koko381

There is supposedly rear fog lights on my 04 e500. These are activated by pulling the headlight knob out to the last position. The only thing I notice when I do this is that one of my rear stoplights(the drivers side one) becomes more illuminated. Is there something wrong with mine, or is this standard? Thanks

marksatex

Thats it working. The brighter illumination is a warning to following traffic. It allows a little more projection on the left side. Many cars in Europe have this but I have never seen it on a US or Japanese build. I foolowed my wife home one night in a very dense foog and I think it works great ! I could see her I would bet a few hundred feet farther than other cars. ( Of course she was driving my baby so Iw as keeping an eagle eye out too)..

BudC

That's exactly how they are supposed to work. People can tell where the left roadside corner of your car is located.

Of course, rear fog lights (standard or added) are widely used in Europe and people there know about them. Not so in the U.S. since only some Mercedes and Scandinavian cars have them.

I use mine in the rain so people behind me can more easily see me. It's like having a brake light on all the time, ie it's much brighter and easier to see than a tail light.

koko381

Thanks

BoSoxFan

Porsche has the same system on their US spec cars.

Randy B

Audi, Volvo, Jag, and Land Rover have had them on US import vehicles for over thirty years now.

Barry45RPM

Arent they supposed to be used when the car is pulled over & parked? You leave the one on the non shoulder side on overnight so that traffic doesn't hit the car when its parked. I thought that was the intent.

BudC

No, you are using the regular parking lights designed for Europe where both one front parking light and one rear tail light are lit.

The rear fog light is a seperate light in the tail light cluster that is as bright as a brake light and is on the street side of the car. It can be turned on in addition to the front fog lights.

Brav

this is one of my pet peves, as most people drive with fog lights on so they will "look cool" but dont realize that their rear fog light is on and very annoying to other drivers.. please take note if you are not sure how the fogs are activated. all you have to do is pull out half way for front fogs (one light comes on) and further for rear fogs (2 lights).



but i'm sure all of you competant lads on this board are familiar on how this works. really not necessary unless you are in..... thats right, fog.

BudC

As I said previously, I've used the rear fog light many times in driving rain so I could be seen by people following me. I only wished that the car in front of ME had a rear fog light.

rdollie

The rear fog light is on the left side for cars sold in right lane drive countries (e.g., North America) and on the right side for other countries where they drive on the left (e.g., Japan.)

The reason is as others have eluded - in order for people who come up behind you to pass to the outside edge of the car and not into the car. This is the reason why you should only have ONE rear fog light. I can't tell you how many threads I've read on boards from people making their own mods to add a second light! When General Motors decided to hop on the bandwagon they did it with their typical manner and decided they could one-up the Euros - they put rear fog lights on BOTH sides of the the Olds Aurora! morons....