Anybody have this issue or know how to correct it?

My fog lights do come on. However, I have to drive for about 5-10 minutes before they come on. It's like something has to heat up the connection before they will come on.

I thought there may be a bad wire connection. But if that were the case, they would come on intermittently and at random (when I first start the car, maybe go off at some point, etc.). But they always do come on and stay on, just after the car warms up.

Any idea why this is happening?

Tommy,

It sounds like your relay is failing. The fog light relay plugs into the fuse panel under the dash. Replace it with a known good relay (it's the normal round type).

Make sure to have this thread deleated after you get advice to fix the problem.

Okay cool. Thank you so much!

Relay or crusty connection or ground.

Incandescent light bulbs do not have to warm up. Some lamps are designed for warm up like a high pressure sodium lamp. Compact flourescent lamps have a slight warm up period where they get brighter.

Yep, as the relays age, they start getting a built in time delay.
Relays are either on or off. If it comes on later, the relay is OK. There is a bad connection, probably the relay socket or relay prongs. Clean them well and slightly spread the prongs to ensure a good electrical contact.
You know the first line was BS, right?
Here is a more technical description: http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=243688
Tom

The first line?

Thanks for the info and the description! Much appreciated. Looking for the part number for the relay.

Just read what you wrote in the thread you started. WAY over my head as I know nothing about circuits or electrical. But fantastic information for those who do. So basically, I need to increase the heat going to the solenoid to make it brighter and operation more instant? Is there a way to describe how to do that in layman's terms? Or is it just something I need to understand first and have a mechanic do it? Not even sure where the solenoid is. :/

In the meantime, I'll locate the relay and clean the grounds as you suggested with sandpaper (or 0000 fine steel wool) and clean with alcohol. Probably get a new relay as well when I can locate the part number for it.

Tommy,

There is no solenoid in your fog light circuit. That part of the link you followed was referring to the starter circuit.

That link has little bearing on your issue, as it basically states "As circuit resistance increases, delivered voltage decreases." That would be important only if your fog lights were very dim or did not work at all.

You have a bad connection or a premature ground that is eventually being overcome by the vibration of your running vehicle. Swap out your relay. It and its socket connections are a likely cause and it's really cheap and easy to do.

Ah.......I disagree with the last post. It does pertain and what it suggests is that Tommy get a multimeter and test the connectors for resistance values.

The first line simply states that relays do not develop a time delay. Those who think they do are just mistaken. Relays are a simple electro magnetic device that changes a set of contacts from open to closed or closed to open. When the relay fails, it will not operate now or later. Having worked in the electrical/electronics field since 1966, I have never seen a relay develop a time delay. If power is applied and it does not work, it is defective and needs replacing.
If yours is coming on later, that is telling me that there is a bad connection somewhere in that circuit that is keeping the power from the relay until you drive the car for a while. I had one similar and when driving and hitting a bump the wipers and associated electrical devices would quit working. Drove me to drink trying to find out what was wrong. J-13, the fresh air blower relay, was intermittent due to weak contact in the socket for that relay. Cleaning the sockets and the relay prong, and spreading the prongs slightly cured that problem.
The thread I put together was in response to a member who had a melting socket issue and it was being caused by heat build-up due to resistive( bad ) contact of the relay prongs in the socket. Heat is the enemy of electrical circuits. After replacing the socket all worked OK.
Clean and tight electrical connections are a must for good performance.
If you don't have a working knowledge of electricity, I can't explain it to you any better than that.
Hope this explains things a bit better.
Tom

But along the lines of a bad connection/ground that eventually "awakens" while driving, you could also suspect that the relay itself is sticking. Eventually going over a bump just right causes it to unstick.

The cure is the same though, clean all connections, sockets, etc first. If the problem still persists, try swapping relays, right Tom?

Will check the connections. Am I right in thinking that all those black round relays are the same and multi-functional? Part number 91161510901 ?

LOL...was going to say the same thing.

The only forum in history where threads with good technical advice gets deleted in order to obfuscate a certain LE's history.

George N. sure. I have never run into one of these that stick, however that doesn't mean that one couldn't. Could also have some kind of debris inside the can that would get between a contact and bumps could dislodge it, but these are not likely as the cans are sealed.
I do believe all of the Black round relays are the same. 911's have a red one, don't know about them.
Tom

Thanks for all you info, Tom! Thanks for trying to explain it that way. I'll heed your advice and try to figure it out to the best of my ability.

The thing is, even if I don't hit any bumps, just smooth driving, it will come on eventually. I've even experimented at a stop light. I look at my lights in the reflection of the car in front of me. My fogs will not be on. I'll turn them on and off and maybe they will come on while sitting there. Or a couple of times I've turned my lights off all the way (headlights) then back on with the fogs and they'll come on. It always seems to be a common factor of how long I'm driving the car.

A couple times I'll let it run in the garage. Fog switch is on but no light. Then after a while, turning the switch on and off (or just leaving it on), they will come on just sitting there idling. So there's no bump to make a physical change in the connection. Very odd.

Anyway, if all these black round relays are the same, I'll just swap on known good working one with the fog one to see if that makes a difference. I'll also clean the connections with some 0000 steel wool and alcohol too.

This may be a similar problem....
My right blinker is also acting up (gauge light, not external). If I turn my left blinker on, the light in the gauge works fine. If I turn my right blinker on, the light will blink twice then go off (actual turn signals still blink, I'm just talking about the light in the gauge). Sometimes, it will come on again at random and blink once then go off. But regularly, it will blink twice when I first turn it on then stop blinking.

I think Carol Anne's in my electrical system.

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The red ones are the same, but they have a higher current capacity.





The flasher relay on top of your fuse panel is dying. These are more complicated parts than the round relays (which are just electrically-operated switches). They can and do have strange failure modes like the indicator in the tach only blinks once or twice, while the actual signals on the outside of the car work. You may be able to fix yours if you open it up--I'm not sure what the actual failure mechanism is in them, but chances are it will be obvious, like a burned part or badly dirty connections or some such.

Note that the replacement flashers are not identical to the old ones, and you may have to modify a connection or two.

--DD

Thanks Dave! I'll look into that.

And yes, it looks like the black round relays are all the same. "multi-purpose" relays.

Most likely the lamp sockets and terminals are corroded. This is commonly called an intermittent open circuit. Bumps and vibration can break through the corrosion just enough to complete the circuit. Sometimes, leaving the power on can "cook" through the corrosion forming a carbon trace that will conduct. This would explain why they will turn on after time has passed. Carbon tracks are most common inside the distributor cap, causing ignition misfires.