The rear foglights on my '98 Xantia have packed up. Have checked the obvious, i.e. bulbs, fuse and switch which are all fine. The car does have a towbar which seems to have been properly fitted, has anyone experienced the same problem? Is there a relay for the rear fogs?
Any thoughts appreciated.
Xantia Rear Fogs
Moderator: RichardW
This seems to be a regular problem. I expect the towbar lights plug into the (left) rear light unit, from what I recall on my BX the trailer plug fits under a plug, so remove it and put the original (top) plug in and see if the lights now work. It did on mine.
I eventually cured the problem with a jumper lead connecting the fog light supply directly. I can't be more specific than that without going out and taking it to bits but I think if you search the site there are several references as to what to do.
Jeremy
I eventually cured the problem with a jumper lead connecting the fog light supply directly. I can't be more specific than that without going out and taking it to bits but I think if you search the site there are several references as to what to do.
Jeremy
Thanks Jeremy, have had a closer look this morning and found that the towbar electrics socket was full of water when I removed the protective cover a fair amount came out, so I think this must be related.
I've looked in the Haynes manual at the wiring circuit and it seems that post '98 models don't have a relay for the rear fogs, so it can't be a relay.
I can't see where the towing electrics actually connect to the rear fogs, presumably they would not have chased a wire through to the tailgate to pick up the fog light circuit??
I've looked in the Haynes manual at the wiring circuit and it seems that post '98 models don't have a relay for the rear fogs, so it can't be a relay.
I can't see where the towing electrics actually connect to the rear fogs, presumably they would not have chased a wire through to the tailgate to pick up the fog light circuit??
Some towbar sockets have a built in cut out switch for the rear fog lights. This disables the rear fog lights on the car when a caravan is connected so that the fog lights do not reflect off the caravan and blind the driver. The rear fog lights will not work unless the side/head lights are also turned on.
If you have a socket full of water then this may be the switch may be corroded. You can check whether there is power to the fog light pins in the socket on the car by connecting a meter or bulb between pins 2 (male feed and 3 (female earth). The pins are numbered looking at the pins on the socket clockwise starting with pin 1 at 12 o'clock.
Richard
If you have a socket full of water then this may be the switch may be corroded. You can check whether there is power to the fog light pins in the socket on the car by connecting a meter or bulb between pins 2 (male feed and 3 (female earth). The pins are numbered looking at the pins on the socket clockwise starting with pin 1 at 12 o'clock.
Richard
Rich, you were spot on! There is indeed a switch on the 12N socket which had stayed pushed in and not returned to its original position, hence no rear fogs. This must have happened when I recently hooked it up to a trailer to check the wiring was OK.
Thanks a lot for that!
P.S. I also found that the brown wire to right hand tail light was dodgy so fixed that at the same time.
Thanks a lot for that!
P.S. I also found that the brown wire to right hand tail light was dodgy so fixed that at the same time.