Installing aftermarket fog lights

[DesertRock]

Has anyone installed small aftermarket fog lights in the lower grille area or under the bumper? I am thinking of the Hella Micro DE. If so, what did you attach them to? How did it work out? Can you post a picture.
Thanks.

[BigDogDad]

Originally posted by DesertRock
Has anyone installed small aftermarket fog lights in the lower grille area or under the bumper? I am thinking of the Hella Micro DE. If so, what did you attach them to? How did it work out? Can you post a picture.
Thanks.

Welcome to the group.

Here is one thread to get you started. You can find more threads on that topic with the search function. Good luck with your Pilot.

REAL fog lights-that cut fog

[CMasten]

Originally posted by DesertRock
Has anyone installed small aftermarket fog lights in the lower grille area or under the bumper? I am thinking of the Hella Micro DE. If so, what did you attach them to? How did it work out? Can you post a picture.
Thanks.

I installed the FF75, but the Micro DE would fit just fine too just under the grille. I looked under the bumper and there are several driveways etc that I was afraid would damage them. The grille works great and I just adjust them so they project just under the main headlights. I find the SilverStars work as a nice combo to the Hella driving lights. I just bought some flat Iron at The Home Depot and make a couple of 4" pieces to help support the plastic that I mounted them into. They are very snug and overall I am very pleased. I bought them on EBay for about 45.00 and I think they use a 50/55 watt bulb, in total about 45 min or so to install.

[DesertRock]

Thanks, CMasten. Your installation looks great. That's what I want to do. The FF75 looks good on the Pilot. I used the Micro DE on a Ford SuperDuty truck that didn't have as much room in that area.

It looks like you mounted the FF75's on the upper side of the opening. Did you use the steel plates as backing for the plastic bumper cover? Do you have the fog light or the driving light version of the FF75? What did you wire the power side of the switch to - the lights (high, low or parking?) or another source? I would like to use a key-switched source so I can use them independent of the other lights - do you know where I can find an accessible place to connect to?

Thank you for the advice.

[DesertRock]

Thanks, CMasten. Your installation looks great. That's what I want to do. The FF75 looks good on the Pilot. I used the Micro DE on a Ford SuperDuty truck that didn't have as much room in that area.

It looks like you mounted the FF75's on the upper side of the opening. Did you use the steel plates as backing for the plastic bumper cover? Do you have the fog light or the driving light version of the FF75? What did you wire the power side of the switch to - the lights (high, low or parking?) or another source? I would like to use a key-switched source so I can use them independent of the other lights - do you know where I can find an accessible place to connect to?

Thank you for the advice.

[CMasten]

Originally posted by DesertRock
Thanks, CMasten. Your installation looks great. That's what I want to do. The FF75 looks good on the Pilot. I used the Micro DE on a Ford SuperDuty truck that didn't have as much room in that area.

It looks like you mounted the FF75's on the upper side of the opening. Did you use the steel plates as backing for the plastic bumper cover? Do you have the fog light or the driving light version of the FF75? What did you wire the power side of the switch to - the lights (high, low or parking?) or another source? I would like to use a key-switched source so I can use them independent of the other lights - do you know where I can find an accessible place to connect to?

Thank you for the advice.

Happy to help, I am sure there are lots of ways to do this, but spent a few hours and wayed out the pros and cons before I jumped into this. First the mounts. The 1" flat steel was easy to measure out and cut with a hack saw I got the 1/8" thickness and used 2 pieces. One above the bracket (inside the bumper) and one right on top of the bracket. The tough plastic on the bumper was not stiff enough to keep them from bouncing which was really annoying... this took care of that. You can see from this shot the silver plate on top of the bracket and there is one inside (easy access by the open grille above the lisc plate) Just drill a single hole in both pieces and you can pull out the piece on the bumper so your drill has a better angle, this is tough stuff so dont worry about breaking it off.

[CMasten]

Originally posted by DesertRock
Thanks, CMasten. Your installation looks great. That's what I want to do. The FF75 looks good on the Pilot. I used the Micro DE on a Ford SuperDuty truck that didn't have as much room in that area.

It looks like you mounted the FF75's on the upper side of the opening. Did you use the steel plates as backing for the plastic bumper cover? Do you have the fog light or the driving light version of the FF75? What did you wire the power side of the switch to - the lights (high, low or parking?) or another source? I would like to use a key-switched source so I can use them independent of the other lights - do you know where I can find an accessible place to connect to?

Thank you for the advice.

Part 2. I got the driving lights because I was trying to fill in the middle of the headlights down the road. This sit up pretty high so you can angle them down to put more light down the middle. The fogs would be a great option also if you want more light just out in front. They seem to have about the same brightness as the SilverStar headlights so its a great combo.

Here is a shot of the relay and the accessory lead. I have it cliped to the orange/yellow or innermost lead which is the low beam connection. I only wanted it to be accessable when I was driving, and didnt want them with the high beams for legal hassles etc. This allows me to drive down the road and if the lights are on I flip the switch and they fill the light in. If I flash or switch to my high beams they turn off and only activate when the low beams are on. Works very well for my needs. You can see the blue clip that ties in the accessory lead on the left and in the lower center can see the relay with the (blue) fuse. I touched it up with black paint so it was transparent, this seemed like a good place for the relay. The leads for the switch then ran though the boot in the firewall and into driver side for connection. Only lead I needed inside was ground and that was easy enough. There are some good tips on accessory leads on this board just run a search and I am sure you will find one that you can use. Good luck with it. Its clean, simple and really cost effective with accomplishing what I was after which was to help out the weak light output on this vehicle. The FF75 and SilverStar combo gives me all the light I was looking for I am very pleased with the end result.

[jcantanixon]

I just picked up a set of the FF50s and I will probably doing a similar install. I got the fog light version since fog and weather is the reason I want more light anyway.

Do you have a pic of the switch? I'm not sure where I want to mount it.

[CMasten]

Originally posted by jcantanixon
I just picked up a set of the FF50s and I will probably doing a similar install. I got the fog light version since fog and weather is the reason I want more light anyway.

Do you have a pic of the switch? I'm not sure where I want to mount it.

I just put it on the panel under the steering wheel and to the right next to the center console. Its pretty small but does light up (mine is green) when they are active so I dont want to stare at that at night. Lower left closer to the fuse box would have been a good option as well. Just packed the Pilot for its first road trip so dont have easy access to the camera sorry. The FF50 would be a good fit in that space also. Its a surface mount switch also so another reason I mounted it lower.

[DesertRock]

Thanks for the info and the pictures, CMasten. I can't go wrong with this help. I just bid on some FF75's on ebay, so I'll be into it pretty quick.

[mdesmaraisva]

I have also had excellent luck with PIAA lights. I have also replaced the bulbs.

The placement was easy - the hard part was getting through the fire wall! I made the connections from the relay to the factory wiring for the high and low beams. In other word the lights automatically come on with the high or low beams, depending how the switch is set.
This way the lights are set for inspection! In Virginia the drving lights can ONLY be on with the low beams. I need the extra light when traveling late at night when the high beams are on.

[alexct]

I also installed the Hella FF75 driving lights and love them. I have a 2003 Pilot and used the standard Honda fog light switch and inside wiring harness. I rigged it so the driving lights work by having the parking lights on and the fog light switch on.

[alexct]

One more picture

[alexct]

My home drawn wiring schematic

[alexct]

Switch