This document is the culmination of data and experience gained in altering
the stock functionality of the 2000 Lightning's Fog or Driving Lights. These
are the round lights housed in the front lower fairing, and are referred to
in this document as Foglights.
This document is written based on my 2000 model year only, but the information presented here may be useful for other model years.
In the stock mode of operation, you are only able to activate the foglights
when the headlight switch is in the full 'on' (or headlamp position), ainly
because it is the only position where you can physicaly pull out the switch
to activate the foglamps.
Through testing and guessing, I have altered my truck's headlight switch mechanism
and wiring in such a way that I am able to:
- pull out the headlight switch in the autolamp, the parking lamp, and the
headlamp positions.
- activate the foglights while the headlight switch is in the autolamp, parking
lamp and headlamp positions.
How? There are 2 parts I recommend in this procedure - the physical modification,
and the electrical modification.
Preliminary Preparations
- Gather your tools. I used a small screwdriver, small hobby file,
medium pair of pliers, 3M splice connector, electrical tape, and an air compressor
(canned air will suffice).
- Take a deep breath. If you are like me, I'm very hesitant to hurt
my truck, so any modification is a big one.
- Remove the headlight switch console. This console has three metal
clips holding it in the dash- one on the bottom-middle where the 'notch' is,
one on the left-middle, and one on the top-right. I simply used a small screwdriver
to coax these clips into releasing the console from the dash. There are 2
sets of wires plugged into the back of this console.
Results at this point:
You should be ready to start working.
Part 1 - Physical Modification:
The Headlight Switch Mechanism
- Disconnect the wires. The connectors to the back of the console have
a 'lock' or 'latch' that you must press while wiggling/pulling the connector.
I also don't recommend pulling on the wires - there is always the possibility
of damaging a wire or pulling it from the connector.
- Find the collar. If you look into the console from the bottom, you
should be able to see the mechanical headlamp switch mechanism. There's a
black plastic column that's attached to the headlamp switch that should rotate
as you move the switch to its different positions (autolamp, off, park, on).
Also attached to that column, inside the console, there's a black plastic
'arm' - this, along with the 'ramped' white plastic collar around the switch,
is what prevents the headlamp knob from being pulled out in any position except
the 'on' headlamp position.
The easiest way to find the 'ramped' white plastic collar I am talking about
is to turn the switch to the full on headlamp and foglamp position (turn switch
full clockwise and pull it out). Now look for the black plastic arm. Now watch
that arm as you slowly turn the switch counter-clockwise back to the park
position. You should see the arm ride on a white plastic collar surrounding
the whole headlamp switch mechanism. There is a 'ramp' in this collar that
forces the switch to pop back inward when you turn from the 'on' position
to the 'park' position.
Good luck, this can be a little confusing.
- Persuade the collar. Using a small file, I filed down the white plastic
collar at the positions I wanted to be able to pull out the headlamp switch
to activate the foglamps. I filed down the ramp at the 'park' position, but
duplicated the slope on the other side of that position. So now the switch
stays pulled-out in the 'on' and 'park' position, but still pops back in when
I turn to 'off'. For the autolamp position, I filed a notch and ramp towards
the off position. Again, the switch stays pulled-out in the 'auto' position,
but still pops back in when I turn to 'off'. Make sure to clean/blow out the
plastic filings from the casing.
IMPORTANT: I do NOT recommend simply cutting the 'arm' from the switch
column. This negates the collar's secondary function of being able to provide
'stops' for the switch mechanism. One bit of feedback I have gotten from someone
who just cut the arm is: "Without the sweeper arm, the whole switch is
kind of wonky. It pulls out too far and will also rotate past the autolamp
position. Just don't like the feel."
NOTE: Since this is a single-piece part, I chose NOT to take off the
faceplate to make any alterations. I'm sure one can take the thing apart and
superglue/epoxy it back together, but I'd rather not break plastic pieces
apart if I don't absolutely have to.
Results at this point:
Your foglamps should now activate with your headlamps in autolamp mode. Reassemble
everything, turn the headlamp switch to autolamp, pull out on the headlamp switch,
and turn the ignition to 'on'. You can now fool the autolamp sensor (underneath
the plastic 'grille' in the middle of the dashboard) to activate by covering
it and deactivate it by shining a flashlight into it.
NOTE: Canadian owners' trucks will work diffenently at this point.
Instead of the foglight only turning on with the autolamps when the switch
is in the appropriate position, the foglamps will light whenever the ignition
is on. This is due to the added DRL (Daytime Running Lights) feature, which
is apparently mandatory in Canada. This is probably fixable, but requires
the electrical splice described below, AND cutting the #2 wire away
from the switch connector. Read on...
Part 2 - Electrical Modification:
The Headlight Switch Wiring
This is the easiest part. If you look at the wire connector that plugs into
the back of the headlamp switch, there should be 9 wires of varying colors.
Although the connector has space for 12 wires, only 9 of them are used. Also,
on the wire side of the connector (as opposed to the switch side of the connector,
which is the side you would insert into the switch), the wire positions are
numbered.
Okay, find the #2 wire (white/black) and the #12 wire (brown) that is attached
to the connector and splice them together. That's it! No cutting needed! Don't
forget to electrical tape/insulate your splice well.
NOTE: For Canadian owners, after performing the electrical splice
described above, you shoul cut the #2 wire away from the switch connector
to achieve the results below. Also keep in mind that this addition step is
my best guess at a solution, but shoul be considered untested. If you try
this on a Canadian 2000 Lightning, please let
me know your results.
Results at this point:
In addition to working with the autolamps, you should now be able to activate
your foglamps with just your parking lights. Make sure to test everything BEFORE
popping the switch console back into the dash... much easier this way in case
somethig is/goes wrong.
Well, that's it for duplicating my truck's added foglamp features. There are,
however, other possible variations to this procedure.
For example: to convert your foglamps to psuedo-DRL's you can splice the #5
wire to the #7 wire to have the fogs turn on whenever you rotate the headlamp
switch to the auto position (filing the switch isn't necessary for this one).
Or to make the fogs always turn on with the parking lamps, you can splice the
#5 wire to the #12 wire (no filing for this one either). If you want to make
your own varient, I would study the data I gathered to see how you might go
about getting the exact behavior you want.
If there are any questions or feedback, please let
me know!
Reference Material
View the Data Collected.
View the original Message
Board thread.
My thanks to WHAT04, Struck99, and all my friends on the F150
Online Lightning Message Board.