island_3

Hi - n00b here. Just bought a 2008 GT Hatchback. I am very puzzled by the fact that flashing the high beams also flashes the HID low beams. I though flashing them was bad for the ballasts. This car is - as far as I can tell - totally stock from the factory. Is it supposed to do this? Can I stop it somehow?
THANKS

djs2571

it is bad, but for the lamp more than the ballast... this is why I don't flash my highbeams. I looked at the wiring and there isn't an easy way to defeat this 'feature' of the car.

island_3

Thanks for getting back to me.
My other car is a BMW and they have always used just the highbeams for flash-to-pass. Speaking of BMWs and lights, the other annoyance I am looking into is the fog lights seem to turn off whenever the headlights are off. Is this supposed to happen? It makes them pretty useless as fog lights. Maybe it is an EU thing, but the various German cars I have had have ALL run the fog lights with the headlights off. That one at least I should be able to fix.

djs2571

yes, the fogs are useless when they are only on with the low beams... I documented a fix here https://www.mazda3club.com/showthrea...t=44332&page=2

island_3

Is that fix good for a 2008 with factory HIDs?
Is this the correct wiring for the car:
Source of 12V + to fog relay to switch on stalk to ground.
So we are moving the +12 line from a source that is only on with the lowbeams and off with the highbeams to another source like parking lights or ignition on?
I think I'll pass on building your timer circuit for now, but that is very cool
THANKS!

icspots

You're correct that it's not great for the HIDs to be flicked on and off quickly, and it is normal for it to do that from the factory. While there is no "easy" fix there is a work around. Basically you remove the headlight/turn signal stalk and open up the board in the base of it. You then have to physically shave off the circuit on the board which turns the lows on when in the flash (pulled backwards) position. After that the lows will work independent of the highs and will not come on when flashed. They will of course stay on when you turn the highs on (forward position) when the lows are already on.

As to the fogs, yes they're supposed to turn off with the headlights..... whether or not they 'should' is open for discussion, however that is the design from the factory. I personally find the OEM fog lights to be one step above simple aesthetic lights which provide nearly no useful illumination for driving even without the low beams on. There are several wiring workarounds available for making the fogs independent of the low beams. One only works for models without the OEM HIDs (the one I did). The other main one removes the fog relay, reconnects two of the posts to the corresponding holes from the relay slot, taps a different signal wire, and runs a new wire to the fog light switch wiring in the steering column to bypass the PJB completely. That one works with OEM HIDs.

island_3

The stock fogs do seem to be "not the best".
I was looking behind the grill and there seems to be a steel frame across the front of the car ahead of the radiator. I have some Hella 500 fogs and was thinking of mounting them on that bar and getting one of the aluminum mesh grills so the light isn't blocked.

TomE

Very strange, on my Nissan Altima, I can turn the fog lights on any time I want without any other lights, although the auto on/off feature doesn't work during daylight when the headlights are off.

My Altima fog's are great, the fog's on my 2010 Mazda 3 seem to be almost worthless as anything other than running lights!

Tom