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Old 24th July 2008, 15:16   #1
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The Rear Foglamp on Indicas

I own a 2007 DLG, and it comes with rear foglamps, they're the red lights at the bottom of the indica taillamp cluster. They light up when I activate them from the control stalks. But Today I noticed that on a friend's 2008 GLS (which doesnt come with OE foglamps) , there were holders and bulbs in the same location, but they werent working , despite our best efforts ( tried brake/headlamps/high/Low/handbrake etc ).

Just curious , I understand that using the same cluster would be cost effective, but why then put the holders /bulbs etc

Can they be made functional if we put the control stalks from a GLG/ used a dashboard switch ?

What is the use for a rear foglamp anyway
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Old 24th July 2008, 15:55   #2
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Hi greenhorn,

> What is the use for a rear foglamp anyway

They are there for improved visibilty in foggy conditions! Similar to the front fog lamps which give (supposed to) you increased visibilty in foggy conditions.

> Just curious , I understand that using the same cluster would be cost
> effective, but why then put the holders /bulbs etc

I never checked my old DLE for the bulbs etc, but though I wanted them to be connected to the brake lights, never got around to do it.

> Can they be made functional if we put the control stalks from a GLG/ used > a dashboard switch ?

Would be easier to do with a dashboard switch.

Long back Cielo had them. Following one with the rear ones on in regualr light is tough on your eyes just like the bright lights of the oncoming cars.

Some people keep their front / rear fogs if they have it all the time and is not nice to the eyes of people coming opposite / following them.
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Old 24th July 2008, 15:56   #3
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To prevent the vehicle at the back to hit you under fog conditions.

The fog lights will tell him that there's a vehicle ahead.

Quote:
Originally Posted by greenhorn View Post
What is the use for a rear foglamp anyway
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Old 24th July 2008, 15:57   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by trrk
Some people keep their front / rear fogs if they have it all the time and is not nice to the eyes of people coming opposite / following them.
are front fogs irritating ? I've always felt that they are much less irritating than low beam

Quote:
Originally Posted by dadu View Post
To prevent the vehicle at the back to hit you under fog conditions.

The fog lights will tell him that there's a vehicle ahead.
but they are exactly the same intensity as the other tail lights ( which will be on once you turn on the park lights ) , so how exactly will an extra pair improve visiblity in fog?

Last edited by greenhorn : 24th July 2008 at 15:59.
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Old 24th July 2008, 16:02   #5
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Rear fogs are meant for use in bad visibility e.g. snow, heavy rain, fog etc. They are life-savers in such conditions but illegal/inadvisable for use in normal conditions.

The reason is that they can really irritate following drivers as the fog bulb is intentionally quite bright. Here in India, most people simply use them without knowing why :-) and most of the time swicth it on and off by accident! Usually, cars have a idiot-proofed system whereby the fogs will not come on unless the main headlights are on (for front fogs) or sidelights/running lights (for rear fogs).

As far as I am aware, the DLG/GLG upwards come with the rear fogs feature and not DLS/GLS. My GLS doesn't and the control stalk (like your friend's GLS) doesn't have the added ring to turn on the fogs. However, the bulls/wiring is in place!

In my older Indica 2000 LEi, I had wired them with my brake lights and that looked very nice. Quite a lot of glare at night but hey, brake lamps should WARN following motorists right?!

More the intensity of the rear brake lights, more is the warning to people behind you. But when used in normal (especially city running), they are MEGA irritating!!

Last edited by itwasntme : 24th July 2008 at 16:05. Reason: Just saw the answers above!
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Old 24th July 2008, 16:47   #6
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I thought rear fogs were to help reversiing in bad conditions!!!
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Old 24th July 2008, 16:52   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by itwasntme View Post
The reason is that they can really irritate following drivers as the fog bulb is intentionally quite bright. Here in India, most people simply use them without knowing why :-) and most of the time swicth it on and off by accident! Usually, cars have a idiot-proofed system whereby the fogs will not come on unless the main headlights are on (for front fogs) or sidelights/running lights (for rear fogs).
yup, the parklight /headlight has to be on, then you have to turn on the front fogs ( by turning it forward) and then turn it backward to turn on the rear fogs

@phamilyman, thats what I used to think too, till now
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Old 24th July 2008, 18:09   #8
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The tatamotors website says that 'provision for rear fog lamps' is a feature on all variants - Features and Features.

Rear fog lamps are much brighter than tail/brake lights.

As I recollect, rear fog lamps were standard fitments on D/GLX versions. Did Tata actually provide them in D/GLG versions? My Mar'06 DLG TCIC does not have rear fog lamps...
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Old 24th July 2008, 18:34   #9
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I'm dont know if the pre '07 style tail lamps have the provision, but granted the corresponding D/GLX had them, they should. Mine is a Jun '07 DLG TCIC, and yes, they do work

Last edited by greenhorn : 24th July 2008 at 18:36.
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Old 24th July 2008, 19:11   #10
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Hi greenhorn,

> are front fogs irritating ? I've always felt that they are much less irritating
> than low beam

When properly aligned, the fog / low beams may not be irritating. But when the conditions do not justify the fog lamps, it is irritating to see people use it.

Actaul fog lamps have yellow bulbs and usually spread their light in a wide fashion.

Most of them that you see work like another pair of working lights.

> but they are exactly the same intensity as the other tail lights ( which will > be on once you turn on the park lights ) , so how exactly will an extra pair > improve visiblity in fog?

If they are the same intensity as the parking lights, than the bulbs are not of correct spec. They would be as bright as at lesat your brake lamps. When you are behind such a vehicle, the intensity definitely irritates you.

With the increased light intensity they will be visible earlier than just one with regular rear parking lights.

At least one rear fog lamp is a must in European countries and hence you see many European origin cars with one white reverse light and one fog lamp as its counterpart - eg Logan, early Ikons.

In your case, wire the extra slots along with your brake lights and with the regular bulbs in place, you would have a better brake light!
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Old 24th July 2008, 19:16   #11
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greenhorn, I am a bit surprised that you say that your car came with the rear fogs. Maybe they did. But then till they launched the 2007 facelifted version of the Indica what Tatas did was to make all the provisions for the rear fog but left the bulb out. And they were not the red lights in those cars. What they did was that they provided only one reverse lamp, on the right cluster. The left one had the fog arrangement for which you could get the fog fitted if you wished. So they were white/yellow lights just like the front fogs.

By the way, I got the setup changed a bit in my car and had normal reverse lamp fitted in that slot since a single bulb looked incomplete and there was rare chance of me facing fog conditions here in south.

Another thing I have noticed is that though the holder etc was changed to accomodate a regular bulb there is something which probably could not be changed in that circuit. As a result the left reverse light glows very very bright. I think it gets a higher voltage than the other reverse lamp (which is not so good, unless the A.S.S. fitted a higher rating bulb to offset that). The brighter side of it is that while reversing at night I can see the IRVM and reverse easily as the rear and the are around is very well lit up.
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Old 24th July 2008, 19:23   #12
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After reading trrk's and Zappo's posts , I'm confused. Will go home and take pics and post .
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Old 24th July 2008, 22:10   #13
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ok, checked it out. Sorry no pics because the batteries played spoilsport

the two red lights on top ( look like horns ) are on once the park lights are on. they intensify when brake is applied.

the two red lights at the bottom light up when the rear fog lamp contol is engaged from the control stalk. trrk you were right, the foglamp is brighter than the brake lamp, even at night ( with the park lights on)

the clear reversing lights light up on both sides when reverse gear is engaged . I guess this is unlike the 2006 and earlier models where only one side lit up.

I hope this makes stuff clear about the 2007 models. Not very sure how they used to before though.
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Old 25th July 2008, 12:01   #14
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Hi greenhorn,

> the two red lights at the bottom light up when the rear fog lamp contol is
> engaged from the control stalk. trrk you were right, the foglamp is brighter
> than the brake lamp, even at night ( with the park lights on)

Just for clarity!

The bottom fog lamps are brighter than the top parking lights. The top parking lights are brighter when the brakes are applied.

Are the fog lamps brighter than the parking lights + brake lights on? I feel they would be of the same intensity.
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Old 25th July 2008, 13:32   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zappo View Post
greenhorn, I am a bit surprised that you say that your car came with the rear fogs. Maybe they did. But then till they launched the 2007 facelifted version of the Indica what Tatas did was to make all the provisions for the rear fog but left the bulb out.
Before the car started coming with the plastic wheel arches, the top end models came fitted with twin fog lamps at the rear. They were located below the amber indicator lights and above the reverse lights. Non-DLX models could also be fitted with them but the light would be less bright because of the absence of reflectors in the light assembly. The light would be only as bright as the stop lamps, not brighter. Only if you changed the light assembly to that of DLX, would you get brighter-than-stoplight rear fog light in a non-DLX model. In those models, only the fog lamp chamber in the tail light cluster had headlight style reflectors.

When Indica started coming with the unnecessary plastic wheel arches, the tail light cluster was also changed, for the worse.

Last edited by directinjection : 25th July 2008 at 13:34.
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