About my foglights

rockin_rick said:
When I read that he had 110W of foglights, I guess I assumed that he had additional/upgraded lights. The stock fog bulbs are 37.5W each for a total of 75W. Now I wonder... What's with the 110W juiced?

Also, thinking about the load of the fogs, I forgot that there is 2 wires going to each side, so the wire would only see half the load, which would make 5A, and 18AWG acceptable. However, there must be some point in the harness where it is just 1 wire (before the splice), and it must carry the full load...

If it is only 75W, then the load would be 6.25A (@12V), and 18AWG is OK. (FWIW - IMO, I consider 7A the max for a 18AWG wire.)

Rick
Rick, you're spot-on. After I get my eyes checked, I'm gonna learn to read. I completely missed the bolded part where he mentioned the bulbs he was using. :bang: That was a nice pick-up Rick, and your concerns about the OEM wiring are absolutely warranted as far as I'm concerned.

In my farting around with the fogs, I now run 50 watt bulbs in each housing. But I haven't run the lights for an extended period to see what would happen (overload/IR concerns). I think we can say that it could be worthwhile to upgrade the OEM wiring to get max output (I think some serious corners are cut with wiring-gauge choices in OEM form. Add 10+ years of wear and tear to said wiring and all bets are off). We agree about amperage ratings vs wire gauge too. I also like to fudge a little on the bigger (numerically lower) side to allow for degradation.

Rick, thanks again for seeing and addressing what I simply had missed. :nice:
 
rockin_rick said:
When I read that he had 110W of foglights, I guess I assumed that he had additional/upgraded lights. The stock fog bulbs are 37.5W each for a total of 75W. Now I wonder... What's with the 110W juiced?

Also, thinking about the load of the fogs, I forgot that there is 2 wires going to each side, so the wire would only see half the load, which would make 5A, and 18AWG acceptable. However, there must be some point in the harness where it is just 1 wire (before the splice), and it must carry the full load...

If it is only 75W, then the load would be 6.25A (@12V), and 18AWG is OK. (FWIW - IMO, I consider 7A the max for a 18AWG wire.)

Rick


This is my fault I guess I was always under impression that the stock fog lights were 55 watts each. I guess not... I am in the garage rewiring that foglights as we speak..you guys both made it clear for me now... I should be fine current wise i think...Ill let ya know how it ends up ...
 
I am trying to post some pics for you guys to see the finished product.... it keeps saying my pics are too big... I shrank them down 75%..it is me or does the forum not seem to let you post very big pics??? I have seen some guys post some high resolutions pictures before..whats gives?
 
Just upload them to photobucket.com and post the link with the
 
rockin_rick said:
Here's specific instructions on this:

You have choice in where to pick up the parking light circuit - either the headlight switch, or the clock.

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STEP #1 - choose source:

  • At the headlight switch, splice into the BROWN wire (labeled 'P', right in the middle of the connector) and attach a length of 18AWG wire, apply or attach a wire loom/conduit, and route it to the fog light switch. Splice in the wire at the headlight switch - do not cut the BROWN wire.

  • At the clock, splice into the BROWN wire and attach a length of 18AWG wire, apply or attach a wire loom/conduit, and route it to the fog light switch. Splice in the wire at the clock - do not cut the BROWN wire.

(The new wire will just take power from this, while it continues to power what it did before.)


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STEP #2

On the fog light switch, cut the RED/BLACK wire a few inches from the switch. Tape up wire that was just cut and goes into the harness, it will no longer be used. Connect the wire from the source to the other end of the cut R/BK wire, the end that goes into the fog light switch connector.

(When 12V is on this circuit, the fog light switch is enabled allowing the switch to turn on the relay to turn on the fog lights. When no volts is on this circuit, the fog light switch cannot turn on the relay that turns on the fog lights, regardless of switch position.)


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Propery heatshrink and/or tape all wire connections and ensure the wire ran does not have the possibility to short out (esp. if you didn't bother with the wire loom or conduit).

Have fun
Rick

rockin_rick,

Thanks a lot for your instructions they work flawlessly...Greatly appreciated!