I want to be able to have my high beams on with my factory fogs. Is there a wire mod or a relay i can take out to enable this?

Please don't discuss legality.

 

No problem with leagalities, it's just that you can't do it. BMW control module won't allow it. You would have to wire them up as an auxillary light, like the aftermarket driving/fog lights

 

Not talking legally. But, there are NO conditions where it would be an advantage to have both the fog lights and the high beams on simultaneously.

The high beams create too much glare to be used in the fog, rain or heavy snow. The fog lights have such a flat topped, wide, and short effective range, as to be useless when the high beams are on.

So the question remains, why would you ever want to do this?

If you want more lights on with your high beams, install some driving lights that will actually do some good.

 

I don't plan on having the high beams and fogs on all the time, but i ever want to, it would be cool to have them on at once. Think the Italian Job

Please don't bash me or post crap. Thanks

 

The answer is it can not be done within the standard BMW/MINI light control system.

 

 

I beg to differ with you B-B, I have run fog lights with high beams for years. It is the best possible configuration when running at night on a twisty lonely road. The highs light up the road and the fogs light up the road just in front but better yet they throw a wide pattern that lights up the sides of the road and to some extent around the corners too. It really lights up the surroundings.

 

They are also lower, and thus road debris throw longer shadows (making them easier to see).

 

The topic has came up before. See my posts #9 and #13 in this thread: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=125506

 

I would have to agree with ScottinBend as well. Fog lights will illuminate the sides of the road (ditches in rural areas like Alaska). This is helpful in areas where wildlife is abundant - moose, bears, deer, etc. They tend to 'hide' out on the sides of the road and jump in front of you at the last second. The use of the fogs + high beams allows you to see far down the road, as well as illuminate the sides of the roads (and any creatures that might be hiding). You can't avoid what you can't see! This is clearly one of many examples where the ability to have fogs + high beam is advantageous.

On the flip side, the use of high beams in foggy conditions can be dangerous, which is why I think most cars (in the US) disable the fog lights with high beams. It's probably a silly "hint" that maybe we shouldn't use high beams in the fog.

I will also point out that the '07 MCC I rented in Switzerland this past October did *NOT* shut off the fog lights when the high beams were activated. I'm sure it's just a matter of how the body control (BC1?) module is programmed, and not the inability of BMW/MINIs lighting systems to accommodate this functionality.

The lights on the '07 Alfa Romeo 147 JTDM I rented prior to the Cabrio also allowed fogs + high beam. If anything, I wouldn't be surprised if there's some sort of law in the US against using fog lights with high beams. Many of our laws seemed to be geared to protect stupid people from themselves, at the expense of freedom for the rest of the population. I wish we could be less of a nanny state.

I'm really curious if the BC1 in our MINIs can be reflashed to operate more like our European counterparts. In studying the wiring diagrams for our cars, it does not appear that there's a wire or relay preventing the fog lights from operating with the high beams. I'm sure it's all in the BC1, or whatever module(s) control the lights in our cars.

 

I have absolutely no idea about how the MINI fog lights are regulated....but this may be a possible solution or atleast a good read: http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=965205&page=1

The fog light off function may be too deeply rooted in the BC1 controller to control with this old school mod....just thought I'd share though

 

There was a vendor making a chip that went behind the toggle panel that allowed for a couple of functions. It let you set options to have auto up windows, always off DCS and "always" on fogs. I don't believe that they are being manufactured any more.

 

bump this, i want to see if anyone has found a solution for this.

 

If you want to do this through the toggle switches, you're out of luck unless you find a way to hack the software. If you are willing to install an additional "override" switch, see my post #11 in this thread.

 

That was Ian's Circuit (GBMINI.com) [FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]however, all it did was to auto arm the fogs so that they would automatically turn on with the lo=beams. The fogs still turned off with the highs on.[/SIZE][/FONT]

 

How did you do this?? I've tried 3 ways yet... none of which worked... I even tried installing a single pole-double throw switch inline with the green/brown wire coming from the fog relay :(

 

How have you done this? Would you care to explain? I have run a SPDT switch in line with the Brown/Green wire from the R6 relay... Br/Gn wire to common pole, one terminal to the GMCU (OEM function) and the other terminal to a 12V source tapped from a driver-side footwell fuse. (ie F7, F38). With the car ignition off, the switch will turn on the fogs and nothing else but, once the ignition is ON, the switch still wont close the Fog relay and override OEM function. Any thoughts?

 

I think its down to BCU coding.
In the UK fogs+highbeam is allowed and my 03 R53 does it no problem.