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Installing HIDs, Page Updated February 12, 2008

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Project is Ongoing, Started in June 2007

On this page, I describe how I installed both pairs of HID fog lights and HIDs in the head lights.

Scroll down for the most recent info on my newest fog lights!

I got my old fog lights for like $30 on Ebay. I liked them because they had a nice blue lens, and they had the 7 color LED ring. I did not get the projector style, since I wanted light to go up everywhere and light up everything (which I later regretted). And they sure do! Somehow I managed to blow the LEDs, but the rest works great!

fog lights came with a very nice wiring harness, complete with a fuse, relay, and nice connectors.

I also got my HID from Ebay for $100, free shipping. I would not spend less than $100 on HID, because I wanted to get a quality product.

As you can see, the light source is in the same place as the H3 bulb, so the light pattern would be exactly the same (no real glare).

I have gotten 2 pairs from this seller, and the HID is great! I got 8000K H3 bulbs, and they are at least twice as bright as the stock bulbs. The color is very white, but it is blue when put into the fog lights with the blue lens. All of the bulbs were the same color, and they still work today. However, there were no labels on anything. The box, transformers, and bulbs had no indication of their brand, but who really cares as long as they work, right? You get what you pay for!

The wire on the side of the HID bulb stuck out too far, so I had to drill out a place for it to go.

Next, I had to extend the wires on the wiring harness so that it would reach from my dash to the fog lights.

Then, I had to mount the switch. I decided to use the spot where the power mirror switch goes. I had to take out my DRL switch and relocate it to a panel below. I drilled a little hole in the bottom of the panel so that the fog light wire could go through.

The fog light switch stuck onto the panel with 3M tape, and the wire went though the hole.

I had to cut out my mesh to run the fog light through, I mounted the brackets, and I ran all of the wires under the hood and through the fender into the dash (just like I did when I did my DRL mod).

Then I screwed the fog lights with the HID bulbs installed in place.

I mounted the HID transformers inside the bumper with the brackets.

The HID is so much brighter!! Halogen vs HID

And now it is done! A nice, deep blue color thanks to the blue lens on the fog light. Easily visible during the day, and the night is lit up!

And with my high beam DRL mod light on, too. Now that I have HID fog lights, I haven't used the DRL mod light since. I don't need the extra light at night, and I like the fog lights as DRLs more. So, my DRL mod was no more.

Shining on garage with other headlight bulbs (no HID in low beams yet). You can see how yellow it makes the blue halogen bulbs look in the projectors, and it is a lot brighter.

Lots of light going up to light up trees, signs, pedestrians! And not too much light to be glaring/blinding.

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Once I had the HIDs in the fog lights, I had to put them in the projectors, too.

In the headlights, the HIDs made a huge difference. They are easily three times brighter!

Wow wow wow, those are bright!!! Those are the high beams above the cutoff, which are very, very dim compared to the HID. Driving on the road, you can't even tell if the highs are on. And, the HIDs are such a nicer color! Fog lights are on, too. I though that the fog light HIDs were bright, but now, the head lights make them look really dim! After realizing this, I decided I wanted to switch to projector fog lights, so that they'd be brighter like this.

I was able to get rid of this entire piece, since the HID wires ran straight to the harness, if you look in the background.

This is where the ballasts fit easily.

At this point, I realized that I was sent the wrong HID color. They sent the 6000K for the headlights instead of the 8000K (which I had in the fog lights). I was disappointed at first, but I ended up putting the bluer set in the headlights and the yellower set in the fog lights, since they have a blue cover.

This picture shows how different colors the lights are. The 6000k is up top, and the 8000k is on the bottom. Very different colors, but the 6000k kit is brighter.

Here it is before I switched them. The difference in colors is very easy to see.

Then I swapped them, so it looked like this (colors are almost the same)

These next pictures show the differences between the 6000k and 8000k colors, for your reference when deciding which color to get.

6000k (low beam). Fog lights are off.

8000k (low beam). This is where I have installed this kit.

6000k (blue fog light). This is where I have installed this kit.

8000k (blue fog light). Projectors are off.

Wow, those are a lot of lights on the front.

I am not using these fog lights or HID anymore because I switched to projector fog lights once I installed my new bumper.

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After having the HIDs in my projector head lights being so much brighter than my other fog lights, I wanted new projector-style fog lights.

Note: Most of the procedure for installing these fog lights was the same for installing my first fogs, so I didn't take as many pictures this time. See the first installation for more universal details.

I got these from Ebay, and they are great! They came with a white LED ring, which looks great.

Here it is all laid out. This wiring harness was even better than the one for my old fog lights, since the wires were much thicker. But, it came with all the same stuff (relay, switch, fuse, etc).

After a lot of work, I removed all of the old fog light wiring (and my really old high beam DRL wiring), and I ran the new wires. The wires were actually long enough this time! I did not have to extend them like last time. I put the HID bulbs in the fogs, but I had to sand out a place for the wire to go again so that the HID bulb would fit into the opening. However, I did have to extend the wires for the halo rings, since they wire straight to the parking light. Then, I mounted the fog lights in the openings, which was a pain, since the plastic bumper wasn't deep enough. But, I got it to work great.

I installed the switch here over the place I had my old high beam DRL switch. I put a piece of tape over the upper black panel and painted it black to hide the holes from previous switches. It looks bad, but I'll get the power mirror switch if I can find it. You can see that I just ran the wire through the door gap, since the wire is black and it was too big to fit through the fender holes.

Now, it is done! I installed the turn signal next to it and mesh behind it. I drive around with the fogs on as daytime running lights.

Here is the beam pattern of the new fogs. Now, no light goes up into eyes and trees, like as with my other fog lights. I put my 8000k HID kit in the fogs.

Here it is with both pairs of lights on. I put the 6000k HID kit back in the head lights. Now it is lots brighter on the road!! More pictures:

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Don't forget that if you have any help, advice, comments, criticisms, or questions about my car and future mods, please sign my Guest book!

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Table of Contents

My Corolla Today
Page 1: Current Exterior
Page 2: Current Interior
Page 3: Current Engine
Page 4: Current Audio

Corolla Time Lines
Page 5: Phase Time Line
Page 6: Detailed Time Line

Other Stuff
Page 7: Photoshop
Page 8: Look at this page before you buy replacement LED bulbs
Page 9: Details on my current and future mods
Page 10: For Sale!

DIYs and Project Write-ups
Page 11: Bumper light LED retrofit 1
Page 12: Third Brake light LED retrofit
Page 13: Diablo Mirror LED replacement
Page 14: Taillight LED Retrofit 1
Page 15: High Beam DRL Mod
Page 16: Bumper Light LED Retrofit 2, PLUS detailed description of how I do LED mods
Page 17: Painting preparation (details on my fenders, grille, trunk, and Bondo)
Page 18: Side marker LED retrofit and installation
Page 19: HID fog lights and headlights
Page 20: Interior painting, modifications, and exterior trim painting
Page 21: Installing Halo/LED/Projector headlights
Page 22: Mirror cover LED replacement
Page 23: Installing a new stereo and speakers
Page 24: Body kit installation, front end conversion, and other body work for round 2
Page 25: Retrofitting LEDs into my third mirrors and front turn signals
Page 26: Putting interior LEDs behind the dash and in all the buttons and all over the interior
Page 27: LED tail light retrofit 2 and baking your lights in the oven to remove the lens