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Model specific boards => Golf mk7 => Topic started by: Sootchucker on 06 March 2020, 07:23
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Hi Guys. Wondering if those with a 7.5 could check this out for me please (don't know if it changed form a MK 7). Just driven into work in pea soup thick fog. I therefore put my front and rear fog lights on. Now on the light switch, the green front fogs light illuminated, but for the rear one, I got nothing. The symbol on the switch for rear fogs never changed.
At first I thought my rear fogs weren't working but I got the warning light up on the dash and when I arrived at work sure enough it was on. I thought the symbol on the light switch itself was supposed to light up, as the front ones do but in Amber not green (pretty sure it did on my older 2016 GTD) ?
Also I thought it might have something to do with that the lights were in the Auto position, so I flicked the switch round 2 clicks to headlights (which changed nothing) but also I noticed that the headlight position never lit up as well ?
Is my switch faulty or is this how everyone's work ?
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Every VW that I've had for the last 20 years has given the green light on the switch for front fogs and the one in the instrument binnacle for the rear ones.
The switch needs to be to the side light or dipped beam position to turn the fog lights on. This is so that when you turn it back to Auto or Off, the fog lights turn off, therefore aren't left on for the next time you drive.
BTW, I trust that you turned off your rear fog light as soon as it was obvious that the following car could see your tail lights? Although we all know when to turn them on, few people treat them like main beam, and turn them off so as not to dazzle other drivers.
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Hi Guys. Wondering if those with a 7.5 could check this out for me please (don't know if it changed form a MK 7). Just driven into work in pea soup thick fog. I therefore put my front and rear fog lights on. Now on the light switch, the green front fogs light illuminated, but for the rear one, I got nothing. The symbol on the switch for rear fogs never changed.
At first I thought my rear fogs weren't working but I got the warning light up on the dash and when I arrived at work sure enough it was on. I thought the symbol on the light switch itself was supposed to light up, as the front ones do but in Amber not green (pretty sure it did on my older 2016 GTD) ?
Also I thought it might have something to do with that the lights were in the Auto position, so I flicked the switch round 2 clicks to headlights (which changed nothing) but also I noticed that the headlight position never lit up as well ?
Is my switch faulty or is this how everyone's work ?
Exactly the same as the switch/indicator in the Mk7 - everything's working as it should
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Yes, its working as per my Mk7.5.
Watch out for auto lights though in fog - the sensor sees the fog as white, so the headlights don't come on.
If its foggy, first thing is to turn the headlights to on and then use the fogs as appropriate - which isn't on if you have traffic in front or behind you!!
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If its foggy, first thing is to turn the headlights to on and then use the fogs as appropriate - which isn't on if you have traffic in front or behind you!!
That's not always possible tho'. You could be at the back of a line of traffic where front fog lights aren't necessary, but you need the rear one on until another vehicle comes up behind you. Oddly you can't have rears on without the fronts.
On the very rare occasion that I do use rear fog lights, I make a point of leaving them on for a few seconds when a car approaches from behind before turning them off. My thinking is that it will more noticable to the driver behind that I have turned them off, therefore hopefully passing on a little education about how to use fogs lights courteously.
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Thanks guys, good to know it's not broken (although still seems a weird way of working)
Don't worry about me having them on when I'm in traffic as that's a real pet hate of mine - people with fogs on when they are not really needed.
I had them on as there's a stretch of unilluminated country road that I travel on for about 3 miles, and like I say it was pea soup this morning, so they were only on when travelling down this stretch (with only a few occasional cars). When I came to a more built up area they went straight off, as I find the front LED headlights and rear LED tails are usually more than bright enough.
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I once got nagged by a cop car in front of me about my front fogs. It was foggy too - not just me being a chav boy racer.
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To be honest, I can't remember the last time I used my fogs - front or rear.
The only thing the fronts get used for is coming on with high beam (coded with OBDEleven) for better lighting down unmarked country roads lol.
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Most people don't know how to use fog lamps anyway, they are only supposed to be used if visibility is seriously bad.
The rule is, if you are having difficulty seeing other cars, they will be having problems seeing you, so use your fogs. At all other times, leave them off.
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Watch out for auto lights though in fog - the sensor sees the fog as white, so the headlights don't come on.
That's useful to know Fred - cheers
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Most people don't know how to use fog lamps anyway, they are only supposed to be used if visibility is seriously bad.
The rule is, if you are having difficulty seeing other cars, they will be having problems seeing you, so use your fogs. At all other times, leave them off.
That's the thing. The highway code say "when visibility is less than 100m." That may be so, but if another car is 10m behind you, the chances are he'll see your tail lights perfectly well.
Front fog lights in the day are also pointless. They are for illuminating under the fog in the dark. Having them on in daylight fog doesn't make you anymore visible. I don't have a problem seeing approaching vehicles with just dipped headlights on in the fog.
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On the subject of foglights, I noticed when I cleaned my car last week that where I expected them to be was a vent! So, where are they?!
(I do realise I could just pop outside and switch them on and find out but I'm away and it's cold outside :embarrassed:)..
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I'm pretty sure that like the R, the TCR doesn't have them.
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I'm pretty sure that like the R, the TCR doesn't have them.
:shocked: How will I survive? :laugh:
Thanks for letting me know :smiley:
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Front fog lights in the day are also pointless. They are for illuminating under the fog in the dark. Having them on in daylight fog doesn't make you anymore visible. I don't have a problem seeing approaching vehicles with just dipped headlights on in the fog.
On a Mk7.x Golf can you have the rear fogs on without the fronts?
The ones which really annoy me are cars where you can't have the fronts on without the rears - which is why you see chavs driving around with their rear fogs on (when its not foggy) because they want to look like a WRC driver with the fronts...
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Yes you can. When you pull the lights dial out, first click us rears, 2and click adds fronts.
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Thanks - I've never fiddled around really. I rarely use them even though I am out slogging the roads most days.
It's weird, I guess climate change has removed fog - I can't remember the last time in 6 years (ie in a Mk7 Golf) when I have used them.
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Thanks - I've never fiddled around really. I rarely use them even though I am out slogging the roads most days.
It's weird, I guess climate change has removed fog - I can't remember the last time in 6 years (ie in a Mk7 Golf) when I have used them.
Suppose it depends where you live. I'm up on the north east coast so a sea fret is quite common and therefore my fogs are used.
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Yes you can. When you pull the lights dial out, first click us rears, 2and click adds fronts.
Are you sure that's not the other way round?
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Yes you can. When you pull the lights dial out, first click us rears, 2and click adds fronts.
Are you sure that's not the other way round?
Pretty sure it's that way around. One click is rear only, two clicks is rear and front. You can't have fronts on without the rear.
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D'ya want a tenner on that?
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Are you sure that's not the other way round?
First is FRONT, second is REAR on my Mk7 and all other cars I have had have been fronts primary rears secondary.
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Can confirm Finglonga's comment, first is def fronts (no extra dash lights), second is front and rear (orange dash light).
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Yep same with mine. Could've sworn it was rears first, but went out and checked. I think I've only used my fogs 3 times in 8 years, 4 of those were with an R that didn't have any.
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That's so funny, probably only used mine twice. You should have a word with the **** folks who drive with them on in the rain.... : :whistle:
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Says a lot that there’s uncertainty on here - an interest forum. The law is unclear and the car’s switching and subsequent indication is unclear. No wonder the average idiot doesn’t have a clue.
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one of the problems is that the Highway Code defines seriously reduced visibility as 100 metres. That's the length of a football pitch. That isn't "seriously reduced" in my opinion.
I can't remember when I last used my fog lights
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At least in this instance you do get the notification that the rears are on... if you can be bothered to look of course!
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It's not just about what you can see, but how fast you are travelling and how quickly and safely you can stop. At 60mph it takes about 3.5 seconds to travel 100m.
Fog can bring other problems that may make it more difficult to stop than usual, especially if the surface is wet or cold temps mean your tyres don't grip like they would on a summers day.
Then there's the other vehicles around you. Not all of them will as modern and well maintained as yours is, and not all of them will be cars. If a lorry doesn't see you until it's too late then you're toast.
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Obviously you should be driving more slowly when visibility is reduced.
What we are discussing here is when is it appropriate to use fog lights.
In my view they are not helpful when visibility is 100 metres
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I had a look on a Nissan Juke form to see if there was any conversations about front fog lights. It seems that the headlight switch is confusing. It's on the indicator stalk. You twist the outer section for Auto-Side-Dipped beam, inboard of that is fog light switch which you also twist. You can have the fog lights on in Auto, so once the fogs are turned on, they don't automatically turn off when the headlights are turned off.
Equally it's down to driver stupidity. I was just getting out of my van in a car park when a probably 60 something year old woman driving a Juke pulled in with all lights blazing. I politely asked her if she knew she had her front fog lights. "They are my automatic daytime head lights" came the reply, and here's the best bit, "I always turn then on so that people won't run into me."
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You can blame lack of police presence on the road for that kind of thing going on unchallenged.
Can't be as bad as some of the aftermarket H7.LED bulbs though. To avoid canbus errors, there are many putting out 60-80W, amounting to 30000 lumens (legal limit at 13.2v is around 1650 lumens).
Being behind someone with those on is horrendous - again, no Police presence on the roads to collar anyone and re-educate/fine them.
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Not fog light related so apologies for going off topic, but I was behind an Audi A7 at traffic lights after dark recently. I’m assuming it was DSG as the driver was sitting with their foot on the brake pedal and the intensity of the lights was almost at retina-burning levels. It was so painful, I ended up covering my eyes with my hands, allowing just enough light through my fingers to see when the traffic started moving again. I’m just glad the driver didn’t have the fog lights on as well!
This YouTube video shows the rear lights without the brake lights activated - pretty bright and much worse when the brake lights are illuminated.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAv7f-ptA74&app=desktop
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Not fog light related so apologies for going off topic, but I was behind an Audi A7 at traffic lights after dark recently. I’m assuming it was DSG as the driver was sitting with their foot on the brake pedal and the intensity of the lights was almost at retina-burning levels. It was so painful, I ended up covering my eyes with my hands, allowing just enough light through my fingers to see when the traffic started moving again. I’m just glad the driver didn’t have the fog lights on as well!
This YouTube video shows the rear lights without the brake lights activated - pretty bright and much worse when the brake lights are illuminated.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAv7f-ptA74&app=desktop
FYI the Auto Hold function on the electronic handbrake uses the brakes and activated the brake lights so it was probably that. It's only when the e brake comes on that the brake lights go off.
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Not fog light related so apologies for going off topic, but I was behind an Audi A7 at traffic lights after dark recently. I’m assuming it was DSG as the driver was sitting with their foot on the brake pedal and the intensity of the lights was almost at retina-burning levels. It was so painful, I ended up covering my eyes with my hands, allowing just enough light through my fingers to see when the traffic started moving again. I’m just glad the driver didn’t have the fog lights on as well!
This YouTube video shows the rear lights without the brake lights activated - pretty bright and much worse when the brake lights are illuminated.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAv7f-ptA74&app=desktop
FYI the Auto Hold function on the electronic handbrake uses the brakes and activated the brake lights so it was probably that. It's only when the e brake comes on that the brake lights go off.
Yes - and given the clever things that our cars can do, you wouldn’t think it beyond the wit of man for the car to know when another is stationary behind it and dim, or turn off, the brake lights. If something is automatic, people tend to just let it look after itself.
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If I know I'm going to be held at traffic lights for more than a few seconds, I always flick the handbrake on from the switch (green handbrake symbol on the dash turns red), which immediately turns the taillights off, saving the retina's of the people behind me.
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Very courteous :-)
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Not fog light related so apologies for going off topic, but I was behind an Audi A7 at traffic lights after dark recently. I’m assuming it was DSG as the driver was sitting with their foot on the brake pedal and the intensity of the lights was almost at retina-burning levels. It was so painful, I ended up covering my eyes with my hands, allowing just enough light through my fingers to see when the traffic started moving again. I’m just glad the driver didn’t have the fog lights on as well!
This YouTube video shows the rear lights without the brake lights activated - pretty bright and much worse when the brake lights are illuminated.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAv7f-ptA74&app=desktop
FYI the Auto Hold function on the electronic handbrake uses the brakes and activated the brake lights so it was probably that. It's only when the e brake comes on that the brake lights go off.
Yes - and given the clever things that our cars can do, you wouldn’t think it beyond the wit of man for the car to know when another is stationary behind it and dim, or turn off, the brake lights. If something is automatic, people tend to just let it look after itself.
Nah... let their eyes burn :grin: