Hey guys, its been ages since I've been around. I guess a lot has changed since then.

So right now my 04 RA is on its way to England and I'm required to install a rear fog light. Here is my problem:

I have not seen but 3 other Mitsu cars on the road here, let alone any Mitsu dealers. I have no experience with electrical wiring, but being the **** guy that I am, I want to make the fog light seem as OEM as possible (all the way to the fog light switch) so I'm stuck with 2 options, convert one of my Reverse lights into the fog light or install a rear fog light in the rear bumper. Either way I will need to wire it up and if I'm right I'll probably be able to jump it from the front fog lights (so as to turn them all on with the same switch).

Has anyone done this before? Any recommendations as to what to do and how to wire things up? Thanks

 

Well here is a picture of how they look on the Euro Evos


And here is one for sale on ebay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mitsubishi-L...-/220809989606

Im not 100% on how you'd wire it though. Maybe try splicing it into the lines for your stock fog lights... Im not real sure... Someone more electrical savvy will probably have a better solution for you. Does the light just need to be on? Cause I seen something online about a flashing one. I dont know if they need to flash or just be on...

 

The rear fog light should just be ON or OFF. About the flashing lights I have only seen them on newer cars when they slam on the brakes, but in this case it's not necessary (although quite cool).

BTW, thanks for the link, I found one for a regular lancer that is more pricey and also seems bigger :S

 

Ok well if it just needs to be on or off i dont see why you couldnt splice it into your existing fog light wires. That what I would do. May be the incorrect way of doing it. But again I expect someone with more electrical experience will let us know for sure soon enough.

 

This is interesting. Not having my owners manual available, i see that on-line parts sources list stock replacement fog light bulbs as 55W to 65W. So lets split the difference and say 60 watts. Supply voltage is 12V. Assume one wire feeds both front fog bulbs. Therefore the current thru it will be I= P/V = 120W/12V = 10 amps. If you splice into that wire you will draw a total of 15 amps through the original wire and fuse. That seems like a lot for a typical car wire gauge (house wiring uses #14 gauge for maximum allowable current of 15 amps).

Therefore, to be safe, run a separate wire from battery 12V to a switch that can handle 5 amps, then to the rear bulb.

 

There we go! I knew someone who had some electrical know-how would have an answer!

Now that means that he will need a separate switch to operate the rear fog light correct? If thats fine with you RDC then by all means go for it. But just for my curiosity is there anyway he could get the rear to illuminate when the stock fog light button is pressed?

 

Then you'd use a relay. A relay has two things in it: a little coil of wire, and beside that a piece of metal hinged at one end. 12V from the battery goes to a switch and then through the relay coil then to ground. When you flip the switch, which in this case is your original fog light switch, the coil energizes and a magnetic field is formed. This magnetic field pulls the hinged piece of metal towards it, so the metal piece closes a different circuit. This different circuit is 12V and lots of current to the load (fog lights in this case). (The coil and metal switch piece never actually touch).

The thing is, you use skinny little wire to the switch/coil side of the relay because it draws very little current. You use big fat wire on the contact switch side because this goes only to your load (the light bulb) that draws a lot of current.

Summary: a relay lets you run thin wires into a cheap switch inside the cabin. When you push that switch on, lots of current runs through a separate big fat wire directly to the load. The switch current and load current are physically isolated by the relay.

Here's a pic:
http://s462.photobucket.com/user/Rov...45089993237504

 

if you really don't want to install it yourself...i'm sure any mechanic's shop will do that for you...
and to save some $ you can do the light instal yourself...and then pay them to wire it in

 

I actually think that fog light looks kinda cool. I wish the JDM evo bumper fit our car... hahaha

 

Thanks for the help and sorry for disappearing, I've been quite busy getting acquainted over here. My car is due to arrive in a couple of weeks, so hopefully I'll jump on it right away. I had already bought some 14 gauge speaker wire (maybe a bit overkill) and was also looking into buying the EVO front/rear fog lights switch (same size as our fog light switch but there are 2 smaller, separate switches within the same space). The problem this represents is that I will need to figure out weather our original plug fits or not. If it fits, then I could just rewire it, but if not, I'll have to source one out. I will update as I progress.

 

the Evo had an option for intercooler spray, that's one of the buttons we don't have. not sure about the other...maybe traction control?


way off-topic sorry...

 

i'm guessing there's a front foglight button and a rear foglight button....
here in america i only know of european imporst to have that(jaguar, benz, bmw, volvo, etc)

i googled the button and it looks like this...(at least in a evo8)
but it's in a different spot than in the RA btw...goes under the cluster area to the left...not next to it like the RA...
http://thumbs4.ebaystatic.com/d/l225...DxSPTXKa0w.jpg

the RA's is like this
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NjY2WDEwMDA=/z/tmkAAMXQTghRJtGK/$T2eC16FHJHQE9nzEyG4nBRJtGKsyhw~~60_1.JPG?set_id=8 800005007

ps bakuro...also looks like next to it there's a switch for adjustable headlights
i don't remember what was (if anything) in the lower button aea of the RA anymore......
i just remember mine had the little alarm flashing LED through one of the empt plugs...
(it had a viper alarm already installed when i bought it)

 

Update!!!
My car arrived so i got to test the front/rear foglight switch. IT IS PLUG AND PLAY!!! It works perfect for the fronts but needs to be wired for the rears (it's the 2 bottom pins). I also found out that the Instrument Panel has the spot for the rear fog lamp light indicator, so I need to buy the bulb for it but most importantly, find the connection point to plug the switch to it.

^^I am going to need help for that since by looking at it this morning, the electrical route in the instrument panel didn't make any sense to me.

I also just bought an OE relay, which I plan to connect in an empty relay slot under the hood. I will then try to connect it to the right rear driving light, which I'll try to convert into a dual output LED since the hole is too small for a dual filament brake light. As of now I am researching into it to figure out what type of equivalent bulb I can use.

I'll keep updating as I go along but will appreciate all the help I can get

To answer your questions, both Lancer Equippe (as they are referenced over here) and Evo's use the same type of switch. They have it on the bottom part of the dash near the door. They (as well as most UK and JDM cars) also come with height adjustable headlights, whose switch is located where the USDM Lancers instrument panel dimmer is. Regardless of the position, the front fog light, front/rear fog light, ACD, IP dimmer and headlight position switches are the same size, so as long as you are able to connect them, they can be located in any of the 3 slots.

 

Sorry for taking too long. Since the fog light switch only sends a pulse to the ecu, there was no way of connecting the factory rear fog light switch to make it work. We ended up jumping the front foglight switch to a relay behind the cluster, using the factory rear fog light indicator in the cluster as well and for the time being, the right reverse lamp serves as the fog light (with a red bulb of course). I have too many projetcs at the moment so my plans with this have been in the backburner but as soon as i have the time i will try to change the fog light from the reverse light to one of the driving lights. Cheers

 

If you would still like to use the factory dual fog switch you can use a latched relay like the DEI 611T. That's what I'm going to use on my Evo Wagon that's on its way. It can use the pulse signal from a switch to activate/deactivate the relay.

The other option is to get the ETACS option for the rear fog activated. There are DIY pieces you can buy to do it, but I've heard people having issues at times. I would think the dealer could do it, but it's pricey, for example it cost $60 to get my tow harness activated on my Durango. Of course in the UK, as I'm sure you've learned, the exchange rate will increase that price drastically.

Doing the latch relay option is the best way to go for DIY and overall cost to add without risking problems with the ETACS module. I'm looking forward to my wagon showing up around the end of the month and getting it on the road.