Foglight Bypass - Revisited

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Advan
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Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 7:40 am
Location: Ontario, Canada

Foglight Bypass - Revisited

Postby Advan » Sat May 16, 2020 2:08 pm

A long time ago, I had a 2005 Frontier, and had implemented the foglight bypass, where you could control your foglights independently from anything else. You could turn them on with no lights, low-beams, high beams, even when the the vehicle ignition was off.

When I ended up with this 2011 Pathfinder LE, I set about to do the same modification, but soon learned that there was no longer a removable relay controlling the foglight current. Beginning in 2009 (as far as I can tell), Nissan actually integrated the foglight relay into the circuit board on the IPDM, and hid it under cover, lock, and key, not allowing you access to it. I highly disagree with this move, due to the fact than a malfunctioning relay now means buying a whole new IPDM, for close to $300-$400...

On my Frontier, controlling the foglights independently of anything else was as simple as grounding out one pin on the relay, and thereby sending current to the lamps. Knowing this, I set out to investigate the traces on the IPDM PCB, and accomplish the same job.

Dissambling the IPDM, and searching for the correct lead:

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After some (scary) fucking around, I determined the pin to ground on the PCB (marked with red paint).

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I couldn't figure out how to safely disassemble the IPDM further than this, so decided I'd have to solder my lead onto the bottom of the PCB.

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After that, I drilled a small hole in the IPDM top cover, fed my wire through, and sealed it with liquid electrical tape:

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With the IPDM re-installed, I did a little testing to determine how I'd wire up my switch.

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Now, I found a grommet near the steering column to send the wire through the firewall, buttoned everything up, and installed the switch in a blank spot right below the keyhole. All you have to do is ground the terminal, so with the switch closed, the wire fed into the cabin is simply grounded out on some bare steel behind the dash. Now, because this will turn the foglights on now with the engine not running and even no key present, I decided I should probably use 3-pole lighted switch, so I don't accidentally leave the foglights on and kill my battery.

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Success! Now to do the H9 bulb mod and enjoy some nice clean, factory looking driving/fog lamps!

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palmerwmd
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Location: Mid Atlantic

Postby palmerwmd » Sun May 17, 2020 11:51 am

How cool is that!!!

Also you are hardcore modifier.. not many dare to mess with electrical or the boards. :D

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patomwazi
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Joined: Thu May 30, 2013 9:59 am
Location: Dubai, UAE

Postby patomwazi » Sun May 17, 2020 1:29 pm

palmerwmd wrote:How cool is that!!!

Also you are hardcore modifier.. not many dare to mess with electrical or the boards. :D
Ditto that!!!

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palmerwmd
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Joined: Tue Jan 31, 2017 4:45 am
Location: Mid Atlantic

Postby palmerwmd » Mon May 18, 2020 11:35 pm

PS, great first post.. but I would have way too much fear in messing up the board... In northamerica for a price they are easy to replace.. but what about all those R51s that serve far away from good dealer networks?

LF81
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2013 11:33 am
Location: Miami

Re: Foglight Bypass - Revisited

Postby LF81 » Tue Aug 25, 2020 8:51 am

Wow, Advan! Thanks for the awesome write-up. I just might do this next spring when my warranty is up.

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NWPathfinder
Posts: 84
Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2019 8:10 am
Location: Vancouver Island

Re: Foglight Bypass - Revisited

Postby NWPathfinder » Wed Aug 26, 2020 2:03 pm

Wow, What a great DIY. You are one daring dude. I don't mind soldering and circuit boards but, that's out of my wheelhouse!


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