Z3 foglight switches

[Hwk-I-St8]

US Z3s don't have rear fog lights. I know this because when I was re-wiring my car and went to my Bentley's manual (which is US market only) there was no mention whatsoever of them.

In the UK all cars must have at least one rear fog light, but not front (they are optional). Our laws are pretty ambiguous; rear fog lights should be used when it's 'foggy'.
Personally I hate rear fog lights. They should be banned. People put them on when it's not foggy enough and they are blinding when behind. Nowadays there is no need for them, as most newer cars have LED rear lights which can be seen through fog much better than any halogen bulb.

Interesting. Thanks for that info. It's always fun to learn something new.

This thread does have me motivated to find the front fog lights switch.

 

[Jam03]

So many people don’t know how to use their lights. Every time I drive at night I see people without their headlights on, but with either the front fog lights on or just the DRL on. Sometimes tail lights are on, so at least other drivers can see them, but sometimes the tail lights are not even on and they don’t even realise. I would have thought manufacturers would have made that foolproof by now.

 

[Pond]

I have tried to find out if there was a date in the UK for rear fogs to be 'self cancelling' on switch off of the ignition but can't find anything.

One thing I did find was that "fog lights should only be used when visibility is less than 328ft". Only the UK could publish that utter nonsense.

 

[Pond]

So many people don’t know how to use their lights. Every time I drive at night I see people without their headlights on, but with either the front fog lights on or just the DRL on. Sometimes tail lights are on, so at least other drivers can see them, but sometimes the tail lights are not even on and they don’t even realise. I would have thought manufacturers would have made that foolproof by now.

I passed a Fiesta on the A1 a while ago with no rear lights on. When I went past I noticed the instruments were all lit up and the DRLs were on. The road was well lit so she (it was a young woman) could be forgiven for thinking her lights were on, when they weren't.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

So many people don’t know how to use their lights. Every time I drive at night I see people without their headlights on, but with either the front fog lights on or just the DRL on. Sometimes tail lights are on, so at least other drivers can see them, but sometimes the tail lights are not even on and they don’t even realise. I would have thought manufacturers would have made that foolproof by now.

It seems pretty foolproof for at least some vehicles. For example, on my truck:

You can leave the headlights "on" all the time. They only switch from DRL to headlights when a sensor senses it's getting dark or if the windshield wipers are activated.
The high beams can also be left on all the time. When approaching a vehicle either from behind or from in front, it senses them and dims automatically. The high beams don't engage until you hit 35mph or more and turn off when you make a turn of sufficient angle (i.e. making a turn on a city street...a bend in the road is not sufficient to turn them off).
Fog lights are a separate switch and can be left on all the time, but there are no laws about that here (plus, most are aimed so low that they don't impact other drivers).

I don't ever mess with my headlights or high/low beams. The downside to this is that the headlights can still be turned off. After an oil change, the tech had turned them off and I didn't know it until I realized I was driving after dark with no headlights. The instrument cluster is all LED, so I didn't notice the absence of backlighting.

So....almost idiot proofed, but I proved the rule...you can always find a big enough idiot to "outsmart" something that is idiot-proof.

 

[Pond]

I don't ever mess with my headlights or high/low beams.

You can leave the headlights "on" all the time. They only switch from DRL to headlights when a sensor senses it's getting dark or if the windshield wipers are activated.

I have two cars with auto headlights and auto high beams. Auto headlights are good as long as it isn't foggy or misty (as the sensors can't cope with it). Or if the top of the windscreen gets dirty, then it's all useless.
High beam assist on my Audi with LEDs is not the best IMO, as it can sense glare from road signs but struggles with on-coming vehicles in the distance.
The wife's Focus has super-clever matrix LED lights with high beam assist which are supposed to throw the beam patterns around to stop dazzling on-coming traffic. She gets 'flashed' a lot by lorries (trucks) so it isn't great.

All very clever stuff but not infallible.....often.

 

[derek3927]

Mine was produced in August 1999 and both switches latch - first photo is before they are engaged and the second is after.

View attachment 355701View attachment 355703

According to RealOEM replacement part number was 61311387054 which has been superceded by 61316901957

View attachment 355705

No rear fog in the US