Putting Fog Lights on?

[LadybugEwa]

I have no fog lights, and i'd love to have more visibility in harsh driving conditions. I saw some nice 2" PIAA fog lights on eBay and wondered if they can be fitted on my bug? Anyone ever do this? I'd appreciate input

[vdubbugman53]

they really dont help visability that much at all...but yes it can be done.....i put stock fogs on my GL.

[LadybugEwa]

These PIAAs are much mor powerful than stock. Still small though. I'm wondering about wiring They come with a wire kit ans switch, but could I integrate them into a Euroswitch if I bought one? And would the stock battery be ok running them?

[SMG]

If it was me I'd go to a junkyard and get a full foglight setup from a 98-00 NB.

I guarantee you you'll have less headaches with wiring and installation. I'd be surprised if the wiring wasn't already there for the foglights on your car.

[LadybugEwa]

Originally Posted by SMG

If it was me I'd go to a junkyard and get a full foglight setup from a 98-00 NB.

I guarantee you you'll have less headaches with wiring and installation. I'd be surprised if the wiring wasn't already there for the foglights on your car.

The wiring would be there even if the car came without fog lights? It didn't even come with ABS

[SMG]

There was a thread on this on the old Org and I'm pretty sure I read something about someone saying that the foglight wiring would be there, regardless of options and all you'd need was the wiring harnesses for the foglights.

This is all second-hand info from a dead forum though, so I'll just admit I don't know what I'm talking about and shut up.

[LadybugEwa]

SMG, I'm grateful for any input like I said, not to mention the bump I think these would totally rock on Ladybug, and I'm hoping for true fog light functionality. I recently drove a coulple times in thick fog, and it wasn't a pleasant experience The lights come with a harness (heavy duty one) and a switch.

[hadda61beetle]

I with you on this one as well. I think I posted on here last night something regarding that same question. I live in NE Wisconsin and the way home is down two lane blacktop roads and we do get some nasty fog as well as snow storms here and every little bit more of light I have to see with is of benefit in my eyes.

I think tomorrow I will pull off the lower grills of my '07 Vert and see if in fact the wiring is there. This would be great as I'm lousey when it comes to wiring anything on a car. So then all I would need would be the lights and a euro switch of some type.

Jerry

[hadda61beetle]

I would think you're battery should be fine. Even if they had a great draw, you're not going to be running them 24 hours a day. You said you found these on ebay? Do you recall the price?

I would have thought that VW would have a kit for those of us who didn't get a NB with package 2...no luck though.

Jerry

[Beetlemania]

I asked my stealership about pre-existing wiring years ago, and they said that the foglight wiring was not there. I thought about going to a junkyard, but found it wouldn't be that easy.

I know that Hella had a pretty nice kit years ago that had like a blanking plate around the mounted headlight, but I think I missed my chance on that one.

I'd think the boxed setup with a Euro switch would work wonderfully. I don't see how you'd need a different battery, since foglights were a factory option. Just make sure you get a fuse in there somewhere!

[LadybugEwa]

Originally Posted by hadda61beetle

I with you on this one as well. I think I posted on here last night something regarding that same question. I live in NE Wisconsin and the way home is down two lane blacktop roads and we do get some nasty fog as well as snow storms here and every little bit more of light I have to see with is of benefit in my eyes.

I think tomorrow I will pull off the lower grills of my '07 Vert and see if in fact the wiring is there. This would be great as I'm lousey when it comes to wiring anything on a car. So then all I would need would be the lights and a euro switch of some type.

Jerry

Hi Jerry They were $79-$99 on eBay. If you could check out the wiring, that would help me as well. And don't be so modest, I know even less about wiring than you do. But after replacing my ignition coil went so well this weekend, I'm willing to try ANYTHING

[hadda61beetle]

Hello LadyBug

Sorry I'm a bit late in getting back with you regarding the wiring. I checked today and I saw no signs of any capped off wires or anything of the sort. So I guess we'll have to wire the foglights in ourselves. I've been checking out lights on eBay and found a pair that would fit your bug moreso than mine. Send me an email with your email address and I'll see if I can find them again and send you the info. Well actually, you could just go to ebay and type in one of the following:

Fog lights for new beetles

Hella fog lights for new beetles

Hella Fog lights

There was a pair on there two nights ago and they were made specifically for a bug.

Jerry

[vdubbugman53]

ok i will be your god and savier....you need a euro switch and this and a place to put your fogs of course.

http://ecstuning.com/stage/edpd/page...el=&engine=2.0

look for ECS Mk4 Jetta / Golf Fog Light Wiring Kit ES#416 on that page. that is what i used

here it is too

http://ecstuning.com/stage/edpd/page...&productID=416

[Beetlester]

I am Picking up an 07 NB tomorrow...price was right. I also was looking into an OEM fog light kit. I had fogs on my 98 which were great for rural roads at night. Anyway, per the dealer, there is no OEM fog light kit for the NB (I speak for the 06-08 range).

I was told you would have to rewire the car (no wires down there for the hook-up), lights, different spoiler netting, etc... In short, it was an expensive proposition to do OEM, so I'll make do without. On the bright side (pun, pun), one less thing to break pulling into a curbed lot.

Good luck...

Beetlester

[LadybugEwa]

Originally Posted by vdubbugman53

ok i will be your god and savier....you need a euro switch and this and a place to put your fogs of course.

http://ecstuning.com/stage/edpd/page...el=&engine=2.0

look for ECS Mk4 Jetta / Golf Fog Light Wiring Kit ES#416 on that page. that is what i used

here it is too

http://ecstuning.com/stage/edpd/page...&productID=416

Thanks for the link, vdubbugman53 - links help
But could you explain to me how the 2 items: (the wiring kit and the euro switch) go together? And what's the advantage? Because the lights I'm looking at already come with a wiring harness and a lighted switch I can install on the center console. It might be a cheaper and easier way? But you know much more than me, so just tell me why you went the route you did. Thanks

[LadybugEwa]

No 'sorry' required, you saved me from getting my hair caught in the radiator fans as I poke around in there myself Great to have a confirmation either way. The lights I've been looking at all come with a 'deluxe' harness and an illuminated switch. Like you, I've been looking at Hella's
There's these gorgeous 'Angel Eyes' lights, but they're driving lights, not fog litghts They'd look sweeet, but I'm leaning more toward function over beauty A couple times this falll I've been in fog so thick I'd get lost if I didn't know the route like the back of my hand
Now: to cut the gril or not to cut the grill? THAT is the question...

Originally Posted by hadda61beetle

Hello LadyBug

Sorry I'm a bit late in getting back with you regarding the wiring. I checked today and I saw no signs of any capped off wires or anything of the sort. So I guess we'll have to wire the foglights in ourselves. I've been checking out lights on eBay and found a pair that would fit your bug moreso than mine. Send me an email with your email address and I'll see if I can find them again and send you the info. Well actually, you could just go to ebay and type in one of the following:

Fog lights for new beetles

Hella fog lights for new beetles

Hella Fog lights

There was a pair on there two nights ago and they were made specifically for a bug.

Jerry

[Maggadog]

I have heard that the OEM grill pieces for the fog lights are cheap(?) around $15 each. Don't know. It might be worth checking into these precut grill pieces. Or, you could look at salvage yards for the same pieces.

[LadybugEwa]

Any idea how large the fog 'holes' are in the OEM grill? They seem too small for any but the tiniest forg light. And lots of fogs I'm looking at are oval anyway...

[bman]

Originally Posted by LadybugEwa

These PIAAs are much mor powerful than stock... And would the stock battery be ok running them?

I'm not sure where you got that info, but as far as I can tell the PIAA 002X lighting system you speak of is 35W per lamp - much less than the 55W (H1) lamps that go into OEM fogs for our cars. I'm not slighting the product in any way, just making sure we're all on the same page as far as the specs go. That way I can tell you that 35W lamps add another not-quite-3A (each, for a maximum of 6A) to your electrical system, and that no matter what, your battery will handle it just fine.

More importantly than the battery, though, is your alternator. And no matter which (the 90A or the 120A) alternator is in your car, you should have no troubles with the PIAA lamps being added to your system.

[LadybugEwa]

Originally Posted by bman

I'm not sure where you got that info, but as far as I can tell the PIAA 002X lighting system you speak of is 35W per lamp - much less than the 55W (H1) lamps that go into OEM fogs for our cars. I'm not slighting the product in any way, just making sure we're all on the same page as far as the specs go. That way I can tell you that 35W lamps add another not-quite-3A (each, for a maximum of 6A) to your electrical system, and that no matter what, your battery will handle it just fine.

More importantly than the battery, though, is your alternator. And no matter which (the 90A or the 120A) alternator is in your car, you should have no troubles with the PIAA lamps being added to your system.

Thanks I love being corrected by people who know more than I do. To me it's all part of a discussion/dialogue and IT HELPS, so how could I mind?
I've been looking at different makes and models besides the PIAAs I posted. Haven't really focused on the wattage, but NOW I WILL. Basically, I understand from your post that my battery and alternator should be able to handle fog lamps up to 55W with no problems. That's a good bench-mark and will help in my research.