SL4Life

I have a custom bumper with daytime running led's. They are wired to an ignition source so when the key is turned they come on. So the wires that ran to the fog lights are cut and capped off. The error message that my L & R bulbs are out is driving me nuts! Is there a way to code out the fog light option or something?

SL4Life

TIA for your replies. All suggestions are welcome.

slk55er

Just a guess, but here's a possibility. An onboard computer is detecting the open circuit and no test current flowing in the cut wires. You could either reconnect the bulbs with a grounded socket and mount them in an inconspicuous location or measure the resistance of the bulbs and insert an equivalent resistor from Radio Shack. You'd have to be careful to not turn on the lights and burn up the resistor or use a resistor that can handle the current and heat with a heat sink.

SL4Life

Thank you for taking the time to weigh in. I am a builder and carpenter by trade so what your saying makes sense logically but I wouldn't have a clue how to go about measuring the bulbs resistance! I guess I can Google that and maybe figure that out but to be safe I would want to use a resistor that can handle the heat but how will I know if it is able to handle the heat? Also, where would I get a heat sink and how would that get connected. Electronics 101 please? Lol

slk55er

I got out my handy Volt-Ammeter and measured 0.5 - 1.1 ohms on several different types of bulbs. I think you'd need a resistor of that value with a 300 Watt rating and a 24Amp fuse. (Note: I=V/R, P=V*V/R where V=voltage in volts, I=current in amps, R=resistance in ohms, P=power in watts) I think I calculated that correctly, but I don't have a lot of confidence in this approach.

Seems like your best options would be to simply install the original bulbs into a socket from Radio Shack connected to the original wires and grounded to the vehicle frame. You'll probably never turn on these bulbs with the dash switch and even if you did, there should be no problem if you mount the bubs in a protected area in the engine compartment.

SL4Life

That's the way I'll go. Thank you...

desired_speeds

You can get HID Error cancelors and plug them in. The output from the error cancelors can just be taped off and tucked away from moisture.

SL4Life

I wondered about going that route but when I emailed a few sellers of the cancellers they could never confirm. This would be my first choice. Thanks.

bobandkathy

Not to worry - this is an easy fix. I replaced the OEM Fog Lamps on my SL550 recently. The ONLY thing you need to do is wire in line a 50w 6 ohm resistor behind each light. You may want to remove the lower valance to have better access. These resistors are readily available on line. You are probably going to have less than $10 in cost. One word of caution, these do get hot so do not attach them to a plastic surface. The reason for the resistor is because LED's send a different voltage signal to the computer. The resistor solves that problem.

SL4Life

Bob there are no longer any lights on the line. My drls are wired to a direct ignition source so when the ignition comes on the drls come on so the old fog light wires are just taped up and tucked away. My only problem is (besides the error codes) they don't dim like the factory drls do when the headlights come on so in the nighttime they are waaay to bright!