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Making reverse light a fog light.
Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 8:04 am
by DrunkenMonster
I need some advice on what to do to get my reverse light to be red and how to make just that light come on when the fog lights do.
Re: Making reverse light a fog light. (DrunkenDixie)
Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 8:32 am
by lovemyraffe
Making them red would be fairly simple. Having them turn on at the same time as the fogs wouldn't be so easy. It would require rewiring to work.
Re: Making reverse light a fog light. (DrunkenDixie)
Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 8:49 am
by keithvibe
wouldn't it be easier to mount a set of aftermarket fog lights on the rear bumper someplace and wire them to the parking lights?
Re: Making reverse light a fog light. (keithvibe)
Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 8:56 am
by DrunkenMonster
It would and I am looking at one for thirty dollars but that would look retarded if I can get the reverse light to do the same thing than I would rather have that.
Re: Making reverse light a fog light. (DrunkenDixie)
Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 10:09 am
by keithvibe
Quote, originally posted by DrunkenDixie »It would and I am looking at one for thirty dollars but that would look retarded if I can get the reverse light to do the same thing than I would rather have that.but then i have to ask, what happens when you need to back up at night? Going to wire them to light when you put in reverse too?
Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 10:36 am
by DrunkenMonster
Well in Missouri where I am from and England there doesn't need to be reverse lights. I will still keep the left one a reverse and attempt to wire the right one to a switch to turn on for fog issues and to pass the UK inspection.
Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2009 1:47 am
by cptnsolo77
I say you wire some high beams into your reverse lights for those annoying drivers who want to tailgate you with THIER high beams on ! Flip the swith & viloa ! 2 can play at that game !
Re: (DrunkenDixie)
Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2009 5:08 am
by dragon64
Quote, originally posted by DrunkenDixie »Well in Missouri where I am from and England there doesn't need to be reverse lights. I will still keep the left one a reverse and attempt to wire the right one to a switch to turn on for fog issues and to pass the UK inspection.The easiest solution would be a red LED replacement lamp and simple relay switching circuit. You could still use it as a reverse light (although in red) and when the fog light switch activates the relay it becomes the fog light. Not up on current UK regs so not sure if the lens has to be red as well. To be really trick you could use a (non-automotive) white/ red LED lamp and a few more componants to the switching circuit to reverse the polarity to the lamp to activate red when the fog light switch is on.
Re: (dragon64)
Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2009 1:10 pm
by dragon64
Forget about the T-25 bi-color LED idea. Just found out these were only custom order for a R&D project and not an off the shelf item.
Re: Making reverse light a fog light. (DrunkenDixie)
Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2009 10:24 pm
by ColonelPanic
Can you get some sort of adhesive transparent film in red to overlay the light? I once had some amber film over my fogs up front so i know the stuff has to be available somewhere...I had thought about doing that back when I had my Vibe but never got around to it.My idea was to snip off the wiring near the backup light and splice in some new stuff... Run a new circuit that is hot with the igniton and is controlled via a switch up front.
Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 11:06 pm
by crazyviber
whats the purpose on wanting one red reverse light wired in to the fog light? i dont understand why anybody would want this? you could just clip the wires and put in a toggle switch in the dash in one of the empty holes, i think that would be the easiest way, run 1 wire to it 1 to the switch and be done.
Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 11:42 pm
by DrunkenMonster
I am moving to England in 2 months and I am taking the Vibe. Doing this all myself to save me the bill from them doing it there and tearing my vehicle up in the process.
Re: (crazyviber)
Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 11:52 pm
by ColonelPanic
Quote, originally posted by crazyviber »whats the purpose on wanting one red reverse light wired in to the fog light? i dont understand why anybody would want this? Not really going to be a reverse light, it's a fog light. A red rear fog light is mandatory in many other parts of the world. It is designed to be bright enough (usually as bright as a brake light would be if not brighter) to help people see the rear of your car in foggy conditions. You very rarely see them here (although they're on some European imports.) And sadly when you see a car equipped with one over here, they're often using it improperly.
Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 12:27 am
by DrunkenMonster
Finally after a whole month of searchinghttp://
www.cheaptoyotaparts.co.uk/They can get parts from Japan my cost for the rear fog light assembly will be $130. Comes straight from Toyota Voltz.
Re: (DrunkenDixie)
Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 12:31 am
by DrunkenMonster
They can get you any part for a Toyota Voltz!!!
Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 2:08 am
by DrunkenMonster
So.... Total price to have it converted is $1800. Looks like I will be selling....you all know anyone, lol?
Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 3:00 am
by crazyviber
o, ok, that makes sense, id stil lconsider the toggle switch, or you can run a wire from your front fog lights to your reverse light and tie it in to the wiring there, and just cut the hot wire at the reverse light and splice it in the wire you ran back, that way when you go to turn your fog lights on the rear light then comes on, that would way cheaper then buying one adn it would work the same.
Re: (DrunkenDixie)
Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 5:56 am
by ColonelPanic
Quote, originally posted by DrunkenDixie »So.... Total price to have it converted is $1800. Looks like I will be selling....you all know anyone, lol?Yow! What all does that bill include having done?
Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 7:57 am
by DrunkenMonster
Voltz headlights, rear fog light, side markers, Cat 2 immobiizer, installation and the inspection cost.
Re: (DrunkenDixie)
Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 10:30 am
by vibolista
Are you sure they require all this on an American car? When I went 'over there' we had to do nothing to our car. If you are going to keep your Vibe, install an aftermarket rear (bright red) fog lamp and be done with it. Cheap and easy... then take the thing off when you come back if you want. I saw them advertized in JC Whitney, cheap. They're a very good idea anywhere there's thick fog. You can really see the rear fogs way before you see normal rear lights. $1800 hundred dollars to convert what? How long you going for? I was able to stretch my stay from 2 years to almost 5. Loved it. The Brits are a riot and the rest of the Europeans are a whacky fun group of people, for the most part. Enjoy!
Re: (vibolista)
Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 10:33 am
by vibolista
The 1800 dollar bill answered above! Maybe a well placed bright red LED (wired to its own switch) would do the trick. Might be able to sneak it in to the reverse light, and if there's enough room, you could still keep the white reverse bulb for backing up duty. I've never had my reverse light out to see what kind of room is in there... but just a thought.I'm going to attempt the same basic thing on my motorcycle front turn indicators... so they can do double duty as amber side marker/running lights. I'll try to make a small hole in the back of the light, run an amber LED next to the 'normal' bulb and then wire it to the head light so the LEDs are always on. Kawasaki doesn't belive in extra front lighting for some reason. This application doesn't have to be super bright, but should provide enough light at night to be noticed by oncoming traffic.
Re: (DrunkenDixie)
Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 2:54 am
by Aussie Vibe
...., side markers, .....They are not side markers they are indicators (turn signals) mounted on the side of the car in the area just below the side mirrors.What the US has a amber 'side markers' are white 'parking' lights in the UK.Just FYI
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Re: Making reverse light a fog light. (DrunkenDixie)
Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2010 5:40 pm
by mixer
I pulled my driver's side reverse light assembly, drilled a hole in the rear of the casing and installed a high intensity LED spot light assembly in ti. You can find these at
http://www.oznium.com I wired mine to a switch, but from what I have been told by oznium the LED has such a small power draw you can splice into one of the positives that power the front driving lights.
Re: Making reverse light a fog light. (mixer)
Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2010 12:20 am
by Whelan
The best solution would be what is written above me. Placing a high power led in the housing of the brake lamp.
Re: Making reverse light a fog light. (Whelan)
Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2010 12:39 am
by omgLIFT
i've seen some members on 9thgencorolla actually put an HID kit in the reverse lights and to be honest it's bright enough with just one bulb on one side but you could essentially put both. I have my reverse lights tinted with 6/10 smoked vinyls from BlueBat and along with my window tint I can barely see going into reverse.