Fog Lights Cut Out, already did Corral fix

[Bill Cool]

Yeah I love electrical problems too... believe it or not, this is my easiest elect prob right now - my bike and Tempo have even worse problems...

In any case, Adam: They work if I wiggle the wires at the back of the stock switch. I can get them to go on w/some wiggling, but then they'll go off again if I hit the switch or wiggle the wire a bit more. I'll unwrap those connections on those two wires tomorrow.

HISSIN - I replaced the relay, and I'm getting power at the "switch" and "ground" (sorry, dont have the #s in front of me) terminals on the relay when the switch is on, which makes me not understand the problem at all. The fact that I've replaced the fuse and relay, and get lights if i directly hook the power wire to the wire going to the lights, leads me to believe the problem is somewhere between the switch and the relay. And since there's only about 6" of wire between the two, I can pretty much rule out the wires - altho I'm going to check those connections that are taped up tomorrow. Otherwise, I'll just find a switch in the classifieds or eBay I guess...

 

[HISSIN50]

ok, 87, sounds like you found the problem based on what you said to Adam. if you remember the how lame the stock connector is on the back of the fog light switch, this makes sense. Adam and 87GT, correct me if im wrong, but it almost has to be the connector on the back of the switch or switch itself. if you can play with it some more or test the wires at the switch when it does and does not work, you can identify whether the switch is opening in the 'on' position or if the plastic connector is making intermittant contact.

five more mins of testing could have knowing which is the culprit (switch losing contintuity or connector losing contact when wiggled).

BTW, i forgot you had the relay in the dash - i tend to think of my set up when thinking of possible problems/solutions, and my wires run have more 'run'. my bad.

what kind of bike and what problems? im halfway decent with bikes.....

 

[Bill Cool]

Yeah, I'm gonna go to the auto parts store today, I think they have similar replacement plugs...

I've got a 93 GSXR 750... The low beams stopped working about 2 weeks ago, but the highs still work. I've replaced the bulbs, cleaned the contacts at the switch, and checked the voltage at the plug and it's fine - so I'm lost...

 

[Bill Cool]

The store didn't have those plugs - they were just alternator plugs. So I'm gonna try to find someone parting out a GT and get the plug from them, with the wires attached. I'm pretty sure the problem is that the tan/red wire isn't making a connection inside the switch, because the little holder that keeps it tight in there broke...

 

[HISSIN50]

yep - i think you have to hit a J/Y for the two terminal connector, though i thought i once saw one in someone's catalog. J/Y is the way to go. or just right it up. you can go to the home store and get 'telephone' female spade connectors. they are really small. you will have to mod the end that the wire goes into, as phone wires are very small gauge. but it does work. it can work for you in a pinch, while you try to find a new/used connector.

another option would be to cut the stock wiring just outside of the stock connector. then put little connectors like bullets on the cut wires. now glue, etc the stock connector you think you are having trouble with, into the switch. then use the bullet connectors as the disconnect to remove the switch, dash, etc. i would only do this last, as the glue job would likely be permanent and ruin the switch. but if down the line all else fails, it does work.

good luck.

 

[Bill Cool]

OK, so I had a bright idea... I'd just tap into one of the wires on the headlight switch that has power when the parks/heads are on only, instead of having the lead come off the foglight tan/red wire, and make that the "to switch" connection of the relay... So I tapped into the blue/red wire off the headlight switch ("Switch illumination power" per the Corral's write-up), but I still get no foglights... ???

 

[HISSIN50]

im slightly confused. as i recall, the foglights source power from the headlight circuit (hence the reason the harness/switch fries on GT's). so you are essentially trying to tap off of another place in the same circuit, i think.

also, make sure you did not tap into the ISO circuit, which has a wire off the headlight switch. it is a low current circuit (not a biggie with your relay), but it is on the dimmer - if you use it, it could allow the relay you installed to chatter if you lower the dimmer setting.

i would use the brown wire. i know it is brown in the driver kick panel - not sure of the color elsewhere. it is the wire used for the parking lights when installing an alarm. that is, if you want to switch wires - but like i said, i dont think it matters.

this might help a little, if you have not seen it. note that the info and method may vary a little bit from what you did. courtesy of Tom:
http://www.veryuseful.com/mustang/tech/engine/images/MustangLights-Horn.gif

so im confused where you are at with the whole fog light wiring stuff. have you happened to have the relay out for testing of the terminals? unless you can find each wire that runs into the relay upstream (to avoid getting to the actual relay), i think that might be a good idea. but im a little lost on where you/we are at.
just my ramblings. good luck.

PS, on your Gixxer, you have 12 volts to the low bulb terminal? is it constant - remember there is a relay to kill the headlight when you start the bike (normally the ground terminal pulse is removed from the headlight relay via the starter relay) - not unlike how on some cars the ground to the fog light relay is pulled when you switch on the high beams.

if you have 12 volts at the low terminal and ground, you should have light. that said, the lighting systems on bikes are funky. good luck with it all, bud.