city lights
mechanicalbrew said:
Two questions that haven't been covered in this thread (for which I would like to know the answer)
1) does this kill both the main lights and the little W5W bulbs below the brights?
2)If it does kill the city lights, how do you get them to stay on?
The city lights are separate.
I run a Euro switch but still have the DRLs through a panel switch (in series with the Euro switch. The city lights operate normally.
The city lights are not part of the DRL system, in part because DRLs run at 80% power, and in part because the city lights are part of the running light system (taillights, side lights). The 80% means that the DRLs are powered distinctly from the headlight "on" circuit. There is no comparable city light circuit. I believe the DRLs use a relay in series with the headlight switch.
As to city lights running with headlights, DOT sometime perhaps 1967 dictated that parking lights remain on with headlights in the hope to decrease "padoodle" accidents. This may or may not work, but it's likely that all cars are wired this way internationally.
With the Euro switch, the city lights remain on with the headlights. The foglights are of course a separate circuit and the switch will not move to the "out" position when rotated to the lights "off" position.
DOT used to require that foglights not work without the headlights on. This may still be a requirement; I'm not sure. (I don't know what genius came up with that one, but my W123 came factory-wired with foglight power coming from one of the headlight connections at the fuseblock. That of course got rewired when the car was perhaps a week old.) On my W123, the switch itself can be pulled out when rotated to the "lights off" position, but there is no detent and the switch will not stay out. The foglights will of course go on when the switch is out (assuming the foglight connection is properly rewired).
Regardless, the switches are configured to require the running lights be on when the foglights are operating.
- stan
'00 Golf (Rocketchip II, 520, TT 17 wheels, Valeo E-codes 63mm TT turbo-back exhaust (w/cat), mufflerectomy.)
'81 W123 240D/300Dt 5 sp