I've had my new lights on today - yes it's been seriously reduced visibility today, honest - and after a while I noticed a high pitched squealy-type noise coming from the engine bay.

It sounded a little like fan belt squeal, but a bit higher, and constant. When I put the clutch in and dropped the revs it stopped. By the time I had got home, it was doing it all the time. Sat in the drive, I turned off the lights, and it stopped! With the bonnet open it sounded as though it was coming from the fan belt area, but being such a high-pitched sound, it was sort of omni-directional.....

Next time I took the car out, it started again after I had put the headlights on. I turned the fogs off and after a few mins, the squeal had gone! Is this because I'm putting extra load on the alternator? Is it because I didn't know which wire to get the main feed from? (I snap locked it to the second biggest live wire coming from the fuse box, the biggest being the feed from the battery? - anyone got an idea where the 2nd biggest goes (white BTW).

If anyone's wondering , I didn't connect to the wire coming from the battery cos I didn't have a connector big enough! (2/00)

The white lead is the main power lead from the fuse box to the ignition switch, and it's also connected directly to the alternator (I think the "S" terminal). It could be the reason for your squeal, though I don't understand exactly what's happening (too fuzzy this time in the morning). (NB the biggest lead (Black) goes to the battery )

Anyway, it's not where you should take a lead for fog lights from. You should use the white/blue lead from the lighting switch (it goes to the dim/dip relay and the retractor relay). You should insert a fuse - probably 15 or 20 Amp. The lighting circuit is protected by a 40 A fuse but you can do a lot of damage before that blows. This would enable you to use the fogs with sidelights only on. The rear fog lamp should be connected to the white/black lead - this is live only with the headlights on. (2/00)