pre-wired fog light kit

[SandEagle]

ok, so i bought some aftermarket fog lights and took them to a shop to get it installed. when i bought the car i was told that it was pre-wired for fogs. find out from the installer that it wasn't. he sells a kit for $100 that will get everything to work. is this a rip-off? i dont know what a prewired kit contains. halp.

 

[phucheneh]

'Pre-wired' would be a misnomer, since you're doing 'wiring' by installing aftermarket fogs. It probably just has the switch and relay already connected to the wiring harness (or there are connectors). This is versus just buying wire, a relay, a switch, and some spade terminals.

Your car may be 'pre-wired' for fogs, but you can't just pop them in. Most cars have plastic delete panels in the bumper. Hopefully those come out easily and the factory foglight assembly slips right in. They'll need a sturdier mount than the snap-in panels, though, and that may not be provided. What IS there, in most cases, are the harness connectors, which often just dangle with some rubber caps on them or fit into slots on the back of the bumper cover.

But in addition to the probably-pricey foglights from the dealer, you also need a switch. Depending on the car, this may just pop into a delete panel, or you may need to change out the turn signal stalk. Which might make you change out other things on the column, if the proper connections aren't there.

If you're fine with the look of the aftermarkets, just use them. You'll save a lot of money, and if the installer isn't a total fucking retard (50/50 chance there, at best) it should look fairly professional when done.

edit: and use proper goddamn circuit protection. jamming a bare wire behind the blade of a random fuse is not it, nor are hot wires running straight off the battery.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Fog lights will not help you when driving along side Jersey barriers.

 

[SandEagle]

'Pre-wired' would be a misnomer, since you're doing 'wiring' by installing aftermarket fogs. It probably just has the switch and relay already connected to the wiring harness (or there are connectors). This is versus just buying wire, a relay, a switch, and some spade terminals.

Your car may be 'pre-wired' for fogs, but you can't just pop them in. Most cars have plastic delete panels in the bumper. Hopefully those come out easily and the factory foglight assembly slips right in. They'll need a sturdier mount than the snap-in panels, though, and that may not be provided. What IS there, in most cases, are the harness connectors, which often just dangle with some rubber caps on them or fit into slots on the back of the bumper cover.

But in addition to the probably-pricey foglights from the dealer, you also need a switch. Depending on the car, this may just pop into a delete panel, or you may need to change out the turn signal stalk. Which might make you change out other things on the column, if the proper connections aren't there.

If you're fine with the look of the aftermarkets, just use them. You'll save a lot of money, and if the installer isn't a total fucking retard (50/50 chance there, at best) it should look fairly professional when done.

edit: and use proper goddamn circuit protection. jamming a bare wire behind the blade of a random fuse is not it, nor are hot wires running straight off the battery.

thanks for the positive, helpful post. my fogs came with switch, wiring harness, plugs, and taps. i may take it elsewhere for a 2nd opinion

 

[SandEagle]

Fog lights will not help you when driving along side Jersey barriers.

grow up

 

[phucheneh]

It's not a hard install. Just need patience and common sense. The most you'll have to do is modify the connections at the battery terminal...where there should be a fuse (with the kit); if not, weatherproof fuseholders are like six bucks at the parts store. Voltage for the power circuit and the control circuit can come from the same place, then just find a bare spot to mount the relay and run the wiring for the switch through the firewall (find a rubber boot or other wiring harness where you can slip it through...DON'T go through the door jamb or some dumb shit (sorry, I've seen that way too many times)).

Then all you have left is running the wiring for the lights themselves. Use lots of wire ties and keep the harness away from the cooling fan(s).

 

[RPD]

'Pre-wired' would be a misnomer, since you're doing 'wiring' by installing aftermarket fogs. It probably just has the switch and relay already connected to the wiring harness (or there are connectors). This is versus just buying wire, a relay, a switch, and some spade terminals.

Your car may be 'pre-wired' for fogs, but you can't just pop them in. Most cars have plastic delete panels in the bumper. Hopefully those come out easily and the factory foglight assembly slips right in. They'll need a sturdier mount than the snap-in panels, though, and that may not be provided. What IS there, in most cases, are the harness connectors, which often just dangle with some rubber caps on them or fit into slots on the back of the bumper cover.

But in addition to the probably-pricey foglights from the dealer, you also need a switch. Depending on the car, this may just pop into a delete panel, or you may need to change out the turn signal stalk. Which might make you change out other things on the column, if the proper connections aren't there.

If you're fine with the look of the aftermarkets, just use them. You'll save a lot of money, and if the installer isn't a total fucking retard (50/50 chance there, at best) it should look fairly professional when done.

edit: and use proper goddamn circuit protection. jamming a bare wire behind the blade of a random fuse is not it, nor are hot wires running straight off the battery.

I installed OEM fog lights on my truck, was a learning experince. Took myself and a buddy awhile to do it as the instructions and pictures weren't great, but after doing it once it can be done under a hour easy. My kit had a replacement switch that I had to remove the old one from the dash and plug in the new one.