wiring for fog / spotlights

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Evo_uk

Evo_uk

Member
Posts
59
Location
Gibraltar
hi guys I have a 2000 Discovery 2 and I have just purchased a light bar and a set of spotlights and I will be having them fitted by a auto electrician as my knowledge of wiring well I could fit it all on the back of a stamp....... lol
Now in my discovery 2 on the dash I have 1 switch which is for the rear fog lights ! the next one down which is a blank but if I remove the blank I have a connection plug I am presuming its for the front fog lights ( Don't have )
Also on the right hand side of the vehicle I found these and also this one so I am presuming those wires must be on the left aswell so apart from the switch what else is required to fit the spots ?
 
I can't comment on those sockets you've found at the front of the vehicle, but the two switches on the "binnacle" as it's called are for the front fog lights, that's the blue one at the top and the rear fog lights, the green one second down.
Unfortunately the front fog lights (at least) aren't simply "plug 'n' play", the BCU will have to be programmed for them if you intend to use the vehicle systems.
 
Evo_uk said:
ok thanks a lot I will go & turn it on in the BCU with the nanocom.
Click to expand...

If you have a Nanocom then enabling the front fog lights should be no problem.
The switch for the fogs isn't a locking type, it's a "push button" type, push for on, push again for off. The BCU does the "locking" electrically. The four pins will be:
  • Earth, Black wire.
  • Light switch activate. Pink/Black wire.
  • Tell-tale. Blue/Purple wire.
  • Backlight (panel illumination). Red/Brown wire.
Looking at the wiring diagram for the front fog lights in RAVE, if there are any Blue/Purple wires in any loose socket at the front of the vehicle then that's a pretty fair bet that they are for the fog lights.
 
Evo_uk said:
But can they be used for spotlights ?
Click to expand...

The way you set up your additional lights to work will depend on where you are going to use them; on or off-road and also what national laws and restrictions apply at the time.
I suppose you could use the circuit for spot/driving lights, but they will work to a different switching criteria. For instance, the fog lights will be enabled when the side lights and the ignition are on and remain on regardless of which headlights are in use, main or dip until you switch them off again or switch off the side lights or the vehicle. The circuits is designed for two 55 watt light units.
Whereas the accepted way for spot/driving lamps to work on the road is to be automatically switched off while driving on side lights or dipped headlights and only become available when driving on full beam. Some people arrange it so that the spot/driving lamps can be turned off all the time irrespective of which headlights are in use and by using a three position switch they can be set to permanently on.
The above assumes that you'll only be using them on the road in the UK. If you're off-roading then you can run whatever lights you want at whatever time you want to.
 
Those plugs you've found have nothing to do with fog lamps,

there are two settings in BCU for them:
Main = The front fog lamps will operate if the headlamps are on main beam.
No main = The front fog lamps will not operate if the headlamps are on main beam

and they opearte as follows(disregard the 21W thing, it's a mistake, as Brian said they are 55W)
Front fogs operation.jpg


you have to find plugs like in the pic both sides, if it's not there you can join the wiring at the fusebox

Front fog lamp plug.jpg
 
I thought i could use them for spotlights as the Binnacle switch has a blank on there but behind it it has a connection just like the rear foglights .
 
I dont understand what you are after, i told you that the system is there in working order just missing the switch, the BCU setting and eventually the relay or direct lamp wiring from fusebox
 
If you look at message #4, I've given you the pin-out for that plug.
It will go into the vehicle loom and one wire, the Pink/Black will go to the BCU, the Black wire will find its way to earth, the Red/Brown wire will find its way into the panel illumination wiring and the last wire, the Blue/Purple will find its way to a connection (called a header) on the wiring to the fog lights to act as a tell-tale so you know when it's on.
In short, the BCU does the switching on and off of the lights, the button on the dashboard just tells the BCU when you want the lights to turn on.
 
sierrafery said:
I dont understand what you are after, i told you that the system is there in working order just missing the switch, the BCU setting and eventually the relay or direct lamp wiring from fusebox
Click to expand...
what i thought of doing was fitting normal spotlights but using the switch in the cab to turn off or on , but now you have explained it may be easier just to have them wired to the main beam
 
brian47 said:
If you look at message #4, I've given you the pin-out for that plug.
It will go into the vehicle loom and one wire, the Pink/Black will go to the BCU, the Black wire will find its way to earth, the Red/Brown wire will find its way into the panel illumination wiring and the last wire, the Blue/Purple will find its way to a connection (called a header) on the wiring to the fog lights to act as a tell-tale so you know when it's on.
In short, the BCU does the switching on and off of the lights, the button on the dashboard just tells the BCU when you want the lights to turn on.
Click to expand...
ok lets get to the easy point , how are yours wired up ?
 
Evo_uk said:
what i thought of doing was fitting normal spotlights but using the switch in the cab to turn off or on , but now you have explained it may be easier just to have them wired to the main beam
Click to expand...

You don't wire spotlamps to head lamp main beam, but only the switching relay. You will find a typical conventional wiring circuit on the www.

Sent from my iPad Air on a train.
 
I have the Landmark edition Disco 2. The fog lights in the bumper are factory fitted.
The driving lamps are an additional circuit using a relay triggered off the main beam wiring so that they come on and go off with the main beam headlights.
I won't confuse the matter any further by describing any extra circuitry which I've built to suit my own purposes.
 
Last edited:
brian47 said:
I have the Landmark edition. The fog lights in the bumper are factory fitted.
The driving lamps are an additional circuit using a relay triggered off the main beam wiring so that they come on and go off with the main beam headlights.
I won't confuse the matter any further by describing any extra circuitry which I've built to suit my own purposes.
Click to expand...
ok that's great i can now tell a auto electrician to wire to main beam only as i said what i know about car electrics i could fit on a stamp & a green shield one at that
 
Evo_uk said:
so you don't have your spotlights on a switch in the cab
Click to expand...
Well, yes I do, but it's a "one-off" design which I built to try to replicate the Official Land Rover system. That's why I said "I won't confuse the matter any further by describing any extra circuitry which I've built to suit my own purposes."
If you want to use a switch, then by all means, put it in the line which triggers the relay from the main beam wire. Mount the switch in any suitable convenient location on the dashboard.
If your auto electrician is any good he'll know how to do it.
 
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