Fog Lights (HID)
August 2011
I planned on doing this project 4 months ago, but the lights I wanted were on factory backorder. They finally
arrived, so I made some time to work on them. Here is the install of HID fog lights in the Grand Prix.....
The pile of parts.
Piaa 510 SMR fog light kit, part #5190.
Piaa lens protectors, part #99510.
Beamers 6000K H3 HID kit, part #HID-H3-6K.
I had to cut a larger hole in the back of the Piaa housings.
HID bulbs in the Piaa lens. I trimmed about 1/4" of the shrink tubing
off of the back of the bulb to clear the grommet in the Piaa housing.
The factory fog light. Its no wonder I couldn't see anything with them.
Top view.
Side view.
Rear view.
After realizing that I couldn't mount the Piaa lights the way I wanted to, I decided that the next best way would be to use
the factory housings as a sort of "adapter". I tried to bake the lens off in the oven, but that didn't work. Plan B was to cut
the lens off. I started by sectioning the lens, then ground down the excess. This way was messy and time consuming.
On the second light, I cut the lens where it meets the housing; much quicker and cleaner.
The Next Day.....
Took the glass off of an old 880 bulb and attached wires to it. This goes to the HID wiring harness
and gives me a plug-n-play connection to the factory plug fog light plug.
I thought about this over night; I needed to utilize the factory mount/adjustment mechanism, so instead of
trying to fab up mounts for the Piaa housing, I uerethaned the Piaa housing to the factory housing. Going
this way pushed the light forward about and inch, which I wanted to do anyways. I also drilled out the
light bulb mount area of the factory housing to give me a round hole that will get a grommet.
I swapped the relay base on the HID wiring harness to one with a mounting tab.
Piaa lenses with the lens protectors on; these protectors are really thick.
Ballasts' mounted. I ran out of two sided tape, and because the ignitor wiring has to go down towards
the fog lights, the ignitors need to be stuck in place. I will have to wait for nore tape to mount them.
I used the same grounds as the HID headlights. On the passenger side, I mounted the relay
next to the one for the headlights.
Close up of the relay. After putting the headlight housing back in place, I found that it
hit the relay. For now I loosened the bolt and allowed the relay to swing out of the way.
I will have to drill another hole to give the relay the clearance it needs to sit properly.
I ran the power wire alongside the one for the headlights. I don't like the fuses being where they are,
but it will do for now.
I plugged in the lights and powered them up, and they worked. I just need to get some more two sided tape
to finish this project.
Two days later.....
I really wanted to see the lights on the car, so I finished them off and installed them after work.
Grommet in the Piaa housing.
Homemade grommet in the factory housing; with a little RTV silicone.
Side view.
Rear view.
Top view.
Bottom view.
After getting the lights back in the car, I waited for nightfall and went for a drive. Even withought being aligned, the Piaa lights
were awesome. I drove down to the local mall and used a dark part of the parking lot to aim the lights and take some pictures.
The camera doesn't do these lights justice, but at least you get an idea of the light they put out.....
Dusk, iPhone, fog lights.
Dusk, iPhone, low beams and fog lights.
Fog lights, no flash, drivers view.
Low beams, no flash, drivers view.
Hi beams, no flash, drivers view.
Park lights, no flash.
Fog lights, no flash.
Low beams, no flash.
Low beams and fog lights, no flash.
Hi beams, no flash.
Three quick shots from a different angle, park light and fog lights, no flash.
Two months later.....
For the past few months I've noticed that my HID headlights were looking more purpleish that they should, and after using the
Piaa lights for a few days, my thoughts were confirmed. I replaced the headlights under warranty, and now the fog kights look
slightly bluer than the headlights. These pictures are with an iPhone, mid day.....
Park lights only.
Fog lights.
Low beams and fog lights.
Two days later.....
Time to finish off a few small details.....
Lights out.
Relay moved back to clear the left headlight housing.
Ignitor's mounted.
All lights back in place.
Side shot of the fog lights.
No lights.
Fog lights.
Headlights and fog lights.
The relay just clears the headlight housing.
And that's it. This project is now finished!
November 10/12
Washed and ready for snow tires; 6000K HID bulbs in the fog lights.
Snow tires on and 3300K HID bulbs in the fog lights.
Should be good in the fog and snow.
February 26/14
Just some pictures of the yellow fog lights.
August 27/14
I recently installed projector headlights with 5000K bulbs. Can't have the fogs be a different colour!
Morimito H3, 5000K.
5000K headlights, 6000K fog lights.
5000K headlights, 5000K fog lights.
July 4/15
One thing that has bothered me over the years is that if I leave the fog-light switch on when I leave the vehicle,
the fog's will flash when the alarm is armed/disarmed (I have an aftermarket wiring harness for the fog's so
relay install will be simple, and an aftermarket alarm, so only parklight flash is of a concern, not headlight
flash) . The solution I went with was a "delay on" relay installed in the fog-light circuit, which I got from
Waytek. The other day I managed to leave the switch on twice in one day, so time to get this relay installed.....
| Relay Specifications |
|
| Mfg |
InPower |
| # |
VCM-03.10SA |
| Retailer |
Waytek |
| # |
75535 |
| descr |
Solid state on delay timer relay |
| volts |
12v |
| amps |
15a |
| timer |
0-10 seconds |
| Product
Data Sheet |
|
Relay base with the mounting tab cut off.
Had to trim one edge of the base as it was hitting the lip on the relay. Pins 87 and 30 of the old
harness had to be swapped to work with the new relay (87 moved to 30, 30 moved to 87a).
All done.
Tested and working with a 4 second delay.
A call came and I had to run, so the relay is resting behind the headlight for now.
Stay tuned.....
November 11/2015
March 5/2016
Removed both protective lenses. They keep peeling back and I'm tired of replacing them.
August 27/2016
I removed the "delay on" relay. Turns out that when using my remote start, and the alarm runs its test cycles and flashes the park lights, randomly, one of the light flashes causes the relay to go into safe mode
and won't work until it resets itself. This can take anywhere from 10-60 minutes; very annoying when it happens. Being that I am working on LED fog lights, this relay is really not required anymore.
August 31/2016
Removed these lights from the car as I made some LED lights. Gonna pack them up and put them aside for now.....
If you have any comments, suggestions, or see any errors, please let me know..... cbradley@telus.net
Last updated on August 31/2016
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