Fog lights

HEHEHEHE! :lol:

Though when it happened it would be more like :cussing:

 

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I totally agreed with Al. But rewiring to make the fogs come on without the regular low beam on shouldn't be that hard. I will ask my installers to look into this. As a matter of fact, I am looking into "xenonizing" my factory fogs. Which means, I want to convert my fogs into HID. :wink:

 

Xenonizing Fogs

HID involves 2x HID capsules (they don't call these bulbs as there are no filaments), 2x 35W HID ballasts w/ integrated ignitors & wire harness. So nope, you don't just swap the bulbs, you need some type of installation. Although the HID capsules should snap into place of the current 9006 sockets. Let me see if there is enough clearance in our fog lamp housings to make this happen first before I elaborate any further.

An alternative way is just to swap the halogen bulbs to other halogen bulbs of different Kelvin output (ie: different coloration). But HID outputs 3x as much as halogen while consuming only 35W, instead of 55W.

Will keep you guys posted.

 

Sorry to dig up such an old post, but did you make any progress in converting your fogs to HID and to make them come on without the headlights? I'm planning on doing this too and was wondering if anyone had done all the dirty work first.

 

Well, never mind. After digging through many, many, many pages of useless posts, I was able to find the stuff I needed, but only barely. I know people always tell noobs to "USE THE SEARCH" but sometimes there's so much crap to wade through that it's simply easier to post a new message.

Still don't know if anyone converted to HID though...

 

Yes, I saw that, but I'm more interested in oing an actual HID upgrade rather than a HID look.

 

There are some misconceptions going on here! 1. The Aux lights in the Prius lower bumper cannot function as effective fog lights because they are not independent of the main headlights, 2. They have the wrong color lens and they are mounted too low to be effective, even given the above.

True fog driving lights are not HID as they are far too bright so switching bulbs still would not produce the desired results. Fog lights usually have yellow or orange lens to change the light wavelength, are mounted AT or ABOVE the bumper height and aimed down onto the road, and have a very broad beam pattern to spread the light across the road. Ever see an off-road Baja racer. Most of the lights are mounted on the roof behind the windshield shining over the drivers head, and in a combination of HID pencil beams (aircraft landing lights) and broad beam low intensity lights, with a LB light aimed somewhat off to each side. Each type of light has its own switch so the driver can select what light is needed.

The effective visual coverage in front of the vehicle from fog lights is only about 1/2 of what you would expect from low beam headlights. This loss in distance is not a shortcoming as driving in dense fog is not for the timid, so you MUST slow down. The fog lights must be switched independently of the headlights because the headlight white light negates all of the yellow light from fog lights, too much reflected white light.

An improvement on the Prius would be to install yellow bulbs. They are available at any auto parts store and would be a good alternative to the clear bulbs. They draw the same current as stock bulbs and would improve vision somewhat in the fog. There is also yellow transparent paint available to change the color of the lens. I am not sure what the total benefit would be here but other drivers would certainly be able to see you better, as the yellow light would actually be visible to them before the white headlights.

The last remaining issue is the legality of driving only with fog lights. I had an old Jeep CJ with Fog lights mounted above the bumper. We had the rare, but truly dense, foggy evening so I switched my headlights off and turned on the fog lights. The reduced lighting made it possible to see where I was going, but you guessed it, I was stopped by local law enforcement. Now I am a former Detroit cop but I kept my mouth shut (all cops appreciate that) and he said I was in violation of improper lighting for the conditions! The vehicles headlights must be turned on when driving after sunset (night), nothing said about white or yellow, foggy or severe clear. I asked about the Fog lights and he said he only enforces the law requiring headlights at night (to include winkies, 1 light out) and mine were turned off. He did ask if I could see better but that didn't change his position. (you ever notice Police vehicles don't have fog lights?) He did not ticket me and just told me to turn on my headlights. The upshot was my violation was not white vs yellow just that my headlights were off. I think common sense prevailed here but I did turn my lights on and drove slowly home.

It might be more productive to think the Prius lights as Parking or Curb lights as that is what they truly illuminate.

 

Thank you for your post, it was very informative. However, it did not tell me anything I didn't know, nor didn't answer my questions.

I am only calling them "fog lights" as that is what Toyota labels them. Whether they actually function as fog lights is irrelevant to me. I only wanted to know about HID conversions for these "auxilliary lights." I'm not trying to be a jerk, but if you had read through all 5 pages of this thread, all these points have already been discussed.

I'm not planning on using them as fog lights, as I concede that they don not perform this function adequately. But then again, I never said I was going to use them as fog lights. That is why I'm going to convert them to a pair of HID driving lights for night driving.

I know a thing or two about lighting. Here is a picture of my Explorer, it's got a few. Those are 120 watt lights up top (two flood, two pencil), 85 watt (REAL) fog lights on the bumper, and some 85 watt driving lights, not to mention my upgraded headlights. What you can't see is the 200 amp alternator to power them all! I would have converted the headlights to HID, but the 9007 is a dual filament bulb, meaning I would loose the high-beam function and wouldn't pass the Texas inspection. Of course, now I'm in Florida, and have no inspections...

[Broken External Image]:http://www.explorerforum.com/data/3058/4434lights-07.jpg

 

The intended use of the fog lights are for use in the fog. They are intended to focus more than the regular lights in foggy conditions. That way, on coming traffic will be able to see your fog lights and hence your car. These lights are aimed low so as not to blind the on coming traffic. This is why we should never use the high beams in the fog.

I personally think that using fog lights during normal driving conditions is uncool and is a waste.(Not to mention sore eyes from bright rear view if the car behind me has all their front lights turned on.) The fog lights are also useful during heavy snow and rain when the visiblity is limited. My 02.

Andy Ling

 

The foglights are meant to be used in foggy conditions or when it snows - and they do work. The best effect is when you turn the headlights off (to parking ligts).

In Norway and some other European countries it is actually illegal to have both your headlights AND the foglights on at the same time - you will get fined if you do.

 

In the US you CANNOT turn off the headlights and use only the fog lights.

The Fog lights only work when the headlights are on.

When you go to 'parking' lights (or running lights as they call them where I come from), the fog lights will not operate.

 

Size is not critical with lights. There are HID rojectors that are smaller than 2 inches across and only about 4 inches long that put out way more light than most headlights. So yes, with the right bulbs, I do think the little 3 inch lights will do plenty.

 

Yes, that would be one. There are others too, and they keep getting smaller!

Here is the Hella Micro DE Xenon. It's dimensions are 2-5/8"H x 2-7/8"W x 4-11/16"D, and it's an all out HID driving lamp. Bright as hell too.

[Broken External Image]:http://www.hella.com/produktion/Hel..._usa/ProductsServices/Images/MicroDEXenon.gif


Hella also makes some 50mm conversion modules. 50mm is less than 2"! Pretty amazing.

[Broken External Image]:http://www.hella.com/produktion/Hel...adlamps/50mm_modules/other images/50mmGrp.jpg


I've considered getting a pair of these and retrofitting them into the stock fog light opening. Probable could just use a piece of thick hi-temp plastic as a bracket to secure the lampand fill the space. Maybe some aluminum or steel sheet. Splicing in the harness wouldn't be dificult at all.

I'm going to try the conversionkit w/ the factory fogs first and see how it works.

 

Well, I ordered a 9006 HID conversion kit from eBay. Color temp 4300k so it'll match the headlights. Here we go! Pictures to come...

 

Yes, these are for the foglights. Headlights are already HID.