Fog Lite Retrofit with SMDs & Eagle eye & Euro signals, Finally completed with pics Options

[dangrouche]

Finally completed a retrofit, that I am happy with, of modifying the fog lites using SMDs to serve as Daytime Running Lights. Here is my previous thread on this:

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=227721

The best thing about it, I can restore to OEM, as long as I don't lose the bulb shield that I had to remove from the reflector lamp.

Here the parts used
1. 90mm SMD angel eye from eBay ($14). The SMDs are type 5050, not the more common 3528 SMDS. (Based on my 2/19/14 posting below, I surmise 3528 SMDs will still yield a very good result.)
2. The eagle eyes were from Banggood.com. ($6) Both items were shipped from China. so these parts took about a month to acquire. Had to file down the front of the eagle eye to fit flush against fog lamp lens. (In hindsight, I could have added some clear 1/4" clear square plexigas piping instead of filing down the "cornea" of the eagle eye so that the eye laid flat against the back of the fog lense)
3. The mounting platform was was a 4" pre-cut 1/8" disc of plexiglas from the local plastic store and it cost about $5 for the pair. Total cost of this project is $25 bucks. Attached angel eye to the disc with zip ties.

The only tricky part once the reflector housing shield was removed, was how to ensure the light assembly contraption stayed flush to the glass. For this, I used a coil spring that was placed on the shaft of the eagle eye and it pressed on the most rearward portion of the relector, aka the "retina" of the lamp housing. I applied pressure to the reflector as I re-installed the four tensioning springs. I connected the leads from the eagle eye to the angel eyes in parallel and connected it to the leads that ordinarily contacted the OEM fog bulb, and I basically used push-on connectors to link up the OEM wiring to the SMD LED leads. Basically a coil spring slightly longer than the depth of the reflector housing.

I no longer have fog lites, and now the fog light switch serves as a daytime running light switch. I did the headlamp/fog light switch hack which permits the use of the fog lites regardless of whether the headlights are on or off. IMHO, I think it looks pretty cool, and I am not just tooting my own horn.

Also awaiting my Euro front lenses, and from the previous thread cited above, I have SMDs lighting up the lower portion of the housing. So whenever the ignition is on, the lower portion of the front signal bucket is lit up with 5050 SMDs.

[scotty b]

I'm liking this a lot. Have you had a chance yet to go for a night drive ? I'm curious how this setup ( fog lamp ) functions compared to the stock bulb ? I would imagine a better light, but how about the dispersion and distance ?

[dangrouche]

okay, let me go out on the street and take a couple of pics, but my objective in this project was for these lights to serve as daytime running lights

[dangrouche]

okay, took it for a ride, but it does not illuminate as one might expect, it blazes!!
As I was driving tonight, I saw every tom dick and harry having their fogs on, and here in the bay area, its clear with visibility for a mile. you get the message. Once I turn on my fogs, it blazes the 6000K spectrum with as much brillance as everyone else needlessly using theirs. Let me say this, when I turn these on, they announce my presence.

I also got my front euro signal lenses from AutoAtlanta today, so my SMDs mod in the signal housings worked out really well. The modified fog lights should serve well as daytime running lights and will definitely make me seen at night when I am coming up behind other cars.

top pic shows headlights only, no camera flash
next down shows headlights plus SMDs, no camera flash
next down shows the SMDs only, no camera flash
fourth pic down shows the blaze, no camera flash
fifth pic down shows the blaze, with camera flash on

Since I did not take pics of the illumination with the OEM fogs, anyone out there can turn theirs on from about 20 feet back from their garage door and make their own comparison.

[scotty b]

Looks pretty damn good to me (IMG:style_emoticons/default/first.gif) Are you running HID headlights ? they look bright as the sun (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[dangrouche]

Looks pretty damn good to me (IMG:style_emoticons/default/first.gif) Are you running HID headlights ? they look bright as the sun (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

nope, good ol' incandescent headlamps.

[914_teener]

Dan,

I decided today to resurrect this cause on a cloudy day today....for safety, I decided I want driving lights.

Do you have the specs..length and source of the spring?

I like this route because you can return the fogs to original.

Also...I'll assume I can make these work at the first stop of the light switch instead of them always being on.

Thanks if you can reply.

Rob

[dangrouche]

The springs are something I just had laying around. I just sought out a spring that fit for the span from the rear of the fog light housing to the rear of the lens. That mod using the circle of LEDs was "state of the art" back then. Now, they make discs of full LEDs, which they offer on eBay currently.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2x-12V-70mm-2-8-10...%3D141660644547

If I these discs were offered in 2014, then I would have installed those instead, and likely used open cell foam padding or sheet packing foam, to force the disc of LEDs to press against the rear of the fog light lense. Here is my most recent addition of a LED light bar to the top of the fog light grille. Scroll down to Xmas day, Dec 25. These light bars zip tied to the top of the grille is also a pretty simple mod, and in daytime, these light bars are actually so bright, they are really annoying, and readily do the job of DRL for our low slung cars. The wiring of these are a feed from the dashboard, so that when the car is running, the light bars are on. Alternatively, the halo rings of LEDs are controlled by the fog light switch. I do not have any fog lights.


that said, if I were going to do the spring method, I just found a vendor on ebay from which I could start collecting the bits:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-Pcs-3-3-Long-Aju...mQAAOSw0JpV6G5H


here's the lite bar update of my mod.
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...774&st=7060

given the mods above, I would try that bar lite install first. It only requires you to remove and zip tie the light bar to the grill. once you see them on, you will realize you do not need to do surgery on the OEM fogs.

[914_teener]

Thanks.

Ok that's good info.

These cars just can't use enough visibility when driving around sometimes.

I really like this thread you started and I think "while I'm there" I'll get the JWest modern fuse block.