Fog Light Question

[Gumpy]

Just traded in my 2006 for a 2010 and have a question. According to the manual and my experience with the rest of my German cars (all MB), the fog light should have two detents - fog and fog+left rear fog. My light switch has only one detent and I can not use the fog lights unless the main lights are also on! Always thought the purpose of fog lights was to have a lower, wider beam for driving in fog without the back glare from the main beams, but this concept is defeated if the main lights are also on?

Anybody else have this concern or anyone with a 987-2 with two detents on the fog lights??????

[Gumpy]

This gets even more interesting! The first detent turns on the left rear collision avoidance light and does nothing else. The only way to turn the fog lights on is to turn on the high beams. Seems like either the switch is broken or they put in the wrong light switch at the factory??

[Timco]

Originally Posted by Gumpy

Just traded in my 2006 for a 2010 and have a question. According to the manual and my experience with the rest of my German cars (all MB), the fog light should have two detents - fog and fog+left rear fog. My light switch has only one detent and I can not use the fog lights unless the main lights are also on! Always thought the purpose of fog lights was to have a lower, wider beam for driving in fog without the back glare from the main beams, but this concept is defeated if the main lights are also on?

Anybody else have this concern or anyone with a 987-2 with two detents on the fog lights??????

On my '04, the first click right is parking lights, or markers. Then I pull out the knob one click for front foggers only, and two clicks for front & back fog lights. Then if I move right another click to headlights, I cannot use the fog lights.

Your Porsche may vary......

[Gumpy]

Finally got to the bottom of this. When you buy the 987-2 BiXenon HID lights from Porsche, you do NOT get any fog lights even though they are built into the lights. The lights have an HID projector section with a bi-Xenon HID bulb and a moving mask that gives low or high beam according to the position of the mask which is controlled by a magnet and solenoid. For some reason, known only to the gnomes of Stuttgart, Porsched decided to elimionate the fog light function (a separate projector lens with a yellowish beam that is focused low) and turn on the fog lights when the high beam is on to give a "fill" light in front of the car. This sounds like BS to me since if you are driving with high beams, you are probably moving fairly fast and what happens 10 feet in front of you has already happened!

No engineer worthy of the name or motor enthusiast would ever do this, so either the financial boys, the lawyers or DOT must have called this shot - but why? My 2009 E-class and 2006 SLK both have the same style Bosch projectors (dual)and true fog light functions on the switch.

Does anyone have a wiring diagram for the regular and bi-xenon headlights and headlight switch for the 987-2? Anyone else have a German driving machine that has this weird "feature"? Thinking about replacing the headlight switch with one from a non-HID car, but would like to see the wiring diagrams first.

[Boscoe]

Haven't the foggiest idea...