I was cheap and bought the base Prius. Now I want to add aftermarket foglights. Anyone know where to connect to power so that I don't cause any problems? I'm trying to be smart and not just wire them straight to the jumper cable terminal.Thx, Martin
Be glad you didn't get the stock fogs,,,,they're terrible,,worse than useless. If I were going to add lights, they would be extra high beams. Icarus
I did the same thing, flydoc, though I'd wager you can afford the payments a bit better than I can. I am interested in installing aftermarket fog lights, as well-- the fog down here in the central nowhere is terrible. ATC(AW/SW) (Retired)
Have you looked under the bumper? Maybe the wiring harness is there for the stock fogs? Oh, and yes the stock fogs suck as driving lights, but they do their job as true fog lights.
I beg to differ! They not only suck as driving lights, (as they are off with the high beams on) but they suck as fogs! I can't even tell from the drivers seat if they are on or off. In heavy fog they don't cut it one bit. If I could run them as DTRL's I would, but they only run while the lows are on! Most car's fogs suck as well. I did drive a new Subaru the other day, and theirs are better. They are aimed a number of degrees out to help light the fog line and the shoulder. When I'm on a dark country road, I want light! Icarus
Well with as much weather as you guys up in the Pacific Northwest have received this year, I will not argue with you. I don't think that a white light is good in any fog condition.
I have no ideas. If someone else does I would appreciate hearing from them. I haven't really looked into options though. Icarus
If they are truly for fog, then you have to go with something amber or yellow. For driving lights, I would think that HID's are the only way to go. As far as brands go, PIAA and HELLA are the major players out there. Don't be fooled by those bulbs that claim to look like HID's. All I wanted were my fogs to match the color of my HID's, so I went with a set of Silverstars. As Icarus said, they are worthless for adding any usable light.
It appears that color has no real impact on fog, though I have heard that yellow is better when dealing with snow flurries. More important is to get the lighting as low as practical and aiming it properly (i.e. lighting the road in front of you and not blinding oncoming traffic). Of course, the best thing for driving in fog is slowing down.
The contrast is good for snow-- less reflection back at you, but in the fog it doesn't really make a difference, from what I understand.
Ditto, It is a old wives tale that yellow is better. I can't attribute that statement however! (I hate un-attributed "facts") Icarus
I found that the fog lights on our 2005 were useless in the fog or heavy falling snow. The lights would not operate seperately, and the headlights were too brite. The high intensity headlights made it impossible to see at night in fog or falling snow. So this is what I did for my 2007 pkg 2. I purchased the right and left grille sections because, the basket is already there. The basket is behind the blank grillle ends. I purchased Pilot fog lights because they fit the grille opening. I made Rock Deflectors from cage mesh wire. They are connected to a positive connection in the fuse box. I removed a place holder blank spot on the left side of the dashboard to put the putton set in a handy place. Now I turn on the PARKING lights and turn on the fog lights. Now I can drive without headlights and the fog lights are extremely effective. KC7MTC
Nice work! For as handy as you sound, surely you can post pictures of your project. Please! I wanna see!!!
Woo hoo, score one for the search function. I was just about to post to the mod forum asking if it was possible to wire up standard 12V aftermarket fogs in a Prius and... turns out it is! Great news for me, as the Prius doesn't have fogs unless you get the HIDs and I don't want those because of the replacement cost. Call me old fashioned, but if a headlight fails in my car I much prefer to dig in the couch for change to replace it - not dig out the credit card If I want to use the factory foglight mounting location (by removing the blank inserts), what diameter light will I need, and what will be involved in the installation? Will it require removing the bumper?
