Rear Fog Light Relay

[Collette Dobson]

We have had problems over the last few weeks with the car battery going flat. Eventually traced this to the relay in the rear fog lamp circuit which is energised whenever the fog lamp switch is on, even with the ignition and the headlights off ! Becuase the lamp itself is not on (it needs the headlight circuit) the indicator on the switch doesn't show. We eventually traced it by putting an ammeter in the battery circuit and removing each fuse in turn and then identifying the relay in the UK addendum to the workshop manual (it isn't on the standard model).

This seems very strange wiring - I would have expected the relay to need the ignition so the fog lamp would only work if the headlights were on and the car running.

Is this a well known feature? Has anyone else been caught out by it?

I wonder if I could wire the relay into the warning buzzer for the lights?

Collette & David
Silver Cappo
Lewes

[Ian Linden]

I'm afraid it's an old chestnut.

A cure is suggested in the FAQ http://www.suzuki-cappuccino.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=1715

Actually, I have something else which I have not found which slowly drains my battery. My cure is a battery isolator:

http://www.suzuki-cappuccino.com/phpbb3/gallery/image_page.php?album_id=11&image_id=187

[Collette Dobson]

Thanks for the info Ian - I suspected it would be a 'known feature'.

You mention your battery isolator - I have those on our other older cars but have never been able to find one for the small terminals on the Cappo battery. Can you remember where you got yours?

David

[Ian Linden]

All you need, in conjunction with the large terminal isolator, is one of these: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Japanese-Car-Battery-Terminal-Post-Adapters/130817716589?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D23776%26meid%3D8827917280725760218%26pid%3D100005%26prg%3D10165%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D271543986570&rt=nc

[Adrian Furniss]

If you are lucky enough to park your car in a garage or close to the house, then another option is to hook up a conditioning battery charger.

Mine is by CTEK. The models have changed since I bought it but is roughly equivalent to the current model MXS 3.8 .

It is more or less permanently connected and has a quick-release plug/socket on the 12V side so I don't need to bother with croc-clips or spanners each time the car is used. The MXS 3.8 and others in the current range appear to have the same system.

[Murray Betts]

Aaaah, that takes me back, Collette.

Not long after I bought my car I spent the winter working abroad and was away from home for a month at a time. Upon returning after the first month I checked the Capp in the garage and the battery was totally dead, not a glimmer of anything. I managed to recharge it to some extent, but one cell never really recovered and in the spring I needed a new battery. Yes, it was the fog light relay.

It always seemed a bit of a bonkers arrangement to me, as said it seems sensible for the relay coil to be energised via a lighting circuit rather than a permanent feed, but perhaps it's some strange Japanese regulation, who knows.

Just a useful link, I use Eurocarparts for general car parts, they are usually particularly good on prices for batteries, wipers etc. Their offers/discounts change daily so double check if it doesn't look attractive on the day. No connection, just a customer.

[John Matheson]

I think it was an ill-thought adaption for the UK market. Fog lamps were not part of the JDM specification.