Independent Foglights

JAVI

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:
2006 5 Touring/Navi - 2006 3 sTouring 5dr
Here I will simply show the differences between the 3 and the 5, so when you use Xenon Expert's Guide it will go nice and smooth.

1. Start with the guide. http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?topic=11730.0 It's pretty comprehensive and well laid out.

2. Use my first pic as a reference to steps 1 and 2. It just shows where the empty fuse slot and the foglight relay are on the 5. I'm sure you smarties could've figured that out, but hey, I had the pic so let's share.

3. Use my second pic to help you locate the wire you need in the steering column (step 4). It's a different color on the 5 than on the 3, but I think its the same location.

Thats it!!

Observation: This is a fairly easy mod to do. The hardest thing is getting at the wire in the steering column because it is very tight quarters unless you take off the bottom panel of the column as well. I could only mange to seperate them, but not completely remove the bottom one because the kick panel and the tilt steering lever prevent it. Because of this I used a wire tap to make this connection. If you are not doing this in 20 degree weather at 2 in the morning, you might have the patience to figure out how to get those panels off. Then you will have plenty of room to splice, solder, whatever.

To my Canadian friends: Unfortunately, I don't believe this mod will work as it is written on the Canadian models because of your Daylight Running Lamps. The extra steps needed to make it work have been figured out, I just don't have that info.

Hope this helps. :)
 

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Easier

I'm not sure how independent you want your fogs, but I came up with a much easier way to get your foglights to work independently, but legally. All you need to do is switch the trigger wire from headlights to parking lights. With this method, your foglights will be able to be turned on with just the parking lights on, but they will also turn off with high beams, and you don't have to run any wires.

Disconnect the battery. Remove the fuse panel cover under the hood, locate the relays for foglights, and the taillamp relay. You can pull the entire fuse box out of its holder buy moving the plastic tabs that hold it in place. This is probably the hardest part of the entire project. There are about 8 or 9 tabs that all have to be released. I found it easier to leave the fuse box bottom cover bolted to the shock tower, so you can wiggle the actual panel out. Anyway, after you get the panel out, you just need to locate a couple wires under the tailight relay and under the fog light relay. On my car the foglight wire was grey with a blue stripe, and the taillight trigger wire was grey with a black stripe. From there all you need to do is strip a little insulation off the grey/black wire, and on the grey/blue wire you want to cut that about 2-3" from the underside of the panel, enough to work with. Then just find about 6" of scrap wire and connect the grey/blue wire (the one coming out of the panel, not the piece going into the harness) to the stripped area of the grey/black wire. Properly tape/insulate all connections and cap off the wire that was cut and you're all set. Test and put everything back together. Now you can actually use the foglights as foglights. Everything will work as it did before, except you can now turn on the fogs with just your parking lights on. No more need to have the headlights on too.

Of course, the usual cautions go out. Your wire colors may differ from mine, and I suggest you only do this modification if you are completely comfortable with doing automotive electrical work. But basically all you're doing is changing the foglight trigger wire on the relay.

Enjoy. And everything will look factory, with no extra wiring in the fuse box. (cheers)
 
I'm not sure how independent you want your fogs, but I came up with a much easier way to get your foglights to work independently, but legally. All you need to do is switch the trigger wire from headlights to parking lights. With this method, your foglights will be able to be turned on with just the parking lights on, but they will also turn off with high beams, and you don't have to run any wires.

Disconnect the battery. Remove the fuse panel cover under the hood, locate the relays for foglights, and the taillamp relay. You can pull the entire fuse box out of its holder buy moving the plastic tabs that hold it in place. This is probably the hardest part of the entire project. There are about 8 or 9 tabs that all have to be released. I found it easier to leave the fuse box bottom cover bolted to the shock tower, so you can wiggle the actual panel out. Anyway, after you get the panel out, you just need to locate a couple wires under the tailight relay and under the fog light relay. On my car the foglight wire was grey with a blue stripe, and the taillight trigger wire was grey with a black stripe. From there all you need to do is strip a little insulation off the grey/black wire, and on the grey/blue wire you want to cut that about 2-3" from the underside of the panel, enough to work with. Then just find about 6" of scrap wire and connect the grey/blue wire (the one coming out of the panel, not the piece going into the harness) to the stripped area of the grey/black wire. Properly tape/insulate all connections and cap off the wire that was cut and you're all set. Test and put everything back together. Now you can actually use the foglights as foglights. Everything will work as it did before, except you can now turn on the fogs with just your parking lights on. No more need to have the headlights on too.

Of course, the usual cautions go out. Your wire colors may differ from mine, and I suggest you only do this modification if you are completely comfortable with doing automotive electrical work. But basically all you're doing is changing the foglight trigger wire on the relay.

Enjoy. And everything will look factory, with no extra wiring in the fuse box. (cheers)


Finally got around to doing this mod. Super easy. The hardest part was getting the fuse block high enough to get at the wires.

Thanks Fran82!
 
Back from the dead, but I just did this mod and it works great. I prefer Frank82 method..The high beams shut off the fogs just like normal.
 
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