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Tom:
Yep, removing the whole lamp is the way to go, don't even need to diconnect the headlamp harness if you don't want to. Seems that the hardest part to learn was how to get the filler panel below the headlamps on and off. It seems like it's complex, because when you swing the filler to one side after unclipping it, you see that black clip on the fender. You just need to realize that the clip just stays in place, don't touch it, it doesn't affect the removal of the filler panel at all.
I'm not sure why your lamps were programed to work. When doing the PDI maybe someone thought they'd do themselves or the owner a favor and get it ready. Doesn't really help if there is nobody who knows or remembers that it's done. My thinking is that it was done by a dealer at a later date, not the factory. What year is it? If it's not a 98, does the green light in the cluster light up as well? Here's another tip for you, if it isn't a 98 and the green light is now coming on with the foglights, it should have also been coming on prior to the bulb installation with the key on/engine off (bulb check function), that may have tipped you off that it was ready to work, because the cluster needs to be programmed for that function to work, and when it is, that light will be coming on key on/engine off. Also the top half of the aux light switch will be turning the green light on and off by pressing it, even with no foglight bulbs in the headlight unit, the AAM doesn't care if the bulbs are there or not.
If it's not a 98, then of course it would have been difficult to tell that the AAM was programmed for the foglights to work, would have needed to test with a testlight or VOM.
Also, as long as I'm on the subject, the reason that these aren't programmed from the factory to work is because of the different state laws regarding the height of fog or driving lights. At the height they are on ML's, they are legal in roughly half of the US. On US models they just treat them all the same and just program all of them "off", I believe in Canada they have always been installed and programmed "on". Now on the ML's with the foglights installed in the front bumpers, like the ML55 and the Sport models, they are legal in all 50 because they are so much lower, and of course all of these work from the factory.
Gilly
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