High beam and fog Lights?

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Speed_Racer
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Fogs aren't on with the high beams because it's counterproductive. When it's foggy, you wouldn't use high beams. Therefore if you are using high beams, it's obviously not foggy.
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KuroNekko
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Speed_Racer wrote:Fogs aren't on with the high beams because it's counterproductive. When it's foggy, you wouldn't use high beams. Therefore if you are using high beams, it's obviously not foggy.
I think it's actually about regulations. I don't think the US DOT allows for high beams, low beam, and fogs to all be on together. I'm not 100% certain, but vehicles in the US aren't wired as such from the factory.
I know this sort of thing also applied to factory offroad lights. For example, the Toyota FJ Cruiser and Nissan Xterra both had offroad driving lights for some trims. However, they were wired to only come on with the high beams and were intended for offroad use only.

On the contrary, our Australian members have confirmed that the Kizashi allows for all three to work simultaneously. They can drive with the fog lights, low beams, and high beams on simultaneously. While I agree that it may be counterproductive for their specific intended purpose, having all of them on would be beneficial for maximum light output for driving through the darkest of roads such as through the Outback at night. Fog lights help quite a bit with road side illumination in clear conditions.

Simply put, the US DOT has some very antiquated regulations regarding headlights and technology. The rest of the world has advanced with technology and features to make driving safer by maximizing visibility and reducing glare for other drivers. The US has largely lagged due to incompatibility with current wording of the law... written decades ago.
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z06jeff
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What's the point of the position bulb? I've noticed it before, but never understood its purpose. My son's SX4 has one too.
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KuroNekko
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z06jeff wrote:What's the point of the position bulb? I've noticed it before, but never understood its purpose. My son's SX4 has one too.
It serves as a front parking light. The reason why they added them for certain cars like the Kizashi is because the turn signal bulb is not used as a marker light. Other cars have a more traditional set-up with the turn signal on the corner, making it visible from the side and the front and using them as marker lights in addition to turn signals via dual filament bulbs.
However, the Kizashi only uses the turn signal bulbs as a turn signal and they don't remain on with the headlights like many other cars. Hence, the dedicated position bulb serves as a front parking light which can come on without the use of the headlight bulbs and while the engine is off and the handbrake engaged. This is also why the USDM Kizashi has those orange side marker lights on the front bumper.

In Japan, where the Kizashi is from and where position bulbs are much more popular, they serve a somewhat different purpose. Over there, people often turn off their headlights when stopped for a red light at an intersection or in traffic. It is done out of courtesy to reduce light pollution and glare for other drivers. However, it’s dangerous not to be seen at all when it's dark. Hence, the headlights are switched from On to Parking mode to activate just the Position Bulbs. These are often T10-sized bulbs located within the headlight, commonly in the low beam or high beam reflector much like in our Kizashis. They dimly illuminate so that people can see a car is present. These made a lot of sense over in Japan because they didn’t have dim halogen DRLs on most cars unlike the US and Canada. So while US and Canadian Kizashis go to DRL mode when the headlights are turned off while the car is in use, other global models simply turn off the headlights completely. The Position Bulbs then become much more relevant. However, it should be noted that the DRLs on our cars are wired to the hand brake. They only come on when the hand brake is down. Hence, the Position Bulbs still play a role as a parking light regardless of the market.

I've long upgraded mine to PIAA LEDs I got in Japan. They go nicely with my HID low beams and LED high/DRLs.

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SamirD
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KuroNekko wrote:
Speed_Racer wrote:Fogs aren't on with the high beams because it's counterproductive. When it's foggy, you wouldn't use high beams. Therefore if you are using high beams, it's obviously not foggy.
I think it's actually about regulations. I don't think the US DOT allows for high beams, low beam, and fogs to all be on together. I'm not 100% certain, but vehicles in the US aren't wired as such from the factory.
I know this sort of thing also applied to factory offroad lights. For example, the Toyota FJ Cruiser and Nissan Xterra both had offroad driving lights for some trims. However, they were wired to only come on with the high beams and were intended for offroad use only.

On the contrary, our Australian members have confirmed that the Kizashi allows for all three to work simultaneously. They can drive with the fog lights, low beams, and high beams on simultaneously. While I agree that it may be counterproductive for their specific intended purpose, having all of them on would be beneficial for maximum light output for driving through the darkest of roads such as through the Outback at night. Fog lights help quite a bit with road side illumination in clear conditions.

Simply put, the US DOT has some very antiquated regulations regarding headlights and technology. The rest of the world has advanced with technology and features to make driving safer by maximizing visibility and reducing glare for other drivers. The US has largely lagged due to incompatibility with current wording of the law... written decades ago.
After reading your post I too recall how the AUS Kizashi didn't have the fog lights turn off while the headlights were on. But those Kizashi's also got HID standard.
SamirD
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KuroNekko wrote:
z06jeff wrote:What's the point of the position bulb? I've noticed it before, but never understood its purpose. My son's SX4 has one too.
It serves as a front parking light. The reason why they added them for certain cars like the Kizashi is because the turn signal bulb is not used as a marker light. Other cars have a more traditional set-up with the turn signal on the corner, making it visible from the side and the front and using them as marker lights in addition to turn signals via dual filament bulbs.
However, the Kizashi only uses the turn signal bulbs as a turn signal and they don't remain on with the headlights like many other cars. Hence, the dedicated position bulb serves as a front parking light which can come on without the use of the headlight bulbs and while the engine is off and the handbrake engaged. This is also why the USDM Kizashi has those orange side marker lights on the front bumper.

In Japan, where the Kizashi is from and where position bulbs are much more popular, they serve a somewhat different purpose. Over there, people often turn off their headlights when stopped for a red light at an intersection or in traffic. It is done out of courtesy to reduce light pollution and glare for other drivers. However, it’s dangerous not to be seen at all when it's dark. Hence, the headlights are switched from On to Parking mode to activate just the Position Bulbs. These are often T10-sized bulbs located within the headlight, commonly in the low beam or high beam reflector much like in our Kizashis. They dimly illuminate so that people can see a car is present. These made a lot of sense over in Japan because they didn’t have dim halogen DRLs on most cars unlike the US and Canada. So while US and Canadian Kizashis go to DRL mode when the headlights are turned off while the car is in use, other global models simply turn off the headlights completely. The Position Bulbs then become much more relevant. However, it should be noted that the DRLs on our cars are wired to the hand brake. They only come on when the hand brake is down. Hence, the Position Bulbs still play a role as a parking light regardless of the market.

I've long upgraded mine to PIAA LEDs I got in Japan. They go nicely with my HID low beams and LED high/DRLs.

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Those PIAAs are very nice. Do you think we'll ever see them in the states?
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KuroNekko
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SamirD wrote:Those PIAAs are very nice. Do you think we'll ever see them in the states?
Yes, via the internet. In fact, the ebay link below is for the exact same ones I currently have as my Position Bulbs. However, I paid about half that price in Japan. I also upgraded from the original PIAAs I put in. The old ones went to the front bumper side markers after the original bulb in one blew out. These newer Position Bulbs are brighter.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/PIAA-HS40-6000 ... cb&vxp=mtr

You can probably find something much cheaper by searching for "PIAA T10 LED" or "T10 LED". Just make sure the dimensions, especially the width, are compatible for the housing. That being said, the PIAA LEDs are solid. None of them have gone defective unlike some of the much cheaper no-name Chinese LEDs I've also tried for the interior. It's hit or miss with those.
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SamirD
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I wish I would have looked into these earlier as I changed out our side marker just before winter. I'll check these out for sure as it always helps to have less bulbs to change.
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KuroNekko
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SamirD wrote:I wish I would have looked into these earlier as I changed out our side marker just before winter. I'll check these out for sure as it always helps to have less bulbs to change.
I think the swap to LEDs is worth it. I've changed all of my running lights to LEDs. This way, I can use the Parking Light mode more often for driving around to increase visibility, especially with the tail lights in cloudy, darker conditions during the day. The only bulbs in my Kizashi that are still incandescent are the turn signals given they only turn on for that purpose and as a hazard light and also have a relay warning system. Converting them to LEDs without a resistor, compatible relay, or CANBUS bulb base will result in the "hyperflash" of the bulb because the consumed wattage is too low, triggering the relay warning system.
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SamirD
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KuroNekko wrote:
SamirD wrote:I wish I would have looked into these earlier as I changed out our side marker just before winter. I'll check these out for sure as it always helps to have less bulbs to change.
I think the swap to LEDs is worth it. I've changed all of my running lights to LEDs. This way, I can use the Parking Light mode more often for driving around to increase visibility, especially with the tail lights in cloudy, darker conditions during the day. The only bulbs in my Kizashi that are still incandescent are the turn signals given they only turn on for that purpose and as a hazard light and also have a relay warning system. Converting them to LEDs without a resistor, compatible relay, or CANBUS bulb base will result in the "hyperflash" of the bulb because the consumed wattage is too low, triggering the relay warning system.
The only hesitation I have to a full LED conversion (headlights aside as that's as a different topic altogether), is that when I went to the Kizashi service dealership many years ago and picked the brains there, one of the biggest problems with the car was electrical gremlins, and one of the biggest sources was LED bulbs.

Now that being said, PIAA makes fantastic products all the way around, but I never want to 'solve one problem while creating another'. There's no guarantee that any LED bulb won't create an electrical issue, and I already have to figure out the check engine, hill hold, esp error that occurs in low temperatures--which is almost definitely some sort of electrical issue.
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