Adjusting Fog lights

[MikeB]

Got my Energi yesterday, very nice so far. Took it for a joyride last night, and noticed that the fog lights are aimed way too low. They nicely illuminate the pavement 10' in front of me, where I don't really need it. But the owner's manual doesn't say anything about adjusting their aim, just the aim of the headlights.

 

The owner's manual does mention replacing the bulb for the fog lights, and they start with 'remove the cover'. I figure if I can get the cover off, I might see a screw or something to adjust the aim of the lights. But I don't see any obvious way to remove the cover, other than just pulling. So, before I start breaking things, anyone else give this a try yet?

[RedLdr1]

Mike,

 

I haven't looked at my fog lights on the C-Max yet but they need tweaked upward a bit as well.  I have yet to own any car with factory adjustable fog lights, the only way I have been able to adjust the aim of the fog lights is to shim them. 

[MikeB]

I installed OEM fogs on my previous VW Jetta, they had a simple adjustment screw. I figured that would be a pretty standard design. But I gotta pull off the plastic shroud to even look at the new ones, and oddly that's where I'm stalled.

[Hybrid dude]

In my foglight installation quest, I was able to pop off part of the grill/cover by using several plastic knives. I picked a random spot, them inserted the knife end to pry it away a little, then inserted the thicker handle end to keep it in position. I did this at several spots and was able to gently pull off enough of the grill to enable a few photos to be taken of the inside. Again, I did not remove the entire grill. My guess is it would be best to remove the protective panel under the car, because upon reinstallation of the cover, I don't know how one could make sure the all the plastic parts on the cover were securely inserted into all the slots in the bumper. It would seem best to be able to guide those sections of the cover into the slots from behind the bumper cover, which I don't think you can do from the front. I may be wrong, though.

Since I don't have foglights, my inspection was to find out if the bumper cover had the required holes, which it does.

As to alignment, I'm sure you realize that fogs spread a wide, low beam to enable light to undercut the fog. I don't think there is a factory adjustment but the shim idea seems reasonable. I've had a lot of Mercedes-Benz with European spec headlights, on which you could adjust the foglight.

I do have two questions about the foglight operation:
1. Will the fogs illuminate with parking lights alone (no low beams)? If so, it would make shimming them much easier, as you could see the beam pattern.

2. Do the fogs shut off when high beam is activated? I think this is the law but since enacted have found it really annoying to have to turn back on the fogs each time. I understand the logic, in that high beams make it really difficult to see in fog, so if you need to turn them on, you couldn't possibly need fogs. However, many folks use fogs in non-foggy weather and when driving in the country, would find occasion to flip high beams on and off.




 

[MikeB]

Yes, the fogs illuminate with just parking lights on, and they turn off when the high beam is on. Personally, like you, I'd like the option to keep the fogs on with the high beam, but that's because I'm driving in deer country at night.

 

I'm not sure if we're talking about the same cover. The factory fogs have a plastic shroud, maybe 8" long, that covers just the light and the opening behind it. I need to get that off to have access to the removal screws. (There's a small diagram in the Owners Manual, check out the bulb replacement section).

[Hybrid dude]

Thanks for the info.

 

Yes, I'm describing the same plastic shroud, though in my case, it has no hole through which the foglight protrudes. I'm pretty sure it is attached in the same fashion, that being around the perimeter with a sort of tongue in groove every few inches. I don't think it's attached at all to the light itself.

[mtberman]

Fog lights illuminate a relatively small area directly in front of the vehicle. They're designed for conditions where headlights reflect back into the driver's eyes, such as dense fog or heavy snow. They are quite bright but they are flood lights, not beam lights. So adjusting them upward may not do very much because the lights themselves don't project light vary far.

 

It might be possible to increase night lighting by replacing the fog lights with different lights. But that's what the brights are for, and (as already noted) the fogs automatically go off when you switch on the brights.

 

This is all intentional and part of the design. The latest issue of Road and Track covers this in their tech advice section, and they rpobably explain it a lot better than I can. Unfortunately it's not available online.

[Tdefny]

I checked today. The fogs go out when hi-beams are on and then come right back on when they go out,

[Hybrid dude]

That's great that they come back on, so kudos to Ford. My previous Volvo required a press of the switch each time to reactivate the fogs.

 

In retrospect, I'll withdraw my initial agreement to using shims to change the beam level. The light position/pattern was engineered to meet certain standards, as well as be effective when actually in foggy conditions. Also, if the beam was raised, situations with additional passengers and/or cargo in the back would raise the beam to an even higher, perhaps ineffective level.

 

Have you checked the alignment of the bumper cover, hood and fenders? My hood was out of alignment but the bumper cover has no adjustment.

[MikeB]

Hybrid dude, the alignment of the bumper cover, hood and fenders seems good, and the headlight aim also seems correct. But the fogs are just too low, most of the light is within about 6' of the car. 

 

I played again with getting the foglight cover off today, had most of the top side detached. I see how it connects now, but still can't get the bottom and rear to detach. I don't want to apply excessive force, but it does seem firmly engaged.

[Hybrid dude]

That distance seems within range. Do you happen to travel by a Ford dealer, where you could see the beam spread/distance on another C-Max (obviously with just the parking lights and fogs illuminated)? As mtberman posted, it is a relatively small area just in front of the vehicle, in order to 'cut' under the fog.

[MikeB]

Reviving this: I finally got my fogs adjusted. The bad news is that you can't do it from the front of the vehicle. Taking off the plastic covering exposes the light front, but the adjustment is at the back of the light. There's no screws holding in the plastic covering, you really do just pull and prod until the plastic tabs release.

 

What I did was to remove the headlight assemblies entirely (putting new bulbs in). While they were out, I could look down inside the car and see the back of the fog lights. Feeling around, there is a little knurled knob on a lower corner. Turning that knob adjusts the height of the beam. I used the garage wall to measure my aim, but I really was way too close to do a good job. Ideally, you'd adjust them in a large flat parking lot or something, but then you'd have to remove the headlights in the field (and in the dark).

 

This is also probably the best way to replace the fog bulbs. It might be possible to get access from below the car too, but you have to remove the bottom panel, so I didn't try that yet.

[Hybrid dude]

Thanks for the update and a few questions:

1. Were you able to reinstall the black plastic covering so that all of the plastic tabs went back into their respective slots? Is there any trick required?

 

 

2. Not to be facetious but you're certain the knurled knob on the back of the fog lights is for height adjustment, not for securing the light to the bumper cover? I only ask so that if others find their fogs to low or high and don't want to DIY, they can mention it to a technician when the tech says 'not possible'.

[MikeB]

I think I got all the tabs back in the plastic cover, I had to push a few in place with a small screwdriver, but it seems to be fitted snugly now. I'd say the pattern is to start at the back with the two large tabs, move to the bottom next, then finish on the top.

 

And yea, I think there's no question that the knurled knob was for adjusting height. It was just finger tight, so it wasn't securing anything, and it was vertical, so it wasn't holding the lights against the car body.

[Hybrid dude]

Thanks for the info.