Mitsubishi Outlander Fog Lights
weim
Member Posts: 10
There has been some discussion as to whether the fog lights on the XLS Outlander operate independently of the HID headlights. Does anyone know for sure how they work?
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Vince
Thank you for the details.
Would you please inform me what do you do with the knob in order to light the lamp pointed at with the "fog light" white line?
Thanks
Could you please describe your approach to a Mitsubishi dealership in Poland to activate the rear fog light in your 2007Outlander XLS?
What did you do? What did the technician do in Poland with his/her laptop instrument to read in the laptop screen the menu that allowed the technician to re-set or reprogram the On-Board-Computer (OBC) of the Outlander.
It was an easy task? Did you have to buy a new fog bulb? Did the technician have to manipulate some wires or just did he/she work with his/her laptop?
In the USA people is a bit reluctant to have a rear fog light and many do not know what a rear fog light is. However I like to have a rear fog light and I would like you explain the steps you did to get the rear fog light in your Outlander activated. People in this country think that the rear fog light is a big problem.
Reasoning to implement rear fog light in a USA Outlander and make it to function by using the stalk switch in the steering wheel.
(1)- The USA stalk switch must be changed for a European or UK stalk switch. Both stalk switches are the same (it has an icon with the rear fog light functionality) part#: 8614A061. In the rear side-marker lamp in the American model the socket cavity for the rear fog light bulb is sealed. The European (LH) and the UK (RH) the rear fog light socket cavity are open to accommodate the socket rear bulb assembly. However, the socket cavity for the America rear side-marker light is sealed in the European/UK model. The part# 8337A014 (RH) is for the UK market. This part# is for the complete rear side-marker (lenses + socket assembly).
(2)- It most probable that there is a harness (rear fog wire) running parallel to the wiring that powers the rear side-marker in the American model. Check carefully before going to step (3).
(3)-If this harness exists then the rear side-marker lamp can be easily modified to accept a rear fog bulb providing that a rear fog socket assembly can be ordered from Europe (No lenses included). Connect the rear fog wiring socket to the rear fog wiring harness (found in step (2)) to power the rear fog bulb. Be sure to insert the corresponding rear fog relay and rear fog light fuse in the relay box in the engine compartment. Only this connection action will not light the rear fog bulb because all the devices in the Outlander are activated by the vehicle ECU. The stalk switch in the steering wheel requests a few events and one of them is to ask the ECU to activate the rear fog lamp (i.e. to light the rear fog 25 Watts bulb) when the driver manipulates the stalk switch to engage the respective request.
(3)- Mitsubishi dealer in Europe/UK market sell parts almost at twice the price of parts given by Peugeot or Citroen. The best bet is to contact a local Peugeot or Citroen in the UK and request for a LH and RH rear side-marker (known in the UK as rear fog lamps/lights (lenses + bulb socket assembly). The rear tail of the Outlander is exactly equal to the rear tail of the 4007 Peugeot or Citroen C-Crosser. In order to keep the functionality of the rear side-marker light the sealed rear side-marker socket in the European lamps has to be perforated carefully to adapt the rear side-marker socket assembly on it. You may use Model Hobby Tool Kit to do this job.
(4)- Use M.U.T-III (Mitsubishi scan equipment) to instruct the ECU that the rear fog light needs to function when the stalk switch requests/activates it. Hopefully this action will also illuminate the rear fog light icon in the instrument cluster. This step has to be done by a Mitsubishi dealer. The M.U.T.-III price is around $5000.
(5)- The cheapest way to install the rear fog light in both sides is to just order from the UK two rear fog light socket assembly (without the lenses or lamp) and perforate carefully the American rear side-marker lamp to receive the rear fog bulb socket assembly.($30 each + posting) and fix it on just with a little twist. The circular cavity is about 7/8” diameter with 3-equidistant indentation. Each lamp (lenses) with the socket assembly included will cost $120 each + posting.
Such harness doesn't exist in the US Outlander.
If there is not a harness for the rear fog light, then Mitsubishi uses the same harness that powers the side-marker bulb in the American model to power the rear fog light for the European, Australian, and UK market.
The first content of my reasoning before was that the American Outlander could have both lights, i.e. the side-marker when the vehicle lights are “on” and the rear fog light when required (by the driver) just with a turning movement of the steering wheel light control stalk.
Further to this reasoning then the European Outlander rear fog light harness is used by the American model to power the side-marker bulb which is in a separate cavity on the lamp than the rear fog light cavity in the same lamp (center of the lamp). So the American model cannot have both functionalities using just one harness and this seems to be the same for the European model.
In Europe side-markers lights are not required, so an American Outlander imported into Europe can have a 21-25 watt bulb inserted into the center cavity of the rear side-marker lamp (the center lenses are manufactured with special fog lens pattern and accept fog light bulbs in the side-marker lamp assembly), remove the side-marker bulb and leave this part of the lamp to act as retro-reflectors which is permitted in the European market. The American market requires that this part of the lamp be wired and therefore permanently “on” when the light of the vehicle is ‘on’.
A solution for the American model is relatively simple and requires minimum effort but it requires a short opening to be made near the instrument panel where some other buttons are, (e.g. ASC-OFF (Active Stability Control)). Here there is a pair of extra dummy buttons. One of these buttons can be cut carefully to accept a ready made rear fog button switch that will illuminate with the rear fog light icon when manually activated. This rear fog light button (that will light) when activated can be ordered from Europe. One of these dummy buttons (rectangular shape) may be replaced with a real rear fog light switch (rectangular shape: the rectangular push-push type) which is standard in the Mitsubishi “Shogun” or “Pajero” 4x4 that are sold in the UK and EU. This arrangement will allow you to have the side-marker light in addition to the rear fog light. You may have two rear fog lights at each end of the rear bumper or just one located at the driver side (left for the American model, right for the European model).
If you are skilled electrician you may wire this rear fog light and run the wire under the floor carpet of your Outlander toward the instrument cluster. Use a relay and fuse. Otherwise you may pay around $50-$100 to an auto electrician and he/she will do the job for you. There is not need to reprogram the ETACS-ECU.
I will find the part# for the European rear fog switch button with the rear fog light icon when activated and I will include it in the next contribution.
The experimenters took their vehicle to a Mitsubishi dealer to reprogram the ETACS-ECU when the new stalk switch (with the front fog light icon on it) replaced the stalk switch that came with the XLS model. The attractiveness of the experiment was that the functionality of the DRL with the new switch was never eliminated (or removed) by reprogramming the ECU and the functionality of the front fog light was under the control of the driver. The experimenter managed to have Xenon lights on with the front fog light on if required. All of this was done without touching the harness setting.
There are three important points here. (1)- The DRL harness was still energizing the DRL bulbs in spite of the new ECU re-programming. This meant that the ECU has just added this new functionality to itself, (2)– The DRL ceases to operate (without driver intervention) when Xenon light (Low beam) are activated and (3)- When the stalk switch is instructed to activate the front fog light the DRL harness is used to illuminate the DRL bulbs now behaving as fog lights.
A continuation of the previous statements for the rear fog light may be that by ordering a rear fog light relay (Part# to be found) and a new European stalk switch (Part# 8614A061), the vehicle could be taken to a Mitsubishi dealer to reprogram the ETACS-ECU when the new stalk switch (with the rear fog light icon on it) replaces the stalk switch that come with the XLS model. Based on the previous experiment the functionality of the side-marker light with the new switch is not eliminated (or removed) by reprogramming the ETACS-ECU and the functionality of the rear fog light will be under the control of the driver through the stalk switch. The harness for the rear fog light will be the same as the side-marker harnesses. Could it be so simple? I think not. Because the front and rear side-markers light illuminate simultaneously with the parking, tail, license plate, and instrument panel light. All of these rear lights have connectors that connect to the respective ETACS-ECU connectors located in the rear bumper wiring harness. I assume that before the Outlander is shipped to Europe, UK, Australia, America, etc. the rear fog light connector is connected to the respective ETACS-ECU connector while in the American model the side-marker light connector is used to connect to the ETACS-ECU. So how can we have rear fog light and rear side-marker light in the American model?
(1)- Because the rear side-marker lamp comes with the lenses, socket, bulb and a small length wire connector (American model) a similar arrangement needs to be ordered from Europe for a rear fog light, i.e. just socket, bulb, and the hanging little wire connector. The side-marker lamp has a cavity in the center of the lamp that is sealed and a hole needs to be made to house the rear fog light socket that was explained somewhere else in this forum.
(2)- The European rear fog light connector must connect exactly in the same place where the side-marker connector was connected to the ETACS-ECU connector in the original model.
(3)- The results of the previous steps is that the rear side-marker connector is now orphan and therefore cannot be energized or illuminated as it should be.
(4)- The ETACS-ECU can be now reprogrammed making the rear fog light operative when the knob stalk switch is positioned accordingly. However, the rear side-marker light will not illuminate.
(5)- The only way to have rear fog light + rear side-marker is to identify the liftgate wire harness going up to the liftgate from the rear left side of the vehicle. This harness energizes the license plate lamp as well as the tail gate combination lamp that houses the brake light, turn signal and parking.
(6)- On the rear left floor of the vehicle the rear end liftgate wiring harness runs up to the liftgate that carries the wires that energize the license plate lamp. Using relatively cheap electrical instrument by puncturing the rubber cover of this harness the live wires carrying the current to the license plate lamp can be identified. When this is done a connector (female or male) can be attached that will fix to the orphan side-marker light connector from step (3). The end product (theoretically) will be side-marker light on (usually all the time) and a rear fog light manipulated at will by the driver when weather conditions so demand.
(7)- With the approach described above there is no need to implement an extra switch button near the instrument cluster or a switch button relay, or run a wire under the floor carpet,. The Outlander will look neat with these facilities as if from the factory.