Fog lights 24/7 - bad for car?

[adamg]

I read the 501 page owners manual the other night and it said to not run the fog lights 24/7 because of the electrical draw.

I'm of the opinion that fog lights look awesome so I prefer to run them 24/7. And I have done so for my first 6000 km with the car. But now I'm reconsidering.

Am I good to ignore the manual on this one? Maybe turn them off if I happen to be running all four seats on full heat?

 

[MikeyTG]

I have had mine on since day one, no problems (~6 months). This advice was also in the manual for my former car, a 2012 Sonata. That car had incandescent fog lights.

I think this statement is a left-over in the Genesis manual because LED fogs should only draw a tiny fraction of the power of the old edison lights.

You say that you run them 24/7, does that mean your headlights are always on, or can you run them independently? Here in the US the fog lights only come on with the headlights, go off with high beams. In any case I doubt it will cause a problem.

 

[PMCErnie]

Can you see them from inside the car? Who are you trying to please by running them 24/7?

 

[dougmcp]

IMHO it's not what looks cool to people who may be drooling over your car but what works when it needs to. Fog lights are not decorative items but intended for use during inclement weather. All halogen bulbs lose a certain amount of brightness over time and eventually burn out, I would think it may be more prudent to use these for their intended purpose or risk having them either not perform within specs or being burned out when you actually need them.

 

[kn5owa]

Can you see them from inside the car? Who are you trying to please by running them 24/7?

Perhaps a third of the cars passing in front of my house at nite have fog lights on.

Now, I know why

 

[PMCErnie]

Perhaps a third of the cars passing in front of my house at nite have fog lights on.

Now, I know why

Yes, they are all, no doubt, trying to impress you. Or, you live by the San Francisco Bay and also hear foghorns going off all the time.

 

[Midnightsun]

Mine are on 24/7 because I like the look and they do a great job of lighting up the area close to the car that the headlights fail to do. The electrical draw is minimal with these led lights. Most European design cars have a fog light come on for improved lighting when cornering. My wife's car turns on the right fog light when turning right and the left when turning left at lower speeds.

 

[PMCErnie]

Fog lights do provide some benefit when turning in the dark. My '89 T-bird had real cornering lights (when the turn signal was on) and they were wonderful. Driving with fog lights on during bright daylight is simply an ego-multiplier.

 

[greekgeek]

Mine have been on 24/7 for a long while now. Really I just leave all the lights on because Hyundai neglected to put a delay on the automatic lights. On auto the Lights quickly turn on and off pulling into or out of garages and even underpasses, better to leave them on constantly (I hope!)

 

[StarPower]

They are useful as cornering lights. I turn mine on when turning at a couple of intersections that are very dark and hard to see the median. However, I recommend leaving them off at higher speeds. They add a lot of foreground light, which can impair your distance vision. Anything close enough to your car to be illuminated by the fog lights is too close to avoid at normal road speeds.

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