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How to: HID Fog Lights

14K views 39 replies 16 participants last post by  TwoPedalWarrior 
#1 ·
Items Needed:

H3 HID Kit
Universal Fog Light Wiring Harness
Quick Connect Terminals
Dremel & Sanding Drum
Socket and Wrench set

This write-up assumes that you know how to remove and replace the fog light bulbs, housings and wiring. If you need more details on how to do this please let me know and I'll add that to this post.

First, disconnect the negative battery cable, remove the stock fog light bulb and disconnect the stock wiring (you can remove the stock wiring but i just kept mine intact just in case I decide to go back to halogens.

Next, connect the universal fog light wiring harness. Here's the one that I got:



Just follow the diagram, it's pretty straightforward. I used the wiring harness because the stock fog light wiring only supplies 35W to both fog lights, which is only enough to power one ballast.

Here's how I ran the wires:



Across the radiator (yellow highlighted wire)



Next, connect the HID ballasts to the wiring harness. I had to use quick connect terminals because the H3 HID kit terminals wouldn't fit the wiring harness.

Here's what I used:



Next remove the fog light housings from the car. There should be 2 12mm bolts mounting them to the body. You can do this next step without taking out the housings and jacking up the car, which is what I did the first time, but it'd make the process much easier.
Remove the access door from the housing, you'll need a phillips head screwdriver.

After removing the access door, you need to bore out the hole for the wires since the HID connectors can't fit through the stock holes. I used a dremel with a cutting wheel but a sanding drum will work better. You don't need to bore out too much, just enough for the connectors to go through. When you're done it should look like this:







Next, install the HID bulb in the housing, it'll be a bit of a squeeze.

Then pull the wires through the access door one at a time.

Here's how mine looked:


That black piece is a rubber piece that's connected to most HID bulbs I've seen (I'm not sure it comes with all of them). I pulled the wires tight through the access door to minimize dirt water and debris getting into the housing. I've never had a problem with water getting into the housing, it's rained a few times, and even snowed and I've had no problems. If you want to make sure that nothing gets in, I suggest using silicone sealant to "glue" the black piece to the access door.

Next, install the ballasts. the good thing about our cars is there's a nice little niche under the headlights that can hold 2 ballasts.



Here's my drivers side, the left ballast is for my low beams and the right is for the fogs. As you can see, I used zip ties and 2-sided tape to mount the ballasts, which has survived 2 autocross events :angel:



Here's my passenger side, the left ballast is for the low beams and the right is for the fogs as well (the bolt is mounting it to my car). Be careful when mounting on this side because there is a gaping hole where my fog light ballast is, I actually ended up dropping a ballast on the road because it got loose and I dumped it down this gaping hole.

When mounting the ballasts make sure that there's enough slack to reach the bulb connectors.

After making sure all connections and ballasts are secure, you're ready to go.





 
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#6 ·
thanks for the copy !!

for sure... when i do mine i'll be sure to take some pic too... i'll take note of any differences... but thanks a bunch... now just got to get some new fogs and i'll be good to get started...
Big Ups
yeah post up pix and any issues u run into, ill try to help ya :p
good luck !
 
#9 ·
Oh crap ur right ! I'll have that asap.

thingsthatfly: i have an ebay kit, it says xentec on the ballasts, i was actually replacing a ballast when i did the write up. Ebay kits are a hit or miss imo.
 
#10 ·
Fog Light Globe replacement

Hi,
My son just bought a 1993 MX6. His car and my fix-it toy - i get to repair all the little things neglected by previous owner. Have done most things but I can't for the life of me see how to replace a blown fog light globe without removing the bumper. Manual says there are three screws to remove at the front but the light is tight into the bumper and I can't even see any screws from the front. Can you please tell me an easy way to change the bulb?

Also I can't find the button to make the radio aerial go up and down - Is there a trick? The car now has a very nice stereo unit and the old one is still there but I can't even get it to turn on, I wondered if the aerial is controlled by the old radio cassette player.
 
#11 ·
Hi,
My son just bought a 1993 MX6. His car and my fix-it toy - i get to repair all the little things neglected by previous owner. Have done most things but I can't for the life of me see how to replace a blown fog light globe without removing the bumper. Manual says there are three screws to remove at the front but the light is tight into the bumper and I can't even see any screws from the front. Can you please tell me an easy way to change the bulb?

Also I can't find the button to make the radio aerial go up and down - Is there a trick? The car now has a very nice stereo unit and the old one is still there but I can't even get it to turn on, I wondered if the aerial is controlled by the old radio cassette player.
To take the fog light off jack the front of the car up. Obviously make sure it is safely supported. Lie on your back under the front bumper and look up at the bottom of the fog lights. There will be three screws on each one. Removing them will give you access to the bulb in the fog lights. If you run into trouble, follow the steps below.

A lot of the time those screws will be stripped, making it impossible to remove the burnt out bulb. If this is the case there are two small nuts (10mm) that hold each fog light on. They are back behind the frame of the car. You will be able to feel them with your fingers. Unscrew these and unplug the wires that go to the fogs. Now you will be able to pull the whole fog assembly off the car. Installation is the reverse of removal.

Once you get the fogs off, use a screwdriver and a pair of pliers to strip and remove each screw that won't come out. This will give you access to the bulbs. Replace the bulbs. Your nest step is to make the screws hold again. I usually take a nut that can fit into the now stripped plastic holes and hot melt glue it into the hole. While the glue is still hot I will screw in a bolt that will thread into the nut. When everything is cool, remove the bolt and you should have a fixed set of fogs.

Reinstall them and enjoy. :tup:

The power antenna extends and retracts automatically when you turn the radio on and off. I would just double check the wiring behind the new stereo to see that everything was wired correctly. With a proper wiring harness available at your local auto store everything should work fine. If it is wired correctly or already has a harness the chances are that your antenna is broken. You can find replacement antennas on ebay or you could probably get one through Mazda if you want one that will last a while.

Welcome to the forums. If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Chris
 
#12 ·
So i have me sacrificial fogs... and i'm just waiting on the HID's (in the mail)... i'm going to start a complete set up hopefully the end of this week or beginning of next...

Sanding/HID's with Blinker MOD...

WOOT... i'll keep ya posted.. and do up a little walkthrough of my own..
 
#17 ·
wow, thats just the foglights ?!
I think I might also go with HiD fogs at a later date.

question:
why only 3k on the bulbs ?
couldnt you use the same as the lowbeam (which looks like 6k) and just make sure the light assembly itself is pointed low enough not to blind oncoming traffic while still be able to be used as actual foglights ?
or are you using 3k for the color itself ?
 
#18 ·
3000k IS the color. Sounds like you need to research HID bulbs. They are measured by temperature in degrees kelvin. The lower numbers are yellow and the higher you get the more white, blue, and purple the light becomes. Higher numbers aren't always better though. They just change the color emitted by the bulb.

Many people use 3000k for fog lights and occasionally high beams because yellow light is better in bad weather conditions.

6000k is a whiter light that is better for normal use.
 
#19 ·
I understand that part of the HiD, I was just wondering why he wanted that shade, personally I would have used something closer to the shade my headlights ran.
but also, like you said, the yellow color is better suited to poor weather, so I can understand using that.
I also sort of understand the difference of H1-H3.... just not fully yet, but I am getting there, doing a lot of reading up on it :)
I believe H1 is designated as primarily main lamps, while H3 would be more along the lines of secondary lamps such as fogs ? (no clue about H2/H4 yet)
 
#20 ·
I got 3k because it was easier for me to see with for some reason. They were originally my low beams (i have jspecs) but i got pulled over for having "neon yellow" lights so i decided to just fit them to the fogs and get 4300k. That and theyre JdM tYTe y0 ! lol jk. Chef is right though--yellow is a more effective color for inclement weather. Since there's not much of that where im from, i usually run them as running lamps.
 
#24 ·
I think I see what you mean now. I just installed a new set of 5k's for my low beams and 3k's for my fogs, and atleast one of the fogs has trouble igniting initially.....may have to rip my harness apart tomorrow. :eek:
 
#27 ·
mx6ReMiX,

Hi, I'm the webmaster of HowToCar.net and was wondering if we could host your tutorial you just made and posted on this forum post here on our site. All credit will be given to you through our site. Check out an example here of Kennon Mills "tinting tail lights" tutorial at our site.

tint tail lights

I guess the main reason I found this was because one of our guys found it here in his off time.

please email me at howtocar@yahoo.com because I could not find your email address
 
#28 ·
ok now i have been wiring hids for a while now, but pic 1&2 just confused the hell out of me. what is with mess of wires? what is the purpose of the yellow wire. im sorry i just want to know if you can please be a little more detailed in the wiring or if anyone can enlighten me?.

Thanks
Frank
 
#35 ·
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