If your profession is connected with frequent trips by car, or you just love to travel, then you probably know that without good optics it is quite difficult to guarantee driving safety. At the moment, even the shortest trip should not be made without good fog equipment. Such optics are now installed on almost every car in the basic configuration.
However, there are machines in which the foglights must be independently connected via a relay. The scheme and installation steps for this optics are described later in our article.
What are foglights for?
Before telling you about the features of installing these elements, a few words about how important they are for the car. The main function of the fog lights is to provide light. The quality and range of coverage of the roadway depend on this characteristic. If the foglights are well tuned, they are able to light up to 10 meters of asphalt in front of them, which is enough for safe movement at a speed of 50-60 kilometers per hour. And it doesn’t matter what weather you are traveling in - under a cloudless sky or in thick fog - this optics always cope with its function. So how do you install it in a car?
Connecting foglights through a relay: diagram and instructions
To begin, prepare the necessary tools and materials. In the course of work, we will need a 15 amp fuse, several meters of wires, an insulating tape, a power button, a connector and a PTF relay. The connection scheme of foglights through the relay is shown in the photo below. We will be guided by it.
This is the very scheme for connecting the foglights relay. In principle, it is not difficult, and dealing with it is very simple.
Where to start installation?
First of all, it is necessary to remove the central panel - here there will be 2 backlight lamps for the furnace regulator. They do not affect the operation of the PTF, but we will need their wires. To feel the two-pin connector, you should run your hand through the wire to the very end. It is especially important, since it is here that the first contact on the relay will be installed. Further, the wire is connected to the place of the furnace backlight connector, and its second part goes to a separate PTF power button.
Connect the pins
How to connect foglights through the relay further? In order for the system to have a twelve-volt network of dimensions and 85 contact, it is necessary to conduct a wire to the relay. Then we extend the 87th contact under the pedals to the battery.
How to make the correct connection of foglights through a relay? The circuit includes 30, 85, 86 and 87 contacts. According to the figure, we connect them. Here we install a 15-amp fuse. And the closer it is to the battery, the better. Next is the 86th contact. Everything is simple here - we connect it to the body.
About wires
Now you need to deal with the fog itself. As we know, from each headlight there are only two wires (“plus” and “minus”, respectively). The latter is connected to the body, that is, it will be our mass. Next, we raise it to the relay so that the wires are not noticeable, and connect to the battery.
This completes the connection of foglights through the relay. The connection diagram, as we see, is very simple, so even a novice motorist will cope with such a task.
Second installation option
It will be much easier for car owners who already have a place in the bumper for attaching fog lights. Then you do not need to buy any fuses. All that is required is a pair of new foglights and up to 100 centimeters of wire (in reserve).
PTF for foreign cars most often have two wires, painted in black and red. The latter is connected with the “plus”, and the first - with the “minus”. Although on some copies (for example, on foglights for the Daewoo Nexia of Asian production), it is unprincipled which color to connect to. Red may well serve as the “plus” and “minus”. By the way, if in the bumper you did not find the wires for connecting the optics, it does not matter - you can try to connect them directly to the battery. And it is not necessary to pull the "plus" and "minus" from each lamp separately. The installation procedure can be as follows - two wires (as we have already said, black and red) are installed to the battery terminals (more precisely, under them), which go first to the left headlight from the driver's side, and then to the right. If the wires are short, take longer ones, strip their contacts at the ends and connect. You will have to stock up on electrical tape for this. The color of the long wire that will connect to the PTF and battery is not important. The main thing is that you do not get confused in the polarity. You should also be careful and disconnect battery power before installation. Otherwise, the slightest contact of the wire with the body may cause a short circuit.
Such a PTF installation algorithm is suitable not only for foreign cars, but also for all domestic cars on which the manufacturer provides a place for mounting optics. For example, on VAZ 2110 and 2114 cars, connecting foglights in this way takes no more than 20-40 minutes (and this despite the fact that the car enthusiast has no experience installing such equipment on a vehicle).
What requirements should PTF meet?
Finally, we note what rules modern fog lights must meet:
- In order to illuminate the roadway well, this type of optics must have a clear beam boundary at the top. Thus, the light in the headlights is scattered slightly above the horizontal plane.
- If the automaker has not provided space for PTF mounts, in no case do not install them above the headlamps. Try to place them as close to the roadway as possible. The lower this optics is, the better it will “break” the foggy barrier in front of you. But do not forget about the ride height of the car. If the headlight is located at a distance of 10 centimeters from the asphalt, then during rainy weather it will constantly get wet, and the water that has got inside the reflector will linger there for several weeks. And throughout this period, the glass will be cloudy, and the quality of lighting will significantly deteriorate. On VAZ classic machines, the optimal solution to the problem is to install a PTF under a steel bumper. So you “kill two birds with one stone”. Firstly, at such a distance from the road, the headlight will never get wet, and secondly, it looks very attractive and does not disfigure the appearance of the car. But where it makes no sense to mount a PTF at all, it’s on the roof (often owners of SUVs do this). There is no benefit from such illumination, but such a technique will be completely dazzled.
- If this is not factory optics, it is advisable to purchase it with special plugs. So you will significantly increase the life of the headlights and provide them with high safety when driving over rough terrain. A protector protects fog plug year-round at any time of the day.
- During operation, it is important to prevent clouding or fogging of the optics. To prevent this, you should regularly treat their surface with special polishes (at least once every 2-3 months).
Conclusion
As you can see, connecting foglights to the VAZ 2110 and many other cars of domestic production is a fairly easy matter, which every motorist can cope with. The fog lamp is your reliable assistant, which allows you to distinguish objects on the roadway on time and react with a large margin of time to the traffic situation.