This might sounds stupid but why would you have REAR fog lamps?? So the guy behind you can see?? And thanks REBEL for the failblog. hilarious!!
Red, high-intensity rear lamps (brighter than tail lights), so the guy behind you can see you. Generally they're at a low position on the car so they don't dazzle the driver behind. On the Prius they're just in-board of the tail lights, the tail light width being reduced by half to accommodate them. Fog was a much worse problem when they were made mandatory. The problem now is generally a) getting people to use them when necessary and b) getting them not to use them when not necessary. The law simply says that they must not be used except "in conditions of seriously reduced visibility". The same applies to front fog lamps. On my last car, a 2001 Ford Focus, there was only one rear fog lamp and it was driver's side, at the bottom of the rear bumper. The corresponding position on the passenger's side was the reversing light. The front fog lamps could be switched on once headlamps were on, but the rear lamp could only be switched on with the headlamps and front fogs already on. It had a rotary panel switch with four positions: push in and twist counter-clockwise to enable 'parking' position lamps; off; one click clockwise to turn on sidelights while running; two clicks clockwise to turn on headlamps. Once headlamps were on, you could pull the switch out one click for front fogs, and a further click to put rear fogs on as well. Turning headlamps off automatically turned off the fogs. On the Prius, there's a ring on the left-hand control stalk (indicator/headlamp stalk) which controls the fog lights. On my car, which doesn't have front fogs, you twist and release it to turn the rear fog lamps on and off. They automatically turn off when you turn the car off, because the switch doesn't latch. I don't know if front and rear fog lamps can be controlled independently on the cars equipped with both.
Ditto on both counts. Add to that the expense and problematic nature of the HID's and I'm glad they were not in the package 2. For me HID = FAIL.
Sounds ENTIRELY too complicated , which is probably why you only used them three times, right? I think we've had a "foggy" morning...maybe 4 or 5 times in past year where I live so not a problem here.
IIRC, the way Toyota one works is that you switch the front foglights to the on position. From the ON position, you can twist it further and it's spring-loaded. That turns on the rear foglights. The foglight ring then returns to the ON position when you release it. That way, as you've described, the rear foglight will not be on the next time the car turns on.
Race cars, I mean real race cars, F1 cars have a high intensity rear fog light so a following driver can see a car they are approaching through the intense spray that these cars generate on a wet track. The pea soup fogs that once plagued Southern England would have required all the help you could get. Rear enders are very common in inclement weather.
