bstone Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 (edited) EDIT: Turns out it's normal behavior and not a glitch. Thanks! 1997 Subaru Legacy Outback wagon. AT. I've recently installed LEDs for the turn signals and headlamps. Fog lamps are still stock lights. Whenever I engage the high beams the fog lamps go out and then immediately turn back on when I disengage the high beams. Is this normal behavior or pathological? Edited November 20, 2016 by bstone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vtwinjunkie Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 (edited) Should be normal as far as I know. I think it is a US wide thing with all manufacturers. Unsure of other countries Edited November 20, 2016 by vtwinjunkie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallyblackburn Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 Might even be a regulation requiring it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt167 Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 Yeah, it is USDM regulation. 4 forward facing lights are allowed while low beams are lit. On high beam, only 2 forward facing lights are allowed... You can most likely get away with it, many do but you could get a ticket Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 My 98 Leggie Outback fog lights work the same way. Turn on brights, fog lights turn off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bstone Posted November 20, 2016 Author Share Posted November 20, 2016 Good to know this is standard and not yet another problem! Thanks guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 Yes, it's a US DOT law IIRC. Won't pass safety inspection in the states that require. Fog/driving lamps have to turn off when high beams are on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 Your eyes are drawn to the brightest light. In this case the brightest would be the nearest, the fog lamps, rendering the high beams sort of useless to you without realizing it. Its a common thing unless someone doctors it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jp98 Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 In a actual foggy condition you don't want to use your high beams anyway. Fog light in their design should be low and project along the ground for the best visibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jseabolt Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 The first car I've ever seen to do this was my bosses '89 Ford Escort GT after he bought it new. I remember him saying he would like to re-route the wiring going to the relay from the park lamps so they would stay on all the time. The fog lamps on factory cars and basically useless. I mean, they shine about 3 feet in front of the car. I thought fog lights were supposed to be amber instead of clear anyway before they were effective? What I find odd is how come you can drive down the road with cargo lamp on. Looks to me like that light should not operate unless the parking brake is applied. Wouldn't that make sense? it makes more sense that the roof mounted lights that came on Bajas from the factory that only operated with the braking brake applied. That make no sense at all! I know this is against the law and everything but on two of my cars, my Fiat Spider and my Trabant 601, I've got my auxiliary lamps wired so that when I flip my high beams on, the auxiliary lights kick on for extra light. In other words the relay get's their power from one of the high beams. They are rather bright so I couldn't run them against on going traffic anyway. I can't remember with the Yugo. I think I have the relay get's it's power from the park lamps. It's been out of commission for the past couple of years in need of new wheel bearings and tie rod ends. Just have not gotten around to fixing it. But like the Subaru, I have them aimed a bit lower so they just provide a bit of extra light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish-N-Fool Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 The first car I've ever seen to do this was my bosses '89 Ford Escort GT after he bought it new. I remember him saying he would like to re-route the wiring going to the relay from the park lamps so they would stay on all the time. The fog lamps on factory cars and basically useless. I mean, they shine about 3 feet in front of the car. I thought fog lights were supposed to be amber instead of clear anyway before they were effective? What I find odd is how come you can drive down the road with cargo lamp on. Looks to me like that light should not operate unless the parking brake is applied. Wouldn't that make sense? it makes more sense that the roof mounted lights that came on Bajas from the factory that only operated with the braking brake applied. That make no sense at all! I know this is against the law and everything but on two of my cars, my Fiat Spider and my Trabant 601, I've got my auxiliary lamps wired so that when I flip my high beams on, the auxiliary lights kick on for extra light. In other words the relay get's their power from one of the high beams. They are rather bright so I couldn't run them against on going traffic anyway. I can't remember with the Yugo. I think I have the relay get's it's power from the park lamps. It's been out of commission for the past couple of years in need of new wheel bearings and tie rod ends. Just have not gotten around to fixing it. But like the Subaru, I have them aimed a bit lower so they just provide a bit of extra light. Damn you got some ugly cars lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish-N-Fool Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 Yeah, it is USDM regulation. 4 forward facing lights are allowed while low beams are lit. On high beam, only 2 forward facing lights are allowed... You can most likely get away with it, many do but you could get a ticket Some older 60"s cars came from the factory with 4 headlights that worked on high beam and only 2 worked on low beam' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jseabolt Posted November 27, 2016 Share Posted November 27, 2016 Some older 60"s cars came from the factory with 4 headlights that worked on high beam and only 2 worked on low beam' My 68 Ford Fairlane is like this. It has 4" quad headlights and all four high beams light up at once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt167 Posted November 27, 2016 Share Posted November 27, 2016 Some older 60"s cars came from the factory with 4 headlights that worked on high beam and only 2 worked on low beam' Yup, and some of those cars don't have seatbelts, dual reservoire master cylinders or other current regulations.. A LOT has changed in 40+ years. Headlight height wasn't even regulated then like it is now.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt167 Posted November 27, 2016 Share Posted November 27, 2016 (edited) dbl post for some reason? Edited November 27, 2016 by matt167 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jseabolt Posted November 29, 2016 Share Posted November 29, 2016 Yup, and some of those cars don't have seatbelts, dual reservoire master cylinders or other current regulations.. A LOT has changed in 40+ years. Headlight height wasn't even regulated then like it is now.. Yep, 1968 seemed to be the transition year for safety and emissions. The differences between 1967 and 1968 was a collapsible steering column, dual master cylinder, seat belts, PCV valve, weird timing ignition advance system based on coolant temperature among other things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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