R&D Foglight Controller

[sgiangregorio]

My wife gave me, as stocking stuffers for Christman, the R&D Headlight Controller and the Foglight Controller for my 2002 Tahoe. I installed both of them relatively easily, but I have a question about how the foglight controller works. I'm 99.9% sure I hooked it up right, so I'm curious if I got a bum unit, or it's just how it works. Here goes:

 

From what I can tell, the controller doesn't know if the fogs are on or off, it only knows that when the headlamps come on (whether by the switch, or automatically at dusk), the controller should "do its thing." Because it doesn't know if they are on off, and because it does the same thing whether they are on or off, if I cycle the headlamp switch to On, Off, then On again, the foglamps shut off rather than come on.

 

For example:

 

Current state: No lights on.

1) Turn on headlamps with dash switch. Fogs come on. Perfect.

2) Turf off headlamps with dash switch. Fogs and headlamps go off. Still perfect.

3) Turn on headlamps again with dash switch. Headlamps come on, and so do fogs, but only for less than a second. Then the fogs shut off.

 

I can reproduce this over and over again. The controller must just ground the foglamp circuit, thereby turning them on.

 

But when the headlamps are turned back on, and since:

 

1) the fogs will already be on without the help of the controller since they stay on if you've already activated the fogs somehow (button or controller); and

 

2) not restarted the vehicle (the truck's computer doesn't reset the fog lamps, it turns them on),

 

When the controller "does its thing", it turns them off.

 

Can this be remedied? Is it a bum unit for anyone that has it installed? Have you noticed/tried this? The only time it would be a problem is when driving around dusk (happened tonight). The autolamps came on a and off a few times before staying on. Once the lights cycled to off and then back on again, the fogs stayed off. The next time it cycled, the fogs went on.

 

Ok, I admit, this post seems confusing and too long, but can anyone shed some light (pun intended)!

 

Thanks

[sgiangregorio]

Has anyone found a workaround for this? It happened tonight. Lights came on, fogs went on. Lights went off, everything went off. Lights came back on, fogs went off. I had to turn them on manually. Kind of defeats the purpose of the kit in some cases.

 

Thanks

[MountaineerTom]

My kit does that too.  I first noticed it when I turned the headlights on and off manually.  I don't know of a way around it though.

 

I have the R&D headlight controller also, so my auto headlights are off 90% of the time and I control then manually, so it doesn't affect me too much.  However, if I turn them on, then off then back on without turning the ignition off, the fogs only come on for a second like you said the second time I turn them on.  I can turn them off then on again, and they come back on a stay on.  But I usually don't have to turn them on and off  like that very much.  

 

I think Jason Pendlum made a post concerning that too, not sure though.

 

Wierd though, isn't it.  

[sgiangregorio]

Thanks Tom. It is weird. I put a call into R&D. I hope they call back. I think I'm right about why it does it. The fog circuit must do the same thing whether turning the fogs on or off. It probably just grounds the curcuit or applies a small voltage to it. Since the fog controller would do that for you, when the lights come on, it does it all the time.