We don't use the expression 'tap together', that's why I asked my question. I am assuming it means 'join together', and that what you are really saying to me is 'yes', which is all I needed.

 

Yes, join together

 

well, folks, i had a couple of hours in between conf calls so i decided to do same thing in a different way. as i really do not care of running low beams together with fog lights and all i wanted was to be able to turn them on easily i decided to try how a simple swap of wires will work.

to be precise - it is a removal of 'home' wire from A2 position and insertion of an A5 'fog' wire into its spot with no taps used at all. A5 spot stays empty and A2 wire will be wrapped in electrical tape and set aside.
this way you eradicate original parasitic drain from fog wire and as long as you keep switch in a 'home' position you should (hopefully) have a 0 drain from a light switch - all light switch does in 'home' position is a direct connection of A2 wire to a ground. so keep it in 'off' when car is left alone for long time.

to take switch connector apart you pull little tab on its side and then inner insert slides out.

but this way your light switch will not be able to turn on fogs where it used to be able to do it. also, when car turns on fogs LED lights up as there is no more voltage there supplied on pin A2 but it is a minor side effect imho.

anyway, i will keep it like that for several days, if battery charge level stays the same i`ll post an update.
still, best and most elegant solution would be to put a diod between wires in their original positions but i do not have a spare diod, so, no luck.

 

I had a funny coincidence as well. I started a post on this matter. Anyways did the hack, very next morning car could not start, battery was original 2006 battery I'm sure, so replaced it and car starts fine. So was it a coincidence? I'll monitor and keep you posted if new battery dies in a couple of weeks.

 

truth is - in a 997 car stock amount of drain is pretty high. adding up anything on top of it is not what i want.
fully charged battery should be giving out 12.8 or 12.7v if you measure it.
i know when my car stays in the garage for a half week battery goes down almost to 12v or sometimes even below what means it is practically discharged. BUT - i have mods4cars in it, constantly on power, mobridge unit, which is also on power, ipod which gets charged from mobridge, lap timer which sits on CAN bus and probably drains it a bit too, so, go figure. each additional component drains power. All ECUs car has are always powered up too. so, go figure.

so i want to try how a swap of wires will work and if it will reduce stock battery drain i will see it as an another advantage.

 

utkinpol,
How did you measure the voltage & amp draw? Where did you place the hot lead & where did you place the ground?
My cars battery is 2 years old & the car stayed parked, locked & the switch in the off position for 7 days without the battery tender plugged in. After reading these recent posts I thought I was going to come home Monday to a dead battery. However the car started right up & I drove it to work without problems.

 

I just got home and removed the "Joint", Battery is charged and took for a spin. I had the usual PASM failure which went away however I have a intermitttent System Fault which I suspect is now the battery drain culprit?

Time to take it to the $tealer for warranty work before it expires.

 

i was only measuring between pins on a light switch. by theory connection between A2 and A5 should not have resulted in anything bad, but, well, go figure. ECU wise all post 2006 997.1 cars are the same, 'S' or base.

i guess it all depends of how fresh your battery is, if it was beaten up and almost discharged an additional minor draw from it in 100mA area may be a last straw that brakes horse's back.

 

Whatever that signifies - after I swap wires yesterday battery level remains at same exact voltage so this way seems to be safe. I'll keep it like this for my car.
If you prefer to retain original fog light function I suggest using a diode to avoid any possibility of a drain current from 'home' wire into 'fog' wire, you only need current to go from fog into ground when 'home' is connected to it in a switch.

 

Thanks utkinpol,

I'm trying to understand the NEW hack. With this new method you describe, the fog LED lights will be on with the switch in HOME position, but cannot be on whenever the actual headlights are lit, correct?

Thanks.
Kevin

 

Correct. To retain fogs function in both home and original position you would need either a wire tap or a diod (which is preferrable imho)

 

If you wire tap the two wires together, and you are concerned about battery drain, couldn't you just set the switch to OFF when parking for extended periods of time and that would basically open the circuits to both of those wires? Just a thought...

 

Even if switch is in 'off' position the theory I have is that drain happens via circuit in the light switch as fog wire is connected to some odd circuit there.
All in all, on Saturday I will probably have time to stop at local electronics DIY store and pick up a diod, I think it can be inserted right into connector.
Only practical evidence of a drain I have is based on the simple measure of voltage on wires A2 and A5 with light switch connected and without it. Without it both wires have same voltage. With switch connected, in 'off' position 'fog' wire measured up 0.9v less than 'home' wire. Makes sense? Fresh healthy battery will not notice this increased drain most likely, old discharged one may get drained.

 

I did this mod two weeks ago and have gone into my garage and found my battery completely dead twice now. I just reversed the mod and ordered the DRL module. The battery is only a few months old and I never had issues before.

 

I did the mod last weekend and haven't had an issue yet (cross finger).

By the way, in case I change my mind, where did you buy the DRL module from?