I am loving the extra hour of daylight. After a quick dinner, I made my way out to figure out what is going on with my driving lights. I believe I made some good progress, but I am far from figuring this out. Here is what I discovered:
1) I began by checking continuity of all light wiring from the suspected relay. All blue power wires and black ground wires tested good and I was able to verify the OE wires are 14 gauge. That should be adequate for the 55 Watt lights I am attempting to run.
2) Thanks to all the recent rain and warm temps, the mosquitoes were horrendous. This is not a new revelation, but a reminder that I am nothing more than a bag of warm red blood to them.
3) The fog light relay depicted in the center of this photo appears to be good. This relay threw me for a loop the other day, but further inspection on the forum and in the engine compartment showed it to indeed be the relay in question. I do not know why it is not located inside the power control unit.
4) I checked for voltage at the red and yellow wires with headlight and fog light switches on and off. Yellow wire shows voltage with low beams, but not with high beams, as expected. Red wire did not have the 12 volts I expected. Schematic shows that should be hot at all times. I was on to something.
5) I checked and double checked all circuit breakers, but everything looked good. I was confused by the missing power source, until I traced the red wire to a junction mounted on the coolant bottle. At first I thought that was a sensor, but I opened it up and found a blown 20A fuse. The following pic clearly shows the relay and
hidden fuse.
6) I replaced the fuse and turned on the lights. Pop, went the fuse.
7) I replaced the fuse and disconnected one light. Pop.
8) I replaced the fuse and disconnected the other light, but connected the previously disconnected light. Pop. This tells me that I must have a short, as both lights are powered by the one blue wire coming from the relay.
9) I replaced the fuse and checked for voltage. 12 volts was present at the red wire, as expected.
10) I swatted more mosquitoes and noticed the light was fading fast. I determined the switch is good, relay is functioning, and wires have connectivity. I deduced that I either have a short someplace, or the 14 gauge wires are just not big enough to handle the load. My money is on a short.
Final: I will cut my connections to the lights and test for voltage again. If 12 volts are present, I will install one light at a time and see if that resolves the issue.
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