it's not a popular subject, since it doesn't "look cool" and is purely a "safety" mod.....but I'm once again thinking about a rear fog light, since I've had to drive through thick fog at least 4 times so far this winter up in the mountains. On three of the occasions, it was thick enough that I couldn't see the car that was probably 100 feet ahead of me because his tail lights were so dim. On the fourth I was behind a Volvo with a rear fog light, and he was visible much farther away.

Also had them on our Lancia and BMW in Italy.

In any case, in the US it's legal to have a single rear fog light (which must be as bright or brighter than the brake lights), and it must be on the driver's side of the rear of the car.

Since we still have to have both reverse lights here in VA, there's not much option for putting a rear fog in the stock light housing...si I'm thinking about going with the old-school "hang below the bumper" setup (which actually works fine).

As it happens, PIAA actually makes a rear fog light with 10 LEDs, that can mount wherever....I may actually buy one and use it.

just a thought - don't bother with any negative comments....driving in the fog with hazards = bad idea/illegal. not being seen by the car behind you in the fog = bad idea. Also, on the lancia we used to flash the BRIGHT rear fogs at tailgaters....much more fun than using the brake lights

here's the PIAA one...actually looks pretty low-profile, I might just tuck it below the lip of the rear bumper.

 

The Olds Aurora had 2 rear fogs on the bumper.

 

Will the LEDs light up red or white? How will you mount it on the bumper, just drill holes?

 

Yep, so do Land Rovers.

 

rear fog light is RED....they will light up red, high=intensity.

the PIAA one looks like it has a top bracket, so I would mount it so it would be just below the bottom lip of the bumper and attach it someplace behind the bumper mounts.

 

I know it's legal to have two....but it's also legal to have only one, if it's on the driver's side of the car....my setup could only have one, since if I did it on the passenger side, it would go where the exhaust tips are....

 

"Since we still have to have both reverse lights here in VA"

The mid 90s Saab 9000 in Canada had a rear fog lamp in place of the left reverse lamp from the factory. I would assume the US spec 9000 would be the same. Wonder how they got around that law.
Could you add bright red leds to the left reverse light housing, and leave the reverse bulb in place? I know it's a small light. Just a thought.

 

i can only imagine how much easier it would be to simply tap into the backup lights to a switch. when you want them on, turn on the light. that's what i would do. if there's some legal issues with that, then just correct me.

 

Has to be red light

 

Actually, I think the best thing would be to change the wiring/relays so that when the front foglights are turned on (or with a separate switch if you prefer) the taillights switch to the brighter filament, but the high-mounted brake light remains off. This way you have four bright bulbs rather than just one off to the side, which could be confusing. And it looks stock and even if it's technically not legal (how could it be, it's just brighter red taillights) no one's gonna pull you over for it since you'll only be using it in fog.

That PIAA tack-on one would look tacky IMO.

 

Tacky would be driving around w/ rear end damage cause someone didn't see you in the fog, but I see your point.

I suppose with the PIAA, you could put a bracket under the rear bumper and a weather proof connector so the light can be mounted only when going up the mountain (kind of like a hidden hitch), but I can see this getting old pretty fast.

 

the more I think about it, the more I think that the best best would be to put high-power LEDs (that are clear when off, but light up red) in a "ring" around the bulb of the reverse lights...that way I still have the reverse lights, but can click on the LEDs as a fog light when needed, via a switch (my maxima has 2 empty switch spots on the dash, no idea what they're for).

I need to find an extra 5th gen tail to test/practice this on.

 

I've thought about this, too. I've got the world market Nissan parts disc, several Nissan products in Europe have them. The world market CA33-
Maxima QX, I30/5 does not, but the A32 (4th gen) does. They are integrated into the rear deck finisher, but there is a cool "Rear Fog Lamp" switch that appears to plug into one of the standard dash plugs. Hmm- I'm gonna call my JDM guy & find out what it would take to get one!

 

long time no see Dave....

I've seen that a few guys have done this on the 4th gen, too bad about our single-bulb setup in the 5th gen.

Definitely let me know if you can get your hands on the switch!

 

Hey...just a thought.....maybe if you got a stillen rear valence you could hide that piaa fog ligth inside of it and have it shine through the vents...would that work?

 

Yeah, good luck getting Irish to get a kit.

 

Maybe if I show him a pic of it.

Cut out one of those vents and I think it might be able to fit in there...
can ya seee it!?!

 

what about using the 3rd brake light on the reardeck. or better, find out what bulbs those use. if you can swap out with stronger wattage (h3) bulbs, then it's an OEM look. and it's red.

 

Good idea Irish. I have two fog lights on the back of my truck and they come in handy when we get pea soup fog here along the coast. If you come up with a good way to mount rear fog(s) on your Max, I would be interested in it. That PIAA LED looks nice.

 

i got a fog switch from a nx and wired up a relay to run the stock brake light.



the 4th genners didnt like the idea, but i made a write up and its in the
stickies.

the piaa one is nice, but you could do better by modding the stock light.

 

There has to be some way to cut a hole in the bumper and make it sit flush in there... question is, would it look good?

 

JDM preludes have this:

 

Interesting...I know I've seen the Audi A6's with the rear fog light. Are you sure that the Aurora have them or are those just reflectors?

 

Good work, but I like my idea of all four taillights better. Why would you want only one to be the rear fog when you can have all four? Brighter and symmetrical.

 

I love the idea and was actually thinking of going this route because my Infiniti has a similar setup to the 4th gen. I was just wondering about what kind of switch would look nice.

If I can get that switch from a foreign market Ill definately be doing this. We dont get too much fog where I live, but it works well in bad snow too.

 

there are many foreign made USDM cars that have a rear fog. some saabs have one in place of the driver side reverse light. the other one works as a normal reverse light. audis and vws have them too, some with 2 (one on each side). more often than not the driver has no idea its on or what the switch is for. i see countless european cars driving around with them on, even in the day. they work only with the front fogs, so again those get used when not needed. i dont have front fogs any more so dont try and blame me for doing that , at least any more.


that would make people think you are braking all the time and then see the 3rd light working and think WTF?! he only has one brake light. thats just not the way to do it.

 

No it wouldn't because 1. the lights would remain constantly on and 2. the third brake light would NOT be on. In truly foggy weather, which is what rear foglights are for, another driver would probably not notice that your tails were extra bright, they would just be grateful to see your tails clearly.

You do have a point about the brake light problem. I guess I'd revise my suggestion to say do the two inner tails and leave the two outer and third brake light for braking. That's what I may do.

 

now youre thinkin!

 

yep, I saw your thread (dug it up last night)....unfortunately, we 5th genners have the single combo bulb.....wish we had two.

 

I was thinking of this, but not sure how much clearance behind the bumper there is on the max, and am a bit worried about cutting into the bumper in case it looks stupid....

[QUOTE=Polo]what about using the 3rd brake light on the reardeck. or better, find out what bulbs those use. if you can swap out with stronger wattage (h3) bulbs, then it's an OEM look. and it's red.[/IMG]

I thought about that - but checked the motor vehicle law books and if you have a single rear fog it HAS to be on the driver's side, offset - not centered

the day I get a rear valence will be the day hell freezes over.....since I autocross, I'm not down for adding weight to the car unless it helps performance (which a front lip, arguably, might, but not a rear). Not a bad idea though.



At this point, I think I'm going to put clear LEDs (that light up red) in the left side reverse housing (around the reverse bulb) and rig them to a rocker switch on the dash - DAVEB looks like he found a JDM switch that will fit in the stock empty switch location and look "stock"

 

that would definitely be the way to go....if the 5th gens had dual brake lights like you guys do

 

JSutter, what does your fog switch look like? I have a blank spot where my TCS switch would be if I had TCS, and I could put a rear fog button there if it would fit perfectly.

 

its just a front fog light swith, similar to our cruise switch on the dash. i got it from a nissan pulsar nx. the only difference between the front fog switch and rear fog switch is the picture. front fogs have the "light" beam pointing down, where the rear fog has the light beam pointing straight.
the one i have is on the left in the middle:


just some rear fog on ebay


as you can see the little pix are almost identical. i was looking for a true rear fog switch but gave up and settled on the nx switch. there is a 3rd genner with a rear fog and a switch off of a stanza, but the switch looks slightly bigger.

 

you could use any switch from autozone. they have some nice looking ones. i have one for my amp, and i had to drill a hole in the plug, then dremel out the correct size hole. if you get the right looking switch and cut the hole well, it loox very good.
of course its always better to get the correct sized switch to begin with, any nissan oem one will look good.

 

Winner!

time to hit the junkyard!

 

I have the rear foglight for an EDM Infiniti G37 and am waiting on a trim piece which I plan to install in the center lower portion of my rear bumper cover, as well as a Nissan Almera rear foglight switch....

 

 

Interesting bump to an old thread...

 

Finally have all the pieces....now I need a nice warm weekend to get started! Will post pics as soon as the install is completed...btw, the rear foglight switch fits perfectly in the blank space to the left of the rheostat switch for the dash lights...

 

Finally got the rear foglight installed; just need to work on the wiring but here are a few pics......







Considering the pics were taken about 4 in the afternoon, and the sun was still fairly bright, the last pic shows how bright that rear foglight is......