Finally! My Fog light install, step by step!

[BigWillie]

First off, this is my first DIY/Step-by-Step guide to anything! Usually, I'm quite a hack when it comes to installing anything. Please keep in mind that this guide is NOT very detailed, if it were I would need a lot more space in which to post it. Much of the installaton is just using common sense and making judgement calls when it comes to running the wiring. As it is, I only used half the pictures that I took of the whole process, good thing these pics are hosted off-site!! Shall we begin.....

First I would like to provide everyone with a link to the Fog Light Kit (from now on I will refer to Fog Light as "FL") that I bought on ebay...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Toyot...spagenameZWDVW

I noticed a few things, luckily, before I started installing stuff.....This first picture is quite obvious, it's the contents of the Fog light kit and everything seems to be here. Although...


....after careful inspection, I realized the manufacturer of these lights didn't seal the lens very well to the housing with adhesive. There were gaps around the perimeter, which I filled using some clear silicone. It's kinda hard to see due to the blurry pic, but I left a mess which noone would see anyway.


Once I sealed the FLs, I then laid out the wiring to gauge how I would run everything....


Sure enough, the wiring was a mess.....someone got the measurements wrong. So I had to do some rewiring....as you can see below, I made some adjustments to the wiring. First, I cut off the (2) connectors that I couldn't for the life of me find out where they went (yellow circle), both of these are Power wires, white went to battery and red I connected to the side marker light in the headlight assembly. Next, I had to splice in at least 6 feet of wire to run the switch into the passenger compartment (see green circle and arrow), as they only gave you about 12+ inches to work with!!! In the blue circle is the extra wire that was provided to connect the wiring to the FLs to the rest of the wiring. This is where I think someone got confused, because that connection to the FL wiring is next to the battery so all that extra wiring is pointless, the kit only needed about a foot!! In the red circle is where all the connections meet which ended up next to the battery and of course there's the wire with the relay and 2nd ground, which I've temporarily laid next to the battery.


Anyway, once I completed the necessary fixes, I proceeded to install the FLs. This part was the easiest as the FLs fit right in to place and were affixed using a single screw, but I would recommend using 2 more. This next series of pics will show this easy install...

First, I had to drop the plastic shielding by removing a bunch of screws and some fasteners, then pop the lights into the slots, screw it in and place the outer trim piece....










The next part of the install is all preference on where to run the wiring. I ended up running the actually FL wiring above the radiator using wire ties and finding holes to access the FL and conncet them. I also grounded the FLs just under the left headlight assembly (next pic) and I coiled up the excess wiring.


****ATTENTION****.....For all of you who were wondering about the factory FL wiring, here it is!! It's bundled up just above the FL opening.


At this point, I ran the power wires, white to battery and red to the orange side marker light, but you must access this light by partially removing the inner fender well shielding around the left tire. I used a scotch-lock wire tap to splice the wires and taped them up using electrical tape.


The next part wasn't so bad considering I already ran a set of aftermarket FLs thru the firewall, so I used the same spot. This pic is from inside the car next to the steering colunm. You will enter thru the same large grommet in the engine compartment just to the lower left of the brake reservioir.


Like I said earlier, just run the wiring the best way you can as it's a tight fit under the dash. Also, I didn't mention it earlier, but I left the wires to the switch unconnected so it would be easier to route them thru the car. After seeing the switch installed (I had to do some modding to fit it!) , I really don't like how it looks. For now it will work, but eventually I will replace it with something smaller.






Well, that's it for the most part, just some fine tuning. I will note that there is hole on the plastic shielding just under each FL to adjust the vertical alignment of each FL.


Here is the finished product......hold your applause ,PLEASE!!!





Wow.....I'm finally done with this posting....3 hours it took me to post this!! If anyone has input and/or easier ways of completing this task, by all means post away!!

I hope it helps others out there.....PS- FYI, I also DL'ed wiring diagrams from Camrymanuals.com to help out a little.

http://camrymanuals.com/index.php?=&cid=&topicid=&action=vdl&man_id=manual s/07/07EWD.pdf&~=00X187A#199

Thanks

[silverSEV6]

Good job, man!!! Now your camry looks better. All its missing, is TRD lowering springs, SE grill, a nice body kit, and some 20" gunmetal wheels.

[BigWillie]

Actually, the SE grill was my next upgrade, then upon winning the lottery I was gonna get my wheels.....but until then I then I may be able to afford my SE grill!!

[Netforcer]

The fitment of the fog grille cover seems a bit off, is it because it wasn't tightened?

[Netforcer]

Oh, and i reinstalled my foglights today as well

[BigWillie]

I noticed that too....that's the nature of "OEM-like" products made in China! I suppose you could try and stretch the plastic to fit, but it may return to it's original shape.

[krouchchocolate]

you didn't use the factory harness right?

[Rapid Roy]

I think that the harness was intended to be connected to your fuse box inside the car. That would allow the switch wire to be long enough to reach. You should always run any electrical powered component through the fuse box to protect the battery and all of the other electric/electronic components.

[Netforcer]

Originally Posted by BigWillie

I noticed that too....that's the nature of "OEM-like" products made in China! I suppose you could try and stretch the plastic to fit, but it may return to it's original shape.

you can always go to a toyota dealership and get a pair of grilles.. should be pretty cheap

[Goomph]

Looks good ! Looks like the quality of the fog lights on eBay for gen 6's are as bad as the ones for Gen 5's ......But now that it is in, no one will notice it

[BigWillie]

Originally Posted by krouchchocolate

you didn't use the factory harness right?

No I did not , as I had no clue where those wires end up or if they're active and then you would need to buy OEM parts, the new stalk for the steering column....will get too pricey.

Originally Posted by Rapid Roy

I think that the harness was intended to be connected to your fuse box inside the car. That would allow the switch wire to be long enough to reach. You should always run any electrical powered component through the fuse box to protect the battery and all of the other electric/electronic components.

I searched thru both fuse boxes in and out and could not connect those two connectors anywhere! If you want to dig aroung your fuse boxes and locate a place to plug those in, please by all means post some pics, I still have the connectors and I would definitely rewire accordingly. If you look closely, it was IMPOSSIBLE to run the switch wire into the passenger compartment with the length of wire provided. The way I have it set up is the FLs and the switch (which lights up when power active) power on only when the parking lights/side marker lights are on, that way I can't forget the turn them off and the lights shut off automatically after a cretain amount of time when the car if off.

Originally Posted by Netforcer

you can always go to a toyota dealership and get a pair of grilles.. should be pretty cheap

Right, I saw some online somewhere for $10 each. You have to look close to see the gaps, plus I'm planning to use foam tape around the edge of the grilles. They actually came with a tiny strip of foam, that was quite pathetic and fell off anyway.

[TRD VVTi]

You did a great job of documenting your installation.

However, your choice of wire routing, excessive extra wiring, and electrical connections leaves you wide open to future electrical bugs.

[BigWillie]

Originally Posted by TRD VVTi

You did a great job of documenting your installation.

However, your choice of wire routing, excessive extra wiring, and electrical connections leaves you wide open to future electrical bugs.

Thanks for the input, but once agian try explaining why you think way and how would you do it. Time and time again I see this kind of criticism on this forum and nobody explains why (details are needed, not vague "that's the way it should be dookie"). I explained why I choice to wire it the way I did, because the wiring came messed up. I wouldn't have any problem pulling the wiring out and redoing it, but noone has provided a valid instructional solution to any problem. Don't get me wrong, I actually agree with you that the wiring could be better, but I'm no electrical engineer....

[krouchchocolate]

yeah i would like to do this to my car also, but i am afraid of the electrical part. I dont want to see my car burning up in flames.

[TRD VVTi]

The wires can easily chafe the way you have them accessing the cabin.

The connectors are cheap and don't always make secure connections and can easily come loose or cause excessive resistance.

Having a bunch of excess wiring isn't good for anything but having more wiring which creates more resistance, more chances for damage, adds more weight, and just doesn't need to be there.

The wires should be run through a rubber grommet. I'm not sure if there are available routing locations on the passenger side for Gen 6's like the Gen 5-5.5's. Regardless, the wiring shouldn't be against the structure where is comes through in your photo. A dedicated hole with a rubber grommet would be much better. A small dab of sealer would also be helpful. Like I said, over time the wiring could rub through and cause a short.

Nothing beats soldering wires together and shrink tubing to seal the connection. It will actually be the strongest point with the least amount of resistance.