Fog Light Bulb problem

[ElStevano]

I'd like to put this one out there to the community to see if anyone has any ideas. I'd appreciate it.

The fog light bulb is out in the passenger side tail light of my '99 Boxster. It's a p21 bulb. I pulled out the light assembly and replaced the bulb and it still doesn't work. It's the only bulb that isn't working. I checks the A7 fuse for fog lights and it's fine. The other fog light bulbs work fine. I double checked-tested the bulb on the other tail light and the bulb is good. Driver side rear fog bulb works.

So, it's weird. The one bulb won't work on the light assembly. The assembly itself looks solid and the contacts are connected well. Wondering if perhaps the ghost might be in the wiring as it travels through the chassis?

It's not a huge deal to me to get it fixed right away. I'd rather not take it to the service shop for one little bulb. I tend to 'save up' problems and get them fixed in one visit. Not like I've had a lot of problems with this great car.

Just thought I would ask the group in case anyone has seen this before?

Thanks

Elstevano

[sd_boxster]

There is only one rear fog light - the driver side. This is by design. It supposedly makes the car more visible/more eye-catching to have this asymmetric light pattern.

No, I'm really not making this up - find another Boxster and get the owner to turn on the fog lights. There will be only one in the rear.

[ElStevano]

Well thanks. I'll take your word for it. Kind of odd. I imagine that may allow for a better visual when braking perhaps.

What was confusing me was that there was a bulb in the socket. Maybe I stuck that in myself sometime back when fixing the others.

Thanks. I'm good.

[schnellman]

If you're ever in heavy fog, be glad you have a fog tail light. They are far more intense than your regular tail lights and make you much more visible to cars approaching from the rear. The one fog tail light theory might be that you should be going slow in such conditions, and traveling in the right-hand lane. This shows other traffic where your outside corner is should they want to pass. When I lived along the Rhine we used to get really heavy fog in the morning and the only thing you could see on the autobahn was fog tail lights.

[chitowndad]

Damn, I learn something new everyday!

[ppbon]

Originally Posted by ElStevano

The fog light bulb is out in the passenger side tail light of my '99 Boxster. It's a p21 bulb. I pulled out the light assembly and replaced the bulb and it still doesn't work. It's the only bulb that isn't working. I checks the A7 fuse for fog lights and it's fine. The other fog light bulbs work fine. I double checked-tested the bulb on the other tail light and the bulb is good. Driver side rear fog bulb works.

One of the first hacks I performed on my '98 was to add the passenger side rear fog lamp.
Because it isn't wired I had to connect it in parallel with the driver's side lamp.
Now I can turn it on at will.
Very handy when someone is tailgating. It looks to them that you stepped on your brakes. They are much brighter than the brakes.

Happy Boxstering,
Pedro