Andyman

I've asked some questions about wiring, LEDs, etc. in other posts, so I wanted to post some pictures of my completed pseudo-DRL project here. I was mostly going for something that would make me visible to other drivers, not necessarily for road illumination, so I wanted lights that would be on whenever the car is on. Zolitz's foglights were my primary inspiration, and he was even generous enough to sell me an extra pair of LEDs he had (thanks again!). I picked up a Buss "Add-a-line" at Advanced Auto Parts for about $6-7, which GREATLY simplified this project - I was not too excited about finding and splicing into some other switched power wire.



This product lets you keep an existing fuse in an occupied circuit, and add an extra with a wire coming out the top. The only switched fuse I could find in the engine compartment was for the EFI (the Add-a-Line was only good for 10 amps and under), so I went with that rather than pulling a new wire through the firewall. I would have preferred to tap into some non-critical accessory circuit, but I also wanted to keep this as simple as possible! The EFI circuit is still protected by the same amperage fuse, and the new double fuse + wire assembly still feels firmly attached, so I'm not too worried about it.



I then popped out the "fog light" panels in the bumper (not as easy as it sounds, with limited access from the rear), ran wire to each bumper hole, and color coded the ends so I knew which were which.



For the actual LED installation, I drilled out the bumper insert panels with a hole saw, and stuck the LEDs in at an angle that looked approximately forward-facing. I didn't worry too much about proper aiming, since I just wanted something that would be visible, and this can be adjusted later if I deem it necessary. The LED housings are held in place with two 4-40 bolts (that was the only size I could find that would go through the mounting holes on the LED body). I used hot glue to at least partially seal up any gaps around the LED, and this holds them in place a little better too. But even if the hot glue fails, the bolts should hold pretty well. I masked the reflector and front of the LED housing, and sprayed the whole thing front and back with flat black rusteoleum (mostly to slow down rust on the bolts, and also to hide the bolt heads).
Connected the wires, verified that they com on with the engine, and popped the panels back in place. All set!








I also installed a TRD anti-sway bar (from scionpartspeople.com - cheapest I could find online). This installation has been addressed here before, instructions are provided with the bar, and it is very straightforward, so I won't say much about that. But I'll post a few pictures that I think would have been helpful before I did mine:




Thanks for looking, and I'd welcome any comments or constructive criticism.
Andy

ChelsDS

Thats really cool! Hopefully I'll be able to get myself a rear bar as well before summer. How long did it take you to install both items?

Andyman

Thanks for your interest. The bar was probably less than 15 minutes once the car was jacked up and the wheels were off, and I wasn't hurrying at all. It's as simple as it sounds: loosen 2 bolts, install bar, install 2 additional bolts, tighten all 4 bolts, and you're done.

The lights were maybe 3-4 hours, but again, I was taking my time. If I were doing a second set of lights just like these in another xD, I could probably finish everything in an hour or so.

Hope this helps,
Andy

zoltiz

That looks familiar with foglights and all

Did you take the bumper off to get the plugs out or did you just undo and bend the plastic liner? I took the entire bumper off to run the wires, but I think if I ever have to replace the LED I'll be able to push the plug out without spending 20 minutes undoing 25 various bumper fasteners.

P.S. That's a lot of salt...

Andyman

Hi Zolitz,
No, I didn't take the bumper off. I did undo part of the plastic liner on the passenger side (first side I did) so I could reach up in there better. I just did the "blind reach and feel" method on the drivers side. Now that I have a good idea of where the clips were and how they need to be bent to release, I think I could probably do both sides without removing any plastic panels.

And as for salt, yeah, that's a good start. We picked up the car 2 weeks ago tonight, and they definitely haven't salted the roads every day or anything. So it will get worse. In fact, sometimes I have a hard time remembering to wash the cars in the summer, because dirt/dust usually doesn't accumulate as fast as salt, and it doesn't have the same potential to cause rust damage. Oh, well, that's part of the joy of living in the northeast. The snow sure has been pretty, and if it keeps up, we might even be able to get some skiing or snowshoeing in before Christmas! Fun stuff. Besides, I wouldn't want the VSC or ABS to get rusty...
Andy

LovinCali

Can you post more pics of those fog lights?

Andyman

I'd be happy to post more pics - what in particular are you looking for? Mounting? Wiring? Light pattern on the road? I'll work on it.
Andy

LovinCali

Lighting pattern on the road...for now.
Im thinking of doing this to my tC.

Andyman

I'll work on getting a photo of that sometime, but for now, I'll try to explain it a little. These provide plenty of illumination to, say, navigate into my garage at night without any other lights. But I wouldn't want to drive on any kind of major road without my main headlights. Once I turn on the real headlights, you can't even tell the LEDs are on (unless you're looking from outside).
If I wanted true fog lights or driving lights that could sometimes serve as a replacement for headlights, I'd look elsewhere. But if you're looking for something that provides just a little bit of illumination and makes you much more visible to other drivers, these are perfect.
I'll get some pictures soon.
Andy

zoltiz

That's why I never really understood the request to post the picture of the light pattern - these are not meant to light up the road - they are just twilight "notice me" that might add to the driving safety...

LovinCali

Ya that's what I'm going for. They're basically gonna be additional parking lights.

I'm still curious though. :D

wolfer

Thanks Andyman and zoltiz!! I'd like to install more powerful fog lights via a relay and thought I start with some exploratory surgery first by removing the panels. - Could you please go into more details on how you managed to pop them out. I have attempted to get to them from the rear by removing about 4 or 5 of the wheel panel bolts and anchors, but still my meaty hands barely managed to reach one of the tab's. (As my xD is brand new I try to keep scratches to a minimum).

Andyman

Hi Wolf,
I basically reached up in from behind to release the tabs. You should be able to see from my picture which direction the tabs are oriented, and I think they all need to be squeezed towards the center of the panel to release. I removed all the fasteners I could find from the plastic panels, and that helped some. But mostly it was a matter of getting the right angle to reach my arm in far enough to reach them. Sorry I can't be much more help than that, but I will say it gets a little easier once you release the first tab, and a lot easier to do the second side once you have a feel for how the tabs work. I might have a picture of the inside of the panels while they were removed - let me know if you want me to look for that.
Good luck!
Andy

SpoonKiller

Thanks for pics Andy. Are you still liking your sway bar? That's my next purchase once I receive my test order from scionpartspeople.

Andyman

SK,
Yep, the sway bar is great. Tightens up the rear end a little bit (), especially noticeable while cornering. Can't wait to get some decent summer tires on and really try it out!
I'm still a little surprised at how easy it was to install.
And I was happy with my service from scionpartspeople - no complaints. Good prices, quick shipping.
Enjoy,
Andy