6V Fog light and relay question

[jseabolt]

Once again this pertains to my 6 volt Trabbi.

I'm wanting to add some fog lights to my car but have a couple of thoughts/questions.

First of all, I've got some original DDR 6 volt relays but they look "modern". I would like to use one of these type in the engine compartment because they look more period correct. Sort of matches the external voltage regulator.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/121159571309?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

This is actually a horn relay. I asked the guy if he knew the amperage rating but he did not know if would hold up to continuous use or not.

I have some 12V 30 amp horn relays that look just the same. These should hold up but would 6V be enough to trip the electro-magnet? I guess I could rig these up to my car's battery and see.

Some relays will engage as low as 3 volts. Of course that is going to cut how many amps I run through this relay in half at 6 volts. But based on my testing I did on my headlights, two 55 watt bulbs should pull around 20 amps at 6 volts.

My second question are the bulbs. These foglights use H3 bulbs and I managed to find some 6V 55 watt bulbs to fit them. I could aim these so they shine straight ahead when the highbeams are on to give me some additional light.

Or wire them up to come on with the park lights and leave the original 12V 55 watt bulbs in and aim them more toward the ground so they only shine half as bright and more directly in front of me. That way I won't blind on coming drivers.

[VOLKSWAGNUT]

In some places it is not legal to have fog/driving lights operatonal with the High Beams.

You''ll have to test that relay to find out if 6 volts will trigger it.. most likely it will.
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[KTPhil]

Test it at idle to be sure it doesn't switch off when you have all that load and resultant voltage drops.

The projected pattern for foglamps is wide with a sharp vertical cutoff. This is best for fog, allowing the lamps to light up the roadway but not throw glare back from the fog. If mounted low enough, they can actually skip the lights between the ground and fog and project even further.

When driving at higher speeds when you need your high beams on, this pattern is useless. Driving lights are a pencil beam that projects far down the road and excludes the sides.

So for practical, not just legal reasons, foglamps should be wired to low beams.

It is vital that foglamps be aimed carefully, or they will throw nasty glare into oncoming traffic. That can get you a ticket or worse.

[jseabolt]