? about foglights

hd guy · August 9, 2002

i've been looking for foglights for my truck i've alwys had oem foglights on my cars,but what is steering me away from factory one's now is i have to take it to the dealer to get the bcm program,so my question if i get a set of piaa's like the 1500xt do i have to take it to the dealer to get the bcm programmed also what is this i hear about foglights does this mean you don't have to run the wires to the inside of the cab,thanks in advance for your help guys

tblazer503 · August 9, 2002

The reason that GM needs to program the BCM is for the battery saving feature, i think. It seems all the OE wiring runs through it so you dont run down your battery with anything. Anyways, aftermarket fog lights have many options. PIAA does make a RF module that will allow you to use the fog lights and activate them without running a wire through the firewall, I don't know much about reliability but I think the module runs about 150. You will still need a switch mounted somewhere unless you hardwire it into your parking lights or something, in that case, you wont need a remote module. =O) hope this helps.

hd guy · August 9, 2002

thanks tkblazer for your help

SWLA · August 10, 2002

HD Guy,

You would be wise stay away from the OEM foglights. My truck came with them, but I'm going to replace them soon. The bulbs from the factory are 27 watts, IIRC. Very poor light output. Some guys tried to replace with 55 watt bulbs and in most cases the housings melted. I compromised and put 37 watt bulbs in. A little better, but still sux. I'm fortunate in that all I have to due is replace the housing/lens assembly. All the wiring and the OEM switch is in place.

How do you like the Xenon HID headlamps? I installed a harness that replaced the puny factory wiring to the headlights and lets me run all 4 bulbs with highbeams. Upgraded the highbeam bulbs to 100 watt bulbs. A big improvement for roughly $120. Is the light from the HID just whiter, or do they provide a larger illuminated area?

LarryE · August 10, 2002

Word

the factory foglights are crap mine never was bright enough to light up anything... couldn't even tell they were on most of the time.

i have the remote driving lights off a ford explorer in my new bumper cover now and they are BRIGHT... bright enough to even drive with out the headlights if I wanted to... and the ease of hooking them up was amazing. no wires through the messy firewall at all

hd guy · August 11, 2002

thanks guys,swla the HIDS are great are imho,the ones i have light up a 3 lane highway all the way across and they are plug and play the only thing is where to mount the ballast also since mines are the advertised 8000k's they have a purple bluish effect to them,also i hd a question about those remote foglights are they hard to install or easy

BIGDAWG69 · May 18, 2003

i have the remote driving lights off a ford explorer in my new bumper cover now and they are BRIGHT

What year Explorer?

buffy · May 21, 2003

I'm running the Sylvania Xenarc HID replacement headlamp housing. They come with HID low beams and Silverstar highbeams. I also have their auxilary HID lamps in place of my foglamps. Fantastic output. You could probably get away with just one of these products and be great. Mine are almost redundant. I do, however, love having the auxilaries on with my highbeams. Real solid. For some reason I've gotten a little HID crazy. I'm now purchasing some Lightforce 240 Blitz HID lamps for my bull bar. I should be able to light a small country pretty soon ;)