SLK rear fog light? - Page 2

nmslk · 04-18-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by DansSlk

nmslk, Its just software.

A few settings.

So if I want to ask my service manager to change to this software do you have any SW versions or directions on the SDS menu that I can ask them to change? Which setting and where they are located since I'm sure my service center has never done it before.

Any tips would be appreciated.

Thanks,
nmslk

**DansSlk** · 04-18-2008

I did it on an unlocked DAS so the menu's are kinda different, i will look on one of the standard machines and get back to you.

coolboarder · 04-18-2008

From an aesthetic or personal preference standpoint, you may want to and can have both rear fog lights enabled, but you may also want to consider the reason why the engineers want a single instead of both rear fog light implementation. I know some people may consdier Germans stupid (I don't since my cars (all Mercedes) and my appliances (all Miele) are all German and so are most medical equipments), they may have a valid reason to do what they do. I am a systems engineer by trade and my often complaint about offshore technical people (not meaning to put down Indians) is that they know how to program very well but they don't know how to think, they often try to fix the symptoms and not the root cause. So you have to ask yourself that are you trying to fix something that is designed correctly to start out with?

**DansSlk** · 04-18-2008

The fact that the car is designed to operate both lights at one time and does so in many countries but has had that function disabled for the US market suggests to me that the original designers did think it a good idea to get as much light as possible out of the ass end of the car in foggy conditions and rightly so because you want the car to stick out like a sore thumb.

This is a purely legal situation much like the easy entry seat, an easy way to switch off ESP and TV/DVD in motion, hell they got so stressed over you guys in the US having the feature in the NTG2 COMAND they physically removed the decoder and that involves creating 2 totally separate units not even sharing a common manufacturer, a lot of expense for a company like MB who even standardizes air filters.

And i don't mean to put down Americans here since each and every single one of you i have spoken to on this forum is clearly well educated and very intelligent (as are all the rest of you from different nations by the way, we have no wally's on this site) but clearly whats happened is MB's lawyers have decided that you might get confused between brake and fog lights and would either brake constantly or drive into the ass of a car with the fog lamps on so they decided to only give you one fog lamp, now if you ask me anybody who is stupid enough to see that a set of lights that are constantly illuminated and seem to have no relation to the vehicles speed are not brake lamps that by nature tend to pop on and off sporadically and are normally associated with a decrease in the speed of the vehicle in front and a associated reduction in the gap between car's should not be driving a car.

Don't you agree?

I'm not trying to say go out in the morning and get this enabled just that people who do want maximum illumination in foggy conditions and happen to want a symmetrical tail end on the car (both good reasons but No1 to me at least is a safety issue and they should be commended for enabling this feature) should be allowed to do so without being questioned.

coolboarder · 04-18-2008

I totally agree with your points on people should not be confusing brake lights with fog lights as well as the liability fear from the MB legal. But US is also the most litigious country on earth, people sue for anything and eveything here so most companies will do whatever they can to put themselves out of a potential law suit. eg The same Pioneer Nav unit sold in Canada can do movie while car is moving but such feature, though user defeatable is diabled for the US market on the same unit. I do ignore the so called safety warning and enable movie but as far as Pioneer goes, they are off the hooks.

**DesignoSLK** · 04-19-2008

Similar question...

If I add wiring and hardware to illuminate the right rear fog light, will that cause the "light out" indicator in the dash to illuminate because of a mismatch of system impedence?

**DansSlk** · 04-19-2008

For the 170 Lenny will most likely be able to pull it from memory but i can have a check for you.

It might do seems to be the general idea floating around my brain but i can see a way or two around it

MDLSLK55 · 04-19-2008

Who wants to post a picture of the one fog light on vs. the brake lights on so we can all compare?

nmslk · 04-22-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by DansSlk

I did it on an unlocked DAS so the menu's are kinda different, i will look on one of the standard machines and get back to you.

Dan, were you able to find this on the standard machines? I'd like to get the menu instructions to my service tech for my upcoming service visit.

Thanks,
nmslk

**DansSlk** · 04-22-2008

Not yet sorry mate, the standard machines are what the tech's use and we are real busy.

I might pop in after hours or something and have a look

nmslk · 04-22-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by DansSlk

Not yet sorry mate, the standard machines are what the tech's use and we are real busy.

I might pop in after hours or something and have a look

Thanks, whenever you have time. I want you to know I appreciate all you do here on the forum and your willingness to help.

-nmslk

**etyu** · 04-22-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by nmslk

... I want you to know I appreciate all you do here on the forum and your willingness to help.

-nmslk

x2.

**-1-** · 04-23-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by MDLSLK55

Who wants to post a picture of the one fog light on vs. the brake lights on so we can all compare?

Here's three pics.
Picture 1 - Left rear fog and tail lights on
Picture 2 - Left rear fog and brake lights on
Picture 3 - Front low beams and fogs on

Sorry, no picture with just rear brake lights on. The left rear fog light is BRIGHT.

**jmeredith** · 04-23-2008

My wife was behind me the other night and told me... "you have a tail light out". when I explained it wasnt out but rather was a rear fog light and it was supposed to only be one light, she just shrugged and said "well it looks like you have a light out"

I hope there is an easy DAS change to illuminate both.

-Jason

**DesignoSLK** · 04-24-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by -1-

Here's three pics.
Picture 1 - Left rear fog and tail lights on
Picture 2 - Left rear fog and brake lights on
Picture 3 - Front low beams and fogs on

Sorry, no picture with just rear brake lights on. The left rear fog light is BRIGHT.

Don, I see your driving lights are on too. In the 170 you can't have the rear fog light on without putting the drivers on. Is it the same with the 171?

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmeredith

... she just shrugged and said "well it looks like you have a light out"

-Jason

Wives...sometimes there's no gettin' through to 'em...gotta love 'em.

Yeah, I know us husbands can be the same way.

HwoALanG · 04-24-2008

this is sad... cause it does look like it has light out~ and my parents will be yelling at me too when they see this....*( WHY ARE YOU DRIVING CAR WITH TAIL LIGHT OUT >.,< ) and my excuse will be it came like this.... ( that makes me liar~ )

i don't care what engineers thought or law says

i'm engineer for myself and it doesn't look right....

if i get pulled over and get ticket because of this issue~( which i got pulled over before because light out...)
i don't know what i will do....

i meant who came out with one fog light idea....-_-;;;

st2288 · 04-24-2008

What the difference between the US and the rest of the world is our Juridical system. Everyone is suing everyone for the stupidest things.. We have way too many lawyers...

**keroubim** · 04-24-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by st2288

What the difference between the US and the rest of the world is our Juridical system. Everyone is suing everyone for the stupidest things.. We have way too many lawyers...

Sorry to disappoint but it is not restricted to the US. I live in Switzerland and just got my 280 on Monday (been lurking here a while, a proper pres is upcoming) and checked that I also have only the left rear fog light active. Did not check yet whether there is a bulb in the right one (garage is dark).

Cheers,
Keroubim and his 280 Cubanite (Pewter) on Natural Nappa.

**etyu** · 04-24-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by keroubim

Sorry to disappoint but it is not restricted to the US. I live in Switzerland and just got my 280 on Monday (been lurking here a while, a proper pres is upcoming) and checked that I also have only the left rear fog light active. Did not check yet whether there is a bulb in the right one (garage is dark).

Cheers,
Keroubim and his 280 Cubanite (Pewter) on Natural Nappa.

Welcome keroubim !!!

04-18-2008	#22 (permalink)
DansSlk Dude Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Wales Vehicle: 05 B55S (Brabus 6.1 S) Posts: 6,794 Country: Thanks: 96 Thanked 225 Times in 177 Posts	I did it on an unlocked DAS so the menu's are kinda different, i will look on one of the standard machines and get back to you. __________________ One thing you will learn with German cars - If it's simple it ain't happening.

04-18-2008	#24 (permalink)
DansSlk Dude Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Wales Vehicle: 05 B55S (Brabus 6.1 S) Posts: 6,794 Country: Thanks: 96 Thanked 225 Times in 177 Posts	The fact that the car is designed to operate both lights at one time and does so in many countries but has had that function disabled for the US market suggests to me that the original designers did think it a good idea to get as much light as possible out of the ass end of the car in foggy conditions and rightly so because you want the car to stick out like a sore thumb. This is a purely legal situation much like the easy entry seat, an easy way to switch off ESP and TV/DVD in motion, hell they got so stressed over you guys in the US having the feature in the NTG2 COMAND they physically removed the decoder and that involves creating 2 totally separate units not even sharing a common manufacturer, a lot of expense for a company like MB who even standardizes air filters. And i don't mean to put down Americans here since each and every single one of you i have spoken to on this forum is clearly well educated and very intelligent (as are all the rest of you from different nations by the way, we have no wally's on this site) but clearly whats happened is MB's lawyers have decided that you might get confused between brake and fog lights and would either brake constantly or drive into the ass of a car with the fog lamps on so they decided to only give you one fog lamp, now if you ask me anybody who is stupid enough to see that a set of lights that are constantly illuminated and seem to have no relation to the vehicles speed are not brake lamps that by nature tend to pop on and off sporadically and are normally associated with a decrease in the speed of the vehicle in front and a associated reduction in the gap between car's should not be driving a car. Don't you agree? I'm not trying to say go out in the morning and get this enabled just that people who do want maximum illumination in foggy conditions and happen to want a symmetrical tail end on the car (both good reasons but No1 to me at least is a safety issue and they should be commended for enabling this feature) should be allowed to do so without being questioned. __________________ One thing you will learn with German cars - If it's simple it ain't happening.

04-19-2008	#26 (permalink)
DesignoSLK Professional TV Watcher Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Kaiserslautern, Germany Vehicle: 2000 Designo SLK230 Posts: 1,702 Country: Thanks: 98 Thanked 23 Times in 18 Posts	Similar question... If I add wiring and hardware to illuminate the right rear fog light, will that cause the "light out" indicator in the dash to illuminate because of a mismatch of system impedence? __________________ Kevin An American in Germany... To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. '00 SLK230 Designo copper, '06 Saturn Vue, Cessna 172 (pilot)

04-19-2008	#27 (permalink)
DansSlk Dude Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Wales Vehicle: 05 B55S (Brabus 6.1 S) Posts: 6,794 Country: Thanks: 96 Thanked 225 Times in 177 Posts	For the 170 Lenny will most likely be able to pull it from memory but i can have a check for you. It might do seems to be the general idea floating around my brain but i can see a way or two around it __________________ One thing you will learn with German cars - If it's simple it ain't happening.

04-22-2008	#30 (permalink)
DansSlk Dude Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Wales Vehicle: 05 B55S (Brabus 6.1 S) Posts: 6,794 Country: Thanks: 96 Thanked 225 Times in 177 Posts	Not yet sorry mate, the standard machines are what the tech's use and we are real busy. I might pop in after hours or something and have a look __________________ One thing you will learn with German cars - If it's simple it ain't happening.

04-18-2008	#23 (permalink)
coolboarder SLK World Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 70 Country: Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	From an aesthetic or personal preference standpoint, you may want to and can have both rear fog lights enabled, but you may also want to consider the reason why the engineers want a single instead of both rear fog light implementation. I know some people may consdier Germans stupid (I don't since my cars (all Mercedes) and my appliances (all Miele) are all German and so are most medical equipments), they may have a valid reason to do what they do. I am a systems engineer by trade and my often complaint about offshore technical people (not meaning to put down Indians) is that they know how to program very well but they don't know how to think, they often try to fix the symptoms and not the root cause. So you have to ask yourself that are you trying to fix something that is designed correctly to start out with?

04-18-2008	#25 (permalink)
coolboarder SLK World Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 70 Country: Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	I totally agree with your points on people should not be confusing brake lights with fog lights as well as the liability fear from the MB legal. But US is also the most litigious country on earth, people sue for anything and eveything here so most companies will do whatever they can to put themselves out of a potential law suit. eg The same Pioneer Nav unit sold in Canada can do movie while car is moving but such feature, though user defeatable is diabled for the US market on the same unit. I do ignore the so called safety warning and enable movie but as far as Pioneer goes, they are off the hooks.

04-19-2008	#28 (permalink)
MDLSLK55 Elite SLK World Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Bucks County, PA & Overland Park, KS (Work) Vehicle: '08 SLK55 AMG Other Toys: '07 Infiniti G35x Posts: 214 Country: Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 1 Post	Who wants to post a picture of the one fog light on vs. the brake lights on so we can all compare?

04-23-2008	#34 (permalink)
jmeredith SLK World Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: TX, USA Vehicle: SLK55 - Diamond Silver Other Toys: Ducati 620 Dark, 22' Catalina Posts: 96 Country: Thanks: 2 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	My wife was behind me the other night and told me... "you have a tail light out". when I explained it wasnt out but rather was a rear fog light and it was supposed to only be one light, she just shrugged and said "well it looks like you have a light out" I hope there is an easy DAS change to illuminate both. -Jason

04-24-2008	#36 (permalink)
HwoALanG Elite SLK World Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Ellicott City & Salisbury, MD Vehicle: 2007 SLK 280 Other Toys: COMPUTER? And1 and on Posts: 306 Country: Thanks: 4 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	this is sad... cause it does look like it has light out~ and my parents will be yelling at me too when they see this....*( WHY ARE YOU DRIVING CAR WITH TAIL LIGHT OUT >.,< ) and my excuse will be it came like this.... ( that makes me liar~ ) i don't care what engineers thought or law says i'm engineer for myself and it doesn't look right.... if i get pulled over and get ticket because of this issue~( which i got pulled over before because light out...) i don't know what i will do.... i meant who came out with one fog light idea....-_-;;;

04-24-2008	#37 (permalink)
st2288 SLK World Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Long Island, NY Vehicle: RED SLK350 Other Toys: 85'380sl 98'E320, 04'Toyota Highlander Posts: 56 Country: Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	What the difference between the US and the rest of the world is our Juridical system. Everyone is suing everyone for the stupidest things.. We have way too many lawyers...

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