kewl? :D (sorry, couldn't resist)

Yes, you can change the color of the fogs by getting replacement H11 type bulbs. I got mine from here (http://www.europeanautosport.com/). Kind of a bitch putting them in though, as it involves removing the plastic under the front bumper to get to them.

Kewl, Omicron Thanks, That's what I like about this Forum, From the most simple to the the most complicated question there's always someone willing to help out...

Did the fog light rewire yesterday - Omicron version to run off the Acc relay. Excellent instructions. Took two minutes max. I was somewhat apprehensive about cutting/splicing wires under the relay panel but the instructions made it quite easy. My neighbor came over when he saw my hood up and was somewhat surprised when he saw me cutting wires under the relay panel. Of course I talked like I actually knew what I was doing and the mod actually worked on top of it - made me look like a regular mechanic!! Thanks Omicron and Magnesium for doing the initial research.

You bet guys... happy to help. Such a simple little thing to do once you know how, and useful... that's what makes it so cool. :D

The real credit goes to Magnesium though, for breaking the initial ground and figuring out the critical little light brown wire. I just improved on his final connection point.

Ok,.. trying to find out and go thou 10 pages of stuff. can someone please that has done it, quote the intruction..

Ok,.. trying to find out and go thou 10 pages of stuff. can someone please that has done it, quote the intruction..
How about this: go to this thread (http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=11737&page=5&pp=15) and scroll down to post #73.
That's the start of my 4 posts describing how I did it (with pictures).

Just did it. Thanks for the great instructions Omicron and Magnesium.

You bet. :D

just did bobclevengers way and took me longer to pop the hood then it did to do this mod! looks great and helps set my car just that much more!

thanks to all who put in the countless hours and research to make these mods possible to do at home!

I'm just happy to see others using and enjoying the mod that we came up with. I'm sure that Omicron and Magnesium feel the same way too.

Thanks guys I just did the mod myself. I set mine up just as Magnesium did and it works great. :)

perfect post guys...love the results!

Yep, great thread! Should be made sticky if not already.

Thanks to Magnesium, MazdaManiac and others for giving the people the power to wield their foglights with impunity :). Here are more RX-8s with the mod:

Very nice!

Wayne

Did the Fog light mod this weekend (Omicron version). Had it done in about 15 minutes, almost before wife asked, "what are you doing to that car now??". Great mod, works like a charm. The limited fog light operation had been bothering me since I first got the car. Thanks for a great and easy mod guys!

Guys... Go to about page 5 of this thread and you'll see a set of links from "Mainiac" which are pictures. That should be enough to get you started.

Guys... Go to about page 5 of this thread and you'll see a set of links from "Mainiac" which are pictures. That should be enough to get you started.

I agree, MazdaManiac's pictures are priceless, as well as his step-by-step instructions. I did it his way, since I prefer to have four-way parking lights on whenever my fogs are on, and it's perfect, took all of 10 minutes. Props to all who contributed.

-arattle

I se I'm a year late on this but I see one of my biggest bitchs. That red tapping connector. The guy who inveented that got an award. He should have been taken out back and floged. The way that thing works is to cut into the wire thus making it smaller gauge. I know the argument, that the blade makes up for it by contactuing both sides. This isn't really true because there is still a non completed strand, more i mean.

You will get corrosion in there and what happens when you take it off?? The constant bending of the fewer strands will fail sooner. At it's wiorst on thin wires like you use here. Best way to tap into a wire is to strip the insulation back about an inch and a half. Don't cut into the wire. Wrap the tapped wire around the primary one and solder. Shrink wrap or tape. Then you can forget it.

Hi Richard,
I agree completely that a good solder connection is the best way to go.
However the insulation-displacement connectors are rather good IF you use the correct size so that the insulation gets cut, but not the conductors.

Trying to solder in the area under the fuse box would be a 24 karat "problem," so I chose to use the tap connector. Also figured into the equation is that this circuit is not "mission-critical" in any sense. If it fails, you can drive home and fix it. YMMV. If I were selling this mod to others, I would do the soldering job.

I've been using wire tap connectors for years, and I have yet to have one cause the wire to break, corrode, or fail. The key thing is to use the right size for the wire.

yaaaay i did my fog's and i LIKE IT ALOT :D i did the B/R wire with the BROWN wire and that’s how they look Now i just got it done now, but i didn’t know how to make the fogs to be turned on with out turning the parking lights o well I AM Still happy with it and YOU GUYS who made this Possible are Da ShyT LOL

Excuse the Camera Phone not the best but better than nothing.

Hey guys. Just made my fog light mod the way that Omicron did. Super easy. Thanks to everybody on this board that enable people like me with 10 thumbs to make mods to our cars. Would not have been able to if it had not been for people like omicron and the likes.

Happy to help. :)

I created yet a better version to this mod. I added a "clapper" to the switch and now I can clap them on or off, no switch required!

Just kidding. This club and its members are nothing short of amazing and always so willing to help. What can I say, a high quality group of people representing a high quality car!

Gentlemen and fellow zoomers....Go to EBAY and search RX8 you can buy the service manuel on cd for 9.00 +S&h

Gentlemen and fellow zoomers....Go to EBAY and search RX8 you can buy the service manuel on cd for 9.00 +S&hYes indeed... but, this fog light mod is no where in there. :)

My brown wire went to the parking lights. Blew 2 fuses in the process, ing. and stop light. Use the small red white wire for power ...... Thought I had blown chip in the key till I found the blown fuse.....What did I do wrong?

^^bump^^

MDRX8 PM'd me about this... I think he hooked into the light brown wire leading AWAY from the fuse panel (down into the fender) and not the part leading INTO the relay as it should be. Far as I know he got it resolved.

Thanks Group - Thanks Nick...I ventured into the 'in-crowd' this evening. :)

Cuz over-kill is fine...here are my pics...they should look familiar :)

before I closed things up, I went thru nearly 12" of electrical tape; wrapping things up, because I'm paranoid. :)

hehe :D

of course, the result :)

Finally, after 18 months, I got around to rewiring my Fog Lights (I had the day off). I can't tell you how irritating it has been to have to run the headlights and fog lights at the same time.

I used the info in this thread, cross checked it with my Wiring Diagram book, hooked the Fog Light brown wire to the Tail Light black/red wire and it works perfectly. Without this thread it would have taken me a hours of research and testing before making the change.

Thanks a lot for the research, help, pictures and everything else!

Finally did mine, thanks Magnesium and Omicron!!!

Finally did mine, thanks Magnesium and Omicron!!!Excellent, happy to help. :D

Thanks Omicron... finally got my fogs just right =)

You're welcome. :D

any one find the easy fix for RX8 equiped with DRL, here is the diagram.

thankx alot Omicron your way was the best way cuz not only we can run them alone but with running lights as well :p...... if you run it to the tail lights u can't have them on alone ... thankx man... :)

thankx alot Omicron your way was the best way cuz not only we can run them alone but with running lights as well :p...... if you run it to the tail lights u can't have them on alone ... thankx man... :)You betcha. :D Even after all this time, this is still one of my favorite mods because it's simple and just so cool. :cool:

I just rewired the fogs on my Shinka. Ten years ago I made the same mod to my Probe GT, but this one was so much easier because of this forum, especially due to the awesome photographs!

Thanks, guys.

Couple of quick questions...Planning on doing this next weekend or so, along with a few other mods if the parts arrive (clear corners, 3rd brake light, etc..)

1) I'm pretty good at connecting things electrically, I build PC's all the time, spliced power supplies to new connectors, etc... but never worked on a car ... did you all disconnect your battery before making your connections? Or is it relatively save so long as the ignition isn't in the ACC or further position and the headlight stalk is all off?

2) Exactly what size were those wiretaps you all used? I didn't catch the actual part number/size anywhere here but someone mentioned to make sure I got the right size... was planning to head to radioshack, so if someone used that brand.. an exact part number would save me a lot of time :)

Thanks again all for the great DIY!

I did the Fog Light brown wire to the Tail Light black/red wire and I believe I used a 18-22 ga. tap (Radio Shack part # 64-3053). I also disconnected the battery just to be safe while doing the work because I was not sure whether I was working before or after the switch and also because I disconnected the main power connections for the fuse block to make it easier to get it out.

If you disconnect the battery you will need to follow the procedure on 5-22 of the owners manual to re-enable the DSC (if installed) after re-connecting the battery.

Couple of quick questions...Planning on doing this next weekend or so, along with a few other mods if the parts arrive (clear corners, 3rd brake light, etc..)

1) I'm pretty good at connecting things electrically, I build PC's all the time, spliced power supplies to new connectors, etc... but never worked on a car ... did you all disconnect your battery before making your connections? Or is it relatively save so long as the ignition isn't in the ACC or further position and the headlight stalk is all off?Yes, it's relatively safe with the ignition in the off position. However I still disconnected my battery negative terminal first just as a good practice. Always do when I'm working on the electrical systems on my car.

2) Exactly what size were those wiretaps you all used? I didn't catch the actual part number/size anywhere here but someone mentioned to make sure I got the right size... was planning to head to radioshack, so if someone used that brand.. an exact part number would save me a lot of time :)

Thanks again all for the great DIY!Mscreant is correct - it's a "red" 18-22GA tap from Radio Schlock or an auto parts store.

Brilliant? WOW, that's a nice thing to say... nice enough, in fact, that you motivated me to not only go check but also to take a pic of my mod and try to figure out how to post it here. :D

I used a "red" wiretap to tap into the thin white with red stripe wire leading away from the "ACC" relay, which is in the 5th position in the same row as the fog relay, or 2 positions to the right of the fog relay if you look at the fuse box from the right. I picked this wire by removing the relay, then testing with a DMM to find a wire that was "hot" with the ignition key on only.

Hope this helps!It's raining today so I decided to get off my "fat arse"
and do this mod....

It took me longer to figure out which version of the mod I wanted to do then the actual time to do it!
All versions are great but I used Omicron's version.
Thanks to ALL of the "Smarter then Me" guys for this!
You are all stellar and I appreciate this (and the other) mods I've taken from this forum!

Did the fog light mod and works great.
Sins my rear fog light is incoming, I was wondering if it was possible to hook up the positive wire from the rear fog to the cut brown wire.

I would like to be able to control the rear fog when main lights and fog light switch is on.

This is what I would like to have:

Ignition "on" fog lights work when fog switch is on. (No rear fog)
Ignition "on" main lights on, fog light switch on (front & rear fog on)

Is this possible?

Nope, the relay and that switch is still in use for the front fogs. Only thing you can do is hook in a new relay and switch. Nice idea though!

It was raining here yesterday as well..... I could not make up my mind between the Magnesium and Omicron alternatives. Following an adult beverage :rolleyes: and some thought; I wanted to cut only one wire, maintain the ability to return to the stock configuration easily/quickly, and change between fog lights on w/ tail lights or w/o tail lights with the ignition on.

I found the thin brown wire but moved below the first tape wrap to make the cut. This allows enough wire extending from the fuse panel to attach to the tail light relay or the acc relay. I attached a male blade connector, filed slightly to narrow the width and bingo....the connector slides easily next to the thin red/white wire on the acc relay or the thick green/white wire on the tail light relay for maximum flexibility.

Oh yes, on the other piece of thin brown wire leading away from the fuse block, I attached an insulated female blade connector. I can return to the stock configuration quickly by attaching the two brown wires.

This was probably an obvious variation but I wanted to post it anyway. Thanks again to the pioneers in figuring this out. My RX8 now has the same foglight configuration as my Durango and 540!

Joe :D

Just hooked up my rear fog light,
Temporary it’s hooked up to the running lights...
Took it out for a spin and when you turn the rear fog on....
People stay way back!
Kind of cool!

Just hooked up my rear fog light,
Temporary it’s hooked up to the running lights...
Took it out for a spin and when you turn the rear fog on....
People stay way back!
Kind of cool!Yeah, it's REAL bright. I have mine installed but not currently wired in. You might want to put a resistor in the circuit if you're going to leave it wired in as you currently have it, otherwise it's only a matter of time until you get a cop behind you and get a ticket. Just a thought. ;)

Yeah, it's REAL bright... Can it be focused downward, so it's pointed at drivers 1/8 mile back? Also, where do you get the rear foglamp kit and what is the cost? Does the kit come with a toggle so you can turn it off? thx

Yeah, it's REAL bright. I have mine installed but not currently wired in. You might want to put a resistor in the circuit if you're going to leave it wired in as you currently have it, otherwise it's only a matter of time until you get a cop behind you and get a ticket. Just a thought. ;)

You are right!
It's way too bright, but summer is upon us FINALY!
And don't need the main lights for a couple of months.
(The bright fog might give me a ticket, as long as they don't complain about my none mounted front license plate....)

Got mine from a Belgian dealer, made me a good deal sins he thought of "his"
Fog on a US car sounded great.

Installing was not that bad, but it takes some nerve to us a Dremel to your bumper...
As for focusing downward, no you can’t move or change the "beam"
Sorry....

u do have a switch for that read fog dont u? i hate when people drive with rear fogs on all the time, the point of them is to be able to see the car infront of u during bad weather, while ur not steppiong on ur brakes. the can see ur rear end jsut fine in clear weather, its jstu a HUGE distraction for other drivers that are behind u... i know when i see those olds auroras with the DUAL read fogs (ya, make sense out of that.. now they look like they are stepping on brakes 24/7.. again defeating the purpose...) and those things are very irritating and distracting.

btw- its not regulation to have fogs on only when driving lights are one.. right? bmws dont do it that way, same with transams, gtos, etc.

I am very interested in doing the fog light re-wire as shown by Bob Clevenger on page 5 of this thread.

Unfortunately, it appears that Radio Shack no longer sells the female Tap-in tab connectors he has shown on wires #3 and #4.

If anyone has any idea as to where I can specifically obtain these type of connectors I would greatly appreciate it. Please don't just recommend going to the local auto parts store.

Thank you.

I am very interested in doing the fog light re-wire as shown by Bob Clevenger on page 5 of this thread.

Unfortunately, it appears that Radio Shack no longer sells the female Tap-in tab connectors he has shown on wires #3 and #4.

If anyone has any idea as to where I can specifically obtain these type of connectors I would greatly appreciate it. Please don't just recommend going to the local auto parts store.

Thank you.
Why not? I sure Pep Boys sells them.

I am very interested in doing the fog light re-wire as shown by Bob Clevenger on page 5 of this thread.

Unfortunately, it appears that Radio Shack no longer sells the female Tap-in tab connectors he has shown on wires #3 and #4.

If anyone has any idea as to where I can specifically obtain these type of connectors I would greatly appreciate it. Please don't just recommend going to the local auto parts store.

Thank you.
NAPA has them. Also, try the auto supplies section of Wal-Mart.

Well, I'll just add my name to the list of satisfied customers. Did the fog light rewire this afternoon in about a half hour (I took my good sweet time) and it works like a charm. I did the version connecting to the accessory wire. Also used the connectors shown by bobclevenger, a great find ( I have never seen these before - a super quick disconnect format). btw - I had a hard time finding them. Neither Radio Shack, the local hardware, or Autozone had them. I finally found them at a Farm & Fleet store (a local Wisconsin store) and they only had one size, luckily the right one.

Anyway, works great. I noticed that with this hookup, you can have the headlights, tail lights, and the parking lights off and still have the fogs on. Somewhere along the way I seem to remember this as the "moonshiners option" That is, if you have a full load you're running away from the Feds at night, you can turn off all of your running lights execpt forward driving lights so your pursuers can't see tail lights (as long as you don't hit the brakes) but you can still see ahead and you get away. Not that I advocate such an activity, but historically speaking, it IS interesting.

Nice! Zoom, Zoom

I have still been looking everywhere to find the tap-in connector Bob Clevenger used, but at least I now have something to go by....

I found the connector on the 3M website: 3M Scotchlok 951 (http://products3.3m.com/catalog/us/en001/utilities_telecom/electrical_contractors/node_GS484B4XZ9be/root_GST1T4S9TCgv/vroot_GSBCDFDZ1Zge/gvel_RZZJLFZNT6gl/theme_us_electricalcontractors_3_0/command_AbcPageHandler/output_html)

I wrote Glassetcher asking him to pick a few up for me, but rather than bother him, does anyone know of a place close to Wilmington, Delaware where I can pick up one of these little bastards? :confused:

<<snipped>>does anyone know of a place close to Wilmington, Delaware where I can pick up one of these little bastards? :confused:
NAPA stores have them. I'm sure there are some in your area. If you can't find them on display, ask at the counter and if one store doesn't have them, they can call some other NAPA stores in your area to find them.

Well it was a busy weekend working on the 8. On Saturday I removed the front bumper/nose to install RB oil and radiator grills, it was easier then I had thought. Next, I replaced the front running bulb with an amber LED bulb. The amber looks good with the velocity red color. Finally I rewired the fog lamps based on Omicron's instructions, this was the easiest task (thanks to all who have contributed to this thread).

Now my 8 looks great with the fog and running lights minus the driving lights.

Thanks Maniac. Your instructions on page 5 were great. I took the easy way and used a wire splice to tap into the B/R wire instead of soldering. :D

All right!!!!

Just did this (Omnicron's method) and it took me no more than 15 minutes!!!!

Hooray - It has always bothered me that my 8's headlights had to be on for the fogs to work......wonder why its this way in the first place. Every other car/truck I've owned, the fogs have been independent.

Anyways, THANKS for the investigation and quick instructions!

Before I go and mess around with this I have one question: are the fog lights, when used independantly, bright enough to work well in actually foggy conditions? I feel like most aftermarket fog lights are somewhat brighter than these. I don't want to rewire everything to find out that the lone fog lights arent actually useful.

Other than that, this sounds like a sweet and easy mod, and I will get on it as soon as I hear some good reports....

I replaced my stock fog light bulbs with some 5600K H11 piaa bulbs. They are alot brighter than stock and work alot better. Here is some pics of my fog light conversion.. Notice the rotary crest standing out..... Look in the DIY forum for instructions on how to do that yourself. Its cheap and easy...... L8Ter Jason

Thanks everyone! I put female connectors on the original brown, the red/white, the black/red and the (white/black) ignition so I could try all three options suggested. Two of them work identically (I think the red/white and red/black)

Add me as well. I did Omnicron's version. The hardest part was..........wait, there was no hard part.

I did it via Maniac's way. I rather like the stock feeling that the fogs come on/off only with the parking lights engaged. I tried Omicron too but IMO what purpose I would need foglights-only lighting? Anyway, I would like to thank all of you guys for giving the rest of us different options on this.

I did it via Maniac's way. I rather like the stock feeling that the fogs come on/off only with the parking lights engaged. I tried Omicron too but IMO what purpose I would need foglights-only lighting? Anyway, I would like to thank all of you guys for giving the rest of us different options on this.Foglights only make nice daytime running light equivilents. I use mine mostly when it's dark/cruddy enough out that I want my car to be more visible to other drivers without turning on my headlights, as well as when we have a group drive for our club meets. Makes it easy to pick out the car. :)

I just bought a set of fog lights from a member for my base model
Can I get some help on how to wire them?

A bit off topic, so any links to related discussions would be appreciated. Anyway, can anyone outline how one might install the stock fog lamps on an aftermarket bumper, like the Knight Sports? What would be the challenges and ways to overcome them? Would using aftermarket lamps and mountings make the job any easier or produce better (i.e., brighter) results? Would the results be legal? Thanks!

Has anyone had any warranty issues? I am just a little nervous as this is my first car ever with a warranty :-)

Thanks!

Has anyone had any warranty issues? I am just a little nervous as this is my first car ever with a warranty :-)

Thanks!
warranty becomes an issue only if the specific mod caused problem related to the modification you performed, meaning the dealer cannot just blanket void your whole car warranty for doing the wiring switchover, i.e. they cannot deny warranty for engine related problems because of rewiring your foglights (that's stupid and also against the law). Now, if your foglights burnout prematurely then the dealer can deny warranty bulb replacement due to this fact.

Some unscrupulous dealers may try to f*ck with you by telling you otherwise, don't be intimidated because you're protected by law on this.

Omicron, does your mod allow for all 4 sets of lights to be lit at the same time? (DRL, low beam, high beam, and fog)

Omicron, does your mod allow for all 4 sets of lights to be lit at the same time? (DRL, low beam, high beam, and fog)

I am not Omicron, but yes it does. If you tie the brown wire FROM the FOG relay to the small red/white wire FROM the ACC relay then the fogs will come on any time the key is turned to acc or run (as long as the fog light switch on the stalk is on). It is now totally independant of the headlights. So you can have the fogs on with no lights, with the parking lights (and the "DRLs"), with the low beams, and with the high beams.

Thanks to everyone for posting the info and the pix! I did mine the "Omicron way". I could not understand why the fogs only come on with the HID low beams - now I can control them how I want.

Dennis

I am also not Omicron, but I play him on television. ;)

No, you don't get to have 4 sets of lights on, because the Hi beams and the DRLs are the same bulbs.

Also, the DRLs throw a screw into the wiring, if you have a DRL system, the fog power goes thru the DRL relay, so they won't come on with he DRLs. Canadian cars would need to have a bypass around this DRL relay.

NOTE FOR CANADIAN CARS.....
To bypass the DRL module (behind the glovebox) you need to disconnect the 'fog in'(light green&black) and 'fog out'(yellow&red) at the big DRL connector, and join them together ( best way is to use a tiny screwdriver to poke the terminals back out of the block - no cutting required.). They are side by side at the lower left of the connector.
Also, the 'brown' wire on US cars is 'brown&white' striped for DRL models, but it IS the same wire as in the Omicron instructions.


S

On my (US) car the inner little lights I ASSUME are DRLs (for Canadian cars) come on with the parking lights and seem to stay on with any other lights. With the fog light mode on my car with high beams on I THINK it has the little lights, highs, HIDs, and fogs all on.

Dennis

I am also not Omicron, but I play him on television. ;)

No, you don't get to have 4 sets of lights on, because the Hi beams and the DRLs are the same bulbs.

Also, the DRLs throw a screw into the wiring, if you have a DRL system, the fog power goes thru the DRL relay, so they won't come on with he DRLs. Canadian cars would need to have a bypass around this DRL relay.

S


the daytime running lights (DRL) are seperate bulbs from the high beam bulbs on the '05

the parking lights are also your daytimes, arent they? then you got your high beams and low beams and fogs (as seen below in the picture)

i could be wrong, but thats what i thought i saw at the dealership...

warranty becomes an issue only if the specific mod caused problem related to the modification you performed, meaning the dealer cannot just blanket void your whole car warranty for doing the wiring switchover, i.e. they cannot deny warranty for engine related problems because of rewiring your foglights (that's stupid and also against the law). Now, if your foglights burnout prematurely then the dealer can deny warranty bulb replacement due to this fact.

Some unscrupulous dealers may try to f*ck with you by telling you otherwise, don't be intimidated because you're protected by law on this.The beauty of this mod is that once the fuse block is back in place, it is totally invisible. Also, the only way the dealer will discover it is to remove the fuse panel, which isn't likely. :)

Omicron, does your mod allow for all 4 sets of lights to be lit at the same time? (DRL, low beam, high beam, and fog)Using "my" method they operate as DRL equivilents in that they are on whenever the ignition switch is in the "run" position if the fog light switch is on. They come on independantly of where the headlight switch is as soon as you turn the car on.

I am also not Omicron, but I play him on television. ;)LOL!!! :D

Using "my" method they operate as DRL equivilents in that they are on whenever the ignition switch is in the "run" position if the fog light switch is on. They come on independantly of where the headlight switch is as soon as you turn the car on.

so basically.... yes ;)

so basically.... yes ;)Yup. :)

Yup. :)

tonight i saw a black 8 with this mod. although the #$^%$& didnt turn off his high beams while driving towards me :mad:

Yes, this mod defeats the "off when high beams are on" feature. This was the main point of the mod. If you put a connector on the brown wire that supplies power to the fog light relay as I did (see photos in earlier post on this thread) you can return the fog lights to stock any time you want.
If you want to have the fog lights come on with the ignition (like DRL's) but go off when you switch the main (high) beam headlights on, I think you would need to install another relay.


Has anyone figured out a way to do this mod so that the fog lights DON'T work when the high beams are on? I want mine to work with parking lights and low beams, but not with my high beams and not as DRL's.

Thanks guys!

Has anyone figured out a way to do this mod so that the fog lights DON'T work when the high beams are on? I want mine to work with parking lights and low beams, but not with my high beams and not as DRL's.

Thanks guys!

Other than using the fog light switch on the turn signal stalk? I don't think so.

You could wire them to the "tail" relay as is described here but insert a new relay between the brown wire and the tail relay. You need a relay that is normally (without power) closed and insert the controlled points in between the brown wire and the tail relay. Check and the fogs should work any time the tail lights are on (parking/low/high). Now conect the coil of the relay to the high beam relay and ground. Now when you flip on the high beams the relay will pick and the fogs will go off.

Can you do it without adding a relay? Yes, if there was a circuit that had 12v on it when the parking and low beams were on, but not when the high beams and no lights were on. And I can't think of what circuit that might be.

BTW, I think by law there is supposed to be a maximum of 4 "headlights" in use at one time. So "in theory" an 8 owner could be given a ticket for driving with 6 "headlights" on if they do the fog light mod.

Dennis

i did this mod, cause i like to use my fogs when I want, not just when my headlights are on. one thing it brought up in my mind, it made me notice that when I turn on my highbeams, even with all other lights off, the HID low beams come on........now at night, when im crusing with my low beams on, then flip on the highs its nice, i can see everything near and far but... when i am drivng around with my low beams OFF, and want to 'flash-to pass' my high beams, the HID low beams turn on.....my habit of flash to pass 3 short bursts of the high beams, this means I flash the HIDs 3 times as well, from what I have heard its bad to turn your HIDs on and off, in any car.

i tried to search for it, with no luck.

does anyone know how to wire it so the high beams will work with just the stalk, basicaly the same thing we did with the fogs?

the fog (with this mod) come on whenever you use the fog switch, i want to do the same thing with the high beams.

i did this mod, cause i like to use my fogs when I want, not just when my headlights are on. one thing it brought up in my mind, it made me notice that when I turn on my highbeams, even with all other lights off, the HID low beams come on........now at night, when im crusing with my low beams on, then flip on the highs its nice, i can see everything near and far but... when i am drivng around with my low beams OFF, and want to 'flash-to pass' my high beams, the HID low beams turn on.....my habit of flash to pass 3 short bursts of the high beams, this means I flash the HIDs 3 times as well, from what I have heard its bad to turn your HIDs on and off, in any car.

i tried to search for it, with no luck.

does anyone know how to wire it so the high beams will work with just the stalk, basicaly the same thing we did with the fogs?

the fog (with this mod) come on whenever you use the fog switch, i want to do the same thing with the high beams.

i was under the impression the HID only come on when the toggle thingy is set to 'on'... so if you flash, even with the HIDs off, they shouldnt be affected either way... although, not owning an 8 yet, i cant verify this ;)

i did this mod, cause i like to use my fogs when I want, not just when my headlights are on. one thing it brought up in my mind, it made me notice that when I turn on my highbeams, even with all other lights off, the HID low beams come on........now at night, when im crusing with my low beams on, then flip on the highs its nice, i can see everything near and far but... when i am drivng around with my low beams OFF, and want to 'flash-to pass' my high beams, the HID low beams turn on.....my habit of flash to pass 3 short bursts of the high beams, this means I flash the HIDs 3 times as well, from what I have heard its bad to turn your HIDs on and off, in any car.
.

I think you are mistaken. On every car that I have seen that comes with HID low beams they ALWAYS stay on with the highbeams. Audi S4, BMW E46 and E39, S2000, etc. You are correct, the reasons are it is bad for the HID bulbs to be turned on/off/on and there is the lag while they "come up" so on these cars flipping the high beams on means four lights. Then when you go back to the lows there is no delay while they fire up or extra stress on the bulbs.

This did this before you did ANY mod to your car.

I think you should find that with the headlights off or just parking lights on, that hitting the "flash to pass" should NOT put on the HID low beams at all, just the high beams.

I will double check on my car, but I would be very surprised if the HIDs would come on - before or after the mod.

Dennis

i was under the impression the HID only come on when the toggle thingy is set to 'on'... so if you flash, even with the HIDs off, they shouldnt be affected either way... although, not owning an 8 yet, i cant verify this ;)

I was wrong. I checked this on mine and flash to pass turns on the highs AND fires up the HID low beams.

Can someone who has NOT done the mod check and see if their car does this? It should, since looking at the mod logic I don't see how I could have "messed this up".

Dennis

thats really strange. i figured that the high beams would be able to operate seperately of the low bemas, since they are seperate (and completely different style) bulbs... :eek:

i dont see how the mod could really affect this, since you arent touching the high beams or low beams controlspower/wiring at all

when I would flash my high-beams the HIDs would come on when my car was stock and still do it now that I have the fog-light mod done.

reading the above it shows that others confirm this is happening, any ideas on a rewire/patch job.

frequently when were going in a caravan to an autox or a car meet, we turn out harzards on for a few blinks if we want the car behind us to pass, and flash out high beams if we want to pass the car in front of us. this really helps when 1 person knows where we are going better than another.

i just want my high beams to work when I want by using the stalk to flash them or 'lock' them in the on position.

on a side note, i looked into some of my friends cars on all the cars in our little group, the cars with dual filiment head lights (both high and low beam in 1 bulb) work in a way that when the high beam is on, the low beam is off (02 and 03 civic). other cars that have seperate head lights for high and low beams seem to 'add' the highbeam to the lowbeam when you turn on your brights (03 and 05 rsxs).

all of the other cars I talked about above are stock as far as the lighting systems go.

maby this bright thing is a 'rule' similar to the fogs coming on only with head lamps?

Both of my BMWs had HID low beams and I know that neither of them turned on the low beams with "flash to pass" if the lights were off. They DID keep the lows on with the highs when you had the lights on as I mentioned earlier.

Next time I am in the S2000 (if the rain ever stops) I will check it, but I am betting that flash to pass only does the high beams if the lights are off.

I think Mazda just copulated the canine with this one. Maybe there are just not used to HID lights and made a mistake in the wiring design?

Dennis

What a great mod so quick so easy, so worth it. Thank you to everyone that made this possible.

Better late than never! Did this last weekend, and replaced the stock H11 fog bulbs with yellow ones. Now I have Honest-to-God fog lights! :D

Woot!

^^ Same here.. better late than never. Just finished this and it was incredibly easy. Hardest part was getting of my a$$ to do it. Thanks to the founders for documenting this.

Worked like a charm! Great mod, super easy to do. Thanks Mags

Did the mod in about 10 minutes! The free mods are the best ones!! :)

Took pictures and posted them here:

http://koczarski.com/RX8/Mods/FogLight/ReWire.htm

Excellent post and pictures AdamK.

Job well done.

Wow !!!

Great DIY post - thanks AdamK.

Finally DRLs for this ex-Canadian.

Nice job on the pix - make it very clear.

The best part is in the first 2 pix you can see the color printouts he was using to do the job :Eyecrazy:

Dennis

Kind of late in the game, just though I'd note that if you remove the main power cables on the windshield-side of the fuse block, you can get a whole heap of room to work. Of course, remove the battery cables first. And I taped the leads of the mains cables while I had them disconnected just to be double sure.

Can you post a pic of this with the yellow lights? This sounds like something I want to do.

Thanks.


Better late than never! Did this last weekend, and replaced the stock H11 fog bulbs with yellow ones. Now I have Honest-to-God fog lights (http:///#)! :D

Woot!

just did mine last night, took 20 minutes. i ran my fog relay to the acc relay like Omicron did. i also put on a yellow film on my fogs from lamin-x and replaced my bulbs with nokya hyper yellows. looks freakin HOT. i love it! thanks Magnesium and Omicron for the awesome instructions and pictures. it's people like you that make this forum so helpful.

Can you post a pic of this with the yellow lights? This sounds like something I want to do.

Thanks.

Here's a pic. Car is filthy but you're interested in the lights :). The yellow is a bit deeper than it appears in the photo. The bulbs were "JDM Yellow" from Luminics. I really wanted ion yellow bulbs for more output at same wattage but couldn't find any for this application. And I didn't want to exceed the 55W draw of the original.

Thanks for posting the pic and for the PM to let me know you posted it.

That does look really good. I am going to have to consider this a little closer. I just have to find the free time.

Thanks again Nubo.




Here's a pic. Car is filthy but you're interested in the lights :). The yellow is a bit deeper than it appears in the photo. The bulbs were "JDM (http:///#) Yellow" from Luminics. I really wanted ion yellow bulbs for more output at same wattage but couldn't find any for this application. And I didn't want to exceed the 55W draw of the original.

Can you post a pic of this with the yellow lights? This sounds like something I want to do.

Thanks.


Here is mine...
Yellow Fogs (http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=83264)


Thanks for the DIY on this... awsome!!!! :ylsuper:

Amazing how this continues to be such a popular little DIY. I've probably done it a dozen times now for local RX-8 owners and gotten to where it takes me like 5 minutes. :D:

Yeah, you should give this one the Club-Best DIY Award.

I have a question for you guys who figured this re-wire out: Would it be a similar job to re-wire the front corner lights to act as side repeaters? On RX-8's outside the US, the front corner lights do not come on with the parking lights or headlights, but flash with the turn signals. That is the only time you see the amber light.

I assume that you could cut the wire from the front marker relay and tie it into turn signal relay?

I don't know if others would be interested in this mod, but since the JDM spec clear corners are so popular you'd think people would be interested in having those lights actually function as they would on a JDM spec car.

Technically, this wouldn't be legal, but I doubt a cop would notice, especially if it flashed amber. The clear corner lenses don't meet US regs and are illegal in most states because they don't reflect amber, but I've never heard of anyone getting a ticket. This also gets rid of the need to pull that reflector out of the clear corner because it's meant to reflect the turn signal back along the side of the vehicle, not out towards the front.

Can't find it but this has been raised before. I seem to remember that it was not a simple thing to do...but don't remember the details

What a pain it was for me. I thought I killed my baby.