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low beam powered wire

2K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  mmay 
#1 ·
I am going to install some PIAA fog lights on my brand new Pilot (can't leave a good thing alone). I need to know how to identify a wire that has power applied when the low beam head lights are active - I have not ordered a service manual yet. Could someone help me out?

The line can be under the hood or inside the passenger compartment - I'd prefer inisde the passenger compartment.

If this turns out well, I'll post photos of what I did - if it doesn't, I'll fade back into the woodwork.

Thanks,

Mike
 
#2 ·
mmay said:
I am going to install some PIAA fog lights on my brand new Pilot (can't leave a good thing alone). I need to know how to identify a wire that has power applied when the low beam head lights are active - I have not ordered a service manual yet. Could someone help me out?

The line can be under the hood or inside the passenger compartment - I'd prefer inisde the passenger compartment.

If this turns out well, I'll post photos of what I did - if it doesn't, I'll fade back into the woodwork.

Thanks,

Mike
Just a suggestion - check out the install instructions for the Honda fog light kit. I would guess it will include the info you are looking for. I can't remember which one it is, but one of the on-line Honda accessory places has the instructions available for download in PDF format.

HTH

Updated:
Cheaphondaparts.com has the PDF's I was talking about. Here is the link for the foglight instructions.

Good luck!
 
#3 ·
mmay said:
I need to know how to identify a wire that has power applied when the low beam head lights are active - I have not ordered a service manual yet.
The Honda system uses a switch ground to activate the high vs. low beams.
The Headlight common is supplied +12v from the headlight relay (one per side) and the grounds are returned to the headlight stalk to supply the apropriate ground.
Undere the dash you could pick up the +12V from eother headlight common, however I prefer my fogs to work with the park lights (just in case I hit some real 5MPH fog, where you need the headlights off to see at all).
Park light hot can be picked up at any park light conection or at any dash light connection.

If you get the Honda fog light instructions and read through the Modification I did it should give you what you need.

http://www.honda-pilot.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=612
 
#4 ·
Thanks, but I ended up doing this crudely - tapping the power at the light connector - just behind the bulb. This power is used to switch a seperate relay that controls the bulb. Turns out the low beams are the orange/white wire.

The fog lights work as designed - on with the low beams, off with parking or brights. I may switch to on with parking lights later.

The install went pretty good - the toughest parts were figuring out which wire to use and getting the switch wires from the passenger compartment into the engine compartment - I ended up clipping a connector off, poking a coat hanger wire alongside the rubber seal for the cable bundle above the brake pedal and fishing the cable through.

These are PIAA 1490 fog lights - they are VERY bright to look at - brighter than the main head lights. The do a great job of lighting the road immediately in front of the vehicle - and lighting the ditches up. This is a good thing where I live - lets me see the deer before they are in the middle of the road!

Mike
 
#5 ·
Mike,

I would love to see pictures of your fog light installation. Please post some if you have a chance! Also, I searched on the PIAA website for the model you listed, but I could not locate the 1490. Where did you get them? (And what did they cost?) Thanks!

-Eric
 
#6 ·
I will take some pix and post them by the weekend.

These are the 1400 series Platinum Fog Lights - listed on the following webpage:

http://www.imotorgear.com/dept.asp?source=&dept_id=150801

This is the first time I have ordered from these people, and they did a great job. Price was about $195 including 2nd Day Air UPS.

These lights are really bright - probably a result of a bright bulb in a small enclosure. Installation was pretty easy - once I figured out the wiring.

I had to make some minor mods to the mounting bracket - drilling clearance holes for the bumper bolt, cutting and resplicing the cable to the switch, but these were straight forward and easy.

I bought the Platinum because it appeared to me that the black enclosures emitted yellow light - I wanted white - and I got it!



Mike
 
#7 ·
Did you have to remove the bumper cover for the install? Did you use the stock honda switch for the interior on/off?
Also yellow is better than white for foq. Blue wave lengths scatter more than the longer wave lengths like red. White has a lot of blue in it and will scatter more in the moisture. The long wave lengths like red will scatter the least but the eye is not very sensitive to red at night so yellow is a happy medium.
 
#8 ·
I did not remove the bumper cover - essentially, the lights are hung below the bumper.

I used the included PIAA switch - I don't know of you can replace this switch or not - it does not feel like a toggle switch, but has the same effect - if you power the system down with the fog lights on, they will come back on when you restart.

I know the theory about the yellow lights, but in reality, I wanted the fog lights more for non fog situations.

I am constructing a detailed description of what I did - with pix. Should be done by tomorrow.

Mike
 
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