Factory or ARB fog lights. Do they actually work in fog?

[joe2006]

I thought about posting this question under D40 Electrical however the question is not D40 specific. A search did not reveal much.

I had an ARB Deluxe bar fitted last week without fog lights because the original bumper did not have them installed & I did not want ARB aftermarket wiring when there is a loom already in place.

While the fog lights would tart up the bull bar a bit, apart from the legalities, I don't want them as day running lights & unless they are more effective in fog than the normal low beams, I won't bother installing them. I'm after function not form.

The issues that I see are firstly they are a white light & secondly they would be a fair height above the ground. Although they are recessed in the bar, damage may be another issue but one that I can live with.

Has anybody actually used them as fog lights & how effective were they compared to low beam?

 

[Aussie Frontier]

I have the factory D40 lights and they do work to fill in the light pattern between the truck and the lo beam.It gives more of a full pattern in front of the truck. As to am I better of with or without them in fog is questionable.I will say they make things better in the wet though .
My understanding is that the colour of the light was always the issue with fog hence the use of yellow light in fog. White will reflect off the fog where yellow will not reflect as much.
I think the height of the lights is more relevant as it puts light closer to the road surface and hopefully mean you can see more of the road itself.

 

[Leprechaun]

My ARB fog lights are full of water from river crossings, cheap $hit.

 

[KraftyPg]

I haven't used fog lights on the Navara and would hesitate putting them on for anything more than looks for one simple reason, height. Fog lights no matter what colour they are become more effective the lower they get, different colours diffuse the rebound of the light off the white fog but unless you can get the lights under the fog to illuminate the white lines and reflectors they are not very effective.

If the fog is at bonnet height your low beam will be as effective as any green or yellow light but if the fog is lower than the bonnet all lights above the fog are going to reflect back in your face more than shine ahead. The Nav height from the factory puts any fog lights about 250mm-300mm above the road surface, add a lift to your ute and it's more so the effectiveness of fog lights becomes less and less the higher up your vehicle is.

We've tried many combination of fog lights on the trucks from $50 Kmart driving lights covered with yellow contact to expensive branded lights with different colours and while they all work to some degree the best working ones are always the lowest mounted. Even the $50 Kmart lights with yellow contact when mounted on brackets below the bullbar were some what effective when the fog was higher than them but on those occasions where the fog went right down to road level all of them were little more than a colourful glow in front of the truck.

 

[Old.Tony]

Yellow lights being good in fog is apparently one of those urban myths.

I'll second the advice re low-level lights. What you might consider is getting a pair of lower-wattage flood-type lights - spotlights have clear lenses so the light shoots straight out, floodlights have the sections all the way across the lens to help spread the light out to the sides a little.

And (for everyone's benefit) any of these lights must only be used in adverse weather conditions. That means clear weather - day or night - means they need to stay off. You can be given a ticket for using them at the wrong time.

Personally, during heavy fog I do two things:

1) reduce my speed so I can see and stop within the range of what I can see
2) turn on my hazard lights

I'll also slightly back off the braking force for my van. Fog usually lightly wets the road, which will raise the oil and make it slippery. If I have to hit the anchors in a hurry, I don't want the caravan swinging around from behind me!

 

[justdrinkbeer]

My ARB fog lights are full of water from river crossings, cheap $hit.

so are mine

 

[rescue]

The ARB ones work well once you've adjusted them properly

 

[joe2006]

Much appreciated advice.

My problem is I drive about 5k's on a "gravel" road each morning before I hit the bitumen. No lines , few reflective posts, lots of bends & plenty of kangaroos.

During the week I saw a couple of roos on the road, slowed to maybe 5 or 10kph until they were off the road, only for one to turn around & run straight into the front of the car. I thought he was rs, squirming in front of me on the road until he got up, shook himself off & aimed straight for the front of the now stationary car again. He either had a death wish or was attracted to the driving lights.

Mangled one of the Rallye 2000's. I was in the Niva & thank goodness it has a bull bar.

It was a clear morning (still dark) but when it's foggy, it is really white knuckle stuff because it is difficult to see the bends in the road & I have no idea where the roos are.

 

[KraftyPg]

Dirt roads are not a good place for fog lights, like you say no lines and any reflectors are usually on posts which often puts them above the level of fog anyway. Our trucks used to spend a lot of time on dirt roads and even in cab overs the visible light from fog lights on dirt roads is little more than a colourful glow for about 2 feet in front of the truck and the rest is just rebounded light.

The best way to handle any of this is to remain at a slow speed, we've got sections of highways around this area where only idiots do more than 40kph in the fog and sections of other well trafficked roads where locals always drop under 20kph simply because of the risk fog presents.

Although not a definite fix one thing that can help is to turn off your headlights whenever you use your fog lights, parkers aren't too bad but anyone using fog lights and low beams together are just combining what is bounced back and the white light will diffuse any coloured light more before it does anything to the fog.

 

[steel d40]

Have found the "fog" lights to be very effective as a fill-in under the headlights, adjusted slightly outward they light the edges of the road well.

Mine are the ARB ones fitted for 12 months without any dramas.