JDM bB Foglamp switch -- revision!
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JDM bB Foglamp switch -- revision!
Wiring JDM bB Foglamp switch for xB: Version 2.
So... judging from the timestamps on my webserver its been a little over 2 years since I last posted any info about the JDM foglight switch modification. Over the years I've gotten a few emails from people with various questions about how specific details that aren't really covered in the write-up. Also, ever since it was posted I've always been tempted to reformat the whole tech article into a forum post so that people could really read through it, comment on it, and I'd be able to update any changes. So here is a forum-friendly version instead of just my website, with some revisions along the way.
*If someone is a mod or can get their attention, feel free to switch the tech article link to this post and move this post around if its in the wrong section.
I bought a set of bB Foglamps from Carson Toyota, knowing that the switch doesn't match up to the US xB's wiring harness. I looked around the boards and didn't find any specific info on getting the switch to work, so I decided to do a write-up myself.
This switch isn't the same rocker-switch that comes in the US foglamp kit, it is the same style the A/C buttons are, where "ON" is depressed and "OFF" is sticking out - I wish I knew what its actual name was... Anyway, I like the look, its a bit cleaner, but the really JDM bonus points come in because the switch is illuminated! The picture on the switch lights up, which is kinda neat =)
The usual disclaimers apply for these kinds of DIY fixes. I absolutely take NO RESPONSIBILITY for any damage this may cause to you or you xB. I would like to think anybody could do this with the right tools. I did cut up the switch, and cut up the wiring harness... and there's some soldering involved - so read this whole thing before you get too involved and make sure you feel up to doing all of this.
OK, here we go!
Parts you will need:
The bB Foglamp kit: (Two lights, Two plugs, One relay, One Switch, and Instructions)
Figure 1
A quick pic of the opening with the harness coming out, no modding here, just plug the harness in and put the lamp in the housing. (Because there are directions on installing these parts and other tuturials online, I wont be going into all the details until we get to the switch - it is the only difference in the US installation process) What I will mention that is if you are going to replace the bulbs, now is the easiest time to do it. They should come with some stock-type 9006's but the passenger side is a bit of a pain to get to when its installed because of the washer fluid tank. Some people have luck just pulling the assembly back out but mine feel like they are stuck in there forever.
Figure 2
Sorry the the junk pic, but here's what the harness going to the switch looks like. Its a little white plastic plug that has two leads in it. Its a good idea to route this over to the glovebox area, or it might be easier to get it out over to the driver's side. I didn't realize you could do this until much later, but you should get a bunch more slack that way.
Update! It is probably NOT easier to route this to the glovebox. It probably IS easier if you remove the cubby storage box and everything with it instead. It may depend on how you like working but when I was digging around in there a few months ago researching for a new audio setup I wondered why I just didn't get to the wiring that way. I'm going to leave the same pics so that you still have reference to how I did it and what the plugs look like, etc.
Figure 3
That plug can now be cut off, we won't be using it. Having a multi-meter is now a Good Idea(TM). Make sure you know which is supplying +12V and what is Ground. The way mine was wired, the plug had four pins, and one lead was on the 'outside' pins and one was on the 'inside' pins. Mine tested out to have ground out on the edge, and power in the middle, but test test test...
After I tested for the third time ;), I cut the lines and crimped my connectors one at a time. It is much easier keeping track this way as working in the glovebox area makes these wires quite short. Also note that I cut back the sheathing a little too for some wiggle room.
Clarification! Normally I would advocate soldering all connection points together instead of using crimps and moresore the quick disconnect kind. What needs to be noted though, is that the plug installs *into* the facia - so if you ever had to remove the plug or the panel you'd be kind of screwed because all your wiring would be fixed.
Figure 4
Figure 5
Time for the fun to begin. This is our JDM connector. Oddly enough, the white plug we cut off is the same shape as this connector, but the pins are too few and run vertical [ | | | | ], while these run horizontal [ - - - - ]. And, there are two available pins on the US connector, meaning we basically got the super-saver non-lighted cheapy switch. Lame.
Anyway, This is a view of the back, if you look at the instructions you got with your kit, you'll notice the last page has a diagram on the pin-outs - just remember the numbers are identifying pins for the HARNESS and NOT the PLUG. So in your head, mirror what its showing you and you'll be fine.
For the lazy, I've marked them all =)
Figure 6
Here's a quick image of the front - its this little pic that lights up, and it when it does light up its green! There is a spot to change the bulb, I was hoping it would be green itself or something but the bulb is white, so color must come from the switch itself... still, I'm going to put a leftover red bulb I have in there and see what it looks like... =\
Update! The bulb installed into this switch is incredibly tiny. I have no idea what size it is and have yet to find another one of its type, so it has stayed green for 2+ years now.
Figure 7
Ok, everybody bust out your dremel! I couldn't think of a better way to do this, so after much debate, I started cutting. In this picture you can see I cut about halfway down, this is not far enough. BE CAREFUL. If you chop those pins off it will be really hard to fix it. I used a cutting wheel and skimmed across the top nice and slow. In later pictures you can see that I ended up cutting all the way down to the base. This gave me the clearance I needed to solder to those pins.
Figure 8
Here you can see all four wires soldered, and the plug surround cut all the way off. When I did the soldering, I tinned all the wires first, then tinned the plug's pins, THEN I attempted joining the two. This worked really well - I was able to make the join quickly and didn't make any mess.
Figure 9
Heat shrink tube is awesome, and in this case almost mandatory. It makes cleanup easy and prevents anything from shorting out your ends. This pic shows some tubing sitting loosely over the leads, then the next pic they were heated and shrunk down tight. I used a hairdryer and it worked fine, so try that if you don't have a heat gun.
Figure 10
Figure 11
Here's how you want your crimps.
Ok, Here's how its laid out right now. If you look at this picture, you'll see a black ground wire leading up to a screw in the top left. This is what I used for ground for the switch's internal lamp. I ran out of connectors, eventually I'll make this easier to remove the switch but for now its ok. It would be best if the end of this was on a ring terminal and had a quick disconnect on the line - though mine has been untouched and working for 2+ years.
Next, in the middle you'll see a red wire mating to a black wire. This is the power for the switch's internal lamp. The black wire runs up to the stereo harness where I tapped the +12V ACCESSORY/ON lead.
The two wires together that run RED->GREEN and BLACK->BLACK are the connections for the Foglamp's relay. These are the wires I cut the plug off of earlier.
Figure 12
Here's a shot of the wire-tap hooked up to the +12V ACC/ON lead in the stereo's harness. the wire is grey and in the next picture I have the pin marked on the end of the connector =)
If I ever get to it I may look and find where I can grab ahold of the normal dash lights so it only comes one with the parking lights and also obeys the dimmer. Note that if you follow this path this switch will be lit whenever the car is running. Again, 2+ years and not a problem, so this is personal preference. If you want to get it working with the dash lights I'd suggest poking around in the AC controls area and find a line that your multimeter shows operates with the headlight switch and the dimmer. If I change mine and do find it I'll update this with that option.
Figure 13
Figure 14
Here's another pic of everything put back together, with my stereo set to green to match the switch, its hard to tell but it IS lit up.
Figure 15
All blurry but proof that thing lights up green and that I got it working ;)
Figure 16
Another option is to use the cig lighter for your 12V. Plan this beforehand (and use your multimeter!) so you can make all your wires long enough to reach everything.
Once you are done, button it all back up and bask in all your JDM glory :P
Switch Installed:
Figure 17
Foglamps Working!
Figure 18
For the observant ones out there, yes, I also have my sidemarkers wired to come on with the running lights =)
Hope that helps, if I had to do this again I could probably get it all done within an hour. Most of my time on this was discovery, finding what powers what and how much voltage the switch's internal light wants. Once I get the stupid wire-tap crimp I'll post some pics of the switch lit up and working =)
Feel free to PM me with any questions/comments/corrections.
-rAndal-
So... judging from the timestamps on my webserver its been a little over 2 years since I last posted any info about the JDM foglight switch modification. Over the years I've gotten a few emails from people with various questions about how specific details that aren't really covered in the write-up. Also, ever since it was posted I've always been tempted to reformat the whole tech article into a forum post so that people could really read through it, comment on it, and I'd be able to update any changes. So here is a forum-friendly version instead of just my website, with some revisions along the way.
*If someone is a mod or can get their attention, feel free to switch the tech article link to this post and move this post around if its in the wrong section.
I bought a set of bB Foglamps from Carson Toyota, knowing that the switch doesn't match up to the US xB's wiring harness. I looked around the boards and didn't find any specific info on getting the switch to work, so I decided to do a write-up myself.
This switch isn't the same rocker-switch that comes in the US foglamp kit, it is the same style the A/C buttons are, where "ON" is depressed and "OFF" is sticking out - I wish I knew what its actual name was... Anyway, I like the look, its a bit cleaner, but the really JDM bonus points come in because the switch is illuminated! The picture on the switch lights up, which is kinda neat =)
The usual disclaimers apply for these kinds of DIY fixes. I absolutely take NO RESPONSIBILITY for any damage this may cause to you or you xB. I would like to think anybody could do this with the right tools. I did cut up the switch, and cut up the wiring harness... and there's some soldering involved - so read this whole thing before you get too involved and make sure you feel up to doing all of this.
OK, here we go!
Parts you will need:
The bB Foglamp kit: (Two lights, Two plugs, One relay, One Switch, and Instructions)
Figure 1
A quick pic of the opening with the harness coming out, no modding here, just plug the harness in and put the lamp in the housing. (Because there are directions on installing these parts and other tuturials online, I wont be going into all the details until we get to the switch - it is the only difference in the US installation process) What I will mention that is if you are going to replace the bulbs, now is the easiest time to do it. They should come with some stock-type 9006's but the passenger side is a bit of a pain to get to when its installed because of the washer fluid tank. Some people have luck just pulling the assembly back out but mine feel like they are stuck in there forever.
Figure 2
Sorry the the junk pic, but here's what the harness going to the switch looks like. Its a little white plastic plug that has two leads in it. Its a good idea to route this over to the glovebox area, or it might be easier to get it out over to the driver's side. I didn't realize you could do this until much later, but you should get a bunch more slack that way.
Update! It is probably NOT easier to route this to the glovebox. It probably IS easier if you remove the cubby storage box and everything with it instead. It may depend on how you like working but when I was digging around in there a few months ago researching for a new audio setup I wondered why I just didn't get to the wiring that way. I'm going to leave the same pics so that you still have reference to how I did it and what the plugs look like, etc.
Figure 3
That plug can now be cut off, we won't be using it. Having a multi-meter is now a Good Idea(TM). Make sure you know which is supplying +12V and what is Ground. The way mine was wired, the plug had four pins, and one lead was on the 'outside' pins and one was on the 'inside' pins. Mine tested out to have ground out on the edge, and power in the middle, but test test test...
After I tested for the third time ;), I cut the lines and crimped my connectors one at a time. It is much easier keeping track this way as working in the glovebox area makes these wires quite short. Also note that I cut back the sheathing a little too for some wiggle room.
Clarification! Normally I would advocate soldering all connection points together instead of using crimps and moresore the quick disconnect kind. What needs to be noted though, is that the plug installs *into* the facia - so if you ever had to remove the plug or the panel you'd be kind of screwed because all your wiring would be fixed.
Figure 4
Figure 5
Time for the fun to begin. This is our JDM connector. Oddly enough, the white plug we cut off is the same shape as this connector, but the pins are too few and run vertical [ | | | | ], while these run horizontal [ - - - - ]. And, there are two available pins on the US connector, meaning we basically got the super-saver non-lighted cheapy switch. Lame.
Anyway, This is a view of the back, if you look at the instructions you got with your kit, you'll notice the last page has a diagram on the pin-outs - just remember the numbers are identifying pins for the HARNESS and NOT the PLUG. So in your head, mirror what its showing you and you'll be fine.
For the lazy, I've marked them all =)
Figure 6
Here's a quick image of the front - its this little pic that lights up, and it when it does light up its green! There is a spot to change the bulb, I was hoping it would be green itself or something but the bulb is white, so color must come from the switch itself... still, I'm going to put a leftover red bulb I have in there and see what it looks like... =\
Update! The bulb installed into this switch is incredibly tiny. I have no idea what size it is and have yet to find another one of its type, so it has stayed green for 2+ years now.
Figure 7
Ok, everybody bust out your dremel! I couldn't think of a better way to do this, so after much debate, I started cutting. In this picture you can see I cut about halfway down, this is not far enough. BE CAREFUL. If you chop those pins off it will be really hard to fix it. I used a cutting wheel and skimmed across the top nice and slow. In later pictures you can see that I ended up cutting all the way down to the base. This gave me the clearance I needed to solder to those pins.
Figure 8
Here you can see all four wires soldered, and the plug surround cut all the way off. When I did the soldering, I tinned all the wires first, then tinned the plug's pins, THEN I attempted joining the two. This worked really well - I was able to make the join quickly and didn't make any mess.
Figure 9
Heat shrink tube is awesome, and in this case almost mandatory. It makes cleanup easy and prevents anything from shorting out your ends. This pic shows some tubing sitting loosely over the leads, then the next pic they were heated and shrunk down tight. I used a hairdryer and it worked fine, so try that if you don't have a heat gun.
Figure 10
Figure 11
Here's how you want your crimps.
Ok, Here's how its laid out right now. If you look at this picture, you'll see a black ground wire leading up to a screw in the top left. This is what I used for ground for the switch's internal lamp. I ran out of connectors, eventually I'll make this easier to remove the switch but for now its ok. It would be best if the end of this was on a ring terminal and had a quick disconnect on the line - though mine has been untouched and working for 2+ years.
Next, in the middle you'll see a red wire mating to a black wire. This is the power for the switch's internal lamp. The black wire runs up to the stereo harness where I tapped the +12V ACCESSORY/ON lead.
The two wires together that run RED->GREEN and BLACK->BLACK are the connections for the Foglamp's relay. These are the wires I cut the plug off of earlier.
Figure 12
Here's a shot of the wire-tap hooked up to the +12V ACC/ON lead in the stereo's harness. the wire is grey and in the next picture I have the pin marked on the end of the connector =)
If I ever get to it I may look and find where I can grab ahold of the normal dash lights so it only comes one with the parking lights and also obeys the dimmer. Note that if you follow this path this switch will be lit whenever the car is running. Again, 2+ years and not a problem, so this is personal preference. If you want to get it working with the dash lights I'd suggest poking around in the AC controls area and find a line that your multimeter shows operates with the headlight switch and the dimmer. If I change mine and do find it I'll update this with that option.
Figure 13
Figure 14
Here's another pic of everything put back together, with my stereo set to green to match the switch, its hard to tell but it IS lit up.
Figure 15
All blurry but proof that thing lights up green and that I got it working ;)
Figure 16
Another option is to use the cig lighter for your 12V. Plan this beforehand (and use your multimeter!) so you can make all your wires long enough to reach everything.
Once you are done, button it all back up and bask in all your JDM glory :P
Switch Installed:
Figure 17
Foglamps Working!
Figure 18
For the observant ones out there, yes, I also have my sidemarkers wired to come on with the running lights =)
Hope that helps, if I had to do this again I could probably get it all done within an hour. Most of my time on this was discovery, finding what powers what and how much voltage the switch's internal light wants. Once I get the stupid wire-tap crimp I'll post some pics of the switch lit up and working =)
Feel free to PM me with any questions/comments/corrections.
-rAndal-
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Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 75
From: Houston, TX
This is probably a really dumb question but I am electrically illiterate. Is it absolutely necessary to use a relay and the switch or could I just hook up the fog lamps directly to the built-in cables and they will work?
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 95
From: San Diego So Cal
this is an awesome DIY but one question, is it necessary to do all that other added wiring or is that just for it to work better? i don't know anyone who is technically and electrically capable of these doings. haha
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Joined: May 2004
Posts: 85
The only reason you'd have to do all this work is if you wanted to use the switch that comes with the JDM fog kit.
If you can obtain the switch that comes with the Scion option fogs (which, IIRC, is available by part# through dealers - it wasn't when I originally wrote this up) you can simply plug that into the harness that I cut (in fig.3) and be on your way.
If you can obtain the switch that comes with the Scion option fogs (which, IIRC, is available by part# through dealers - it wasn't when I originally wrote this up) you can simply plug that into the harness that I cut (in fig.3) and be on your way.
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i recently (just last night) hooked up my switch for the JDM fogs, and noticed that the light for the switch is on whenever the key is on. Shouldnt the light come on only when the switch is in the on position?
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Originally Posted by J1slim
i recently (just last night) hooked up my switch for the JDM fogs, and noticed that the light for the switch is on whenever the key is on. Shouldnt the light come on only when the switch is in the on position?
If I ever get to it I may look and find where I can grab ahold of the normal dash lights so it only comes one with the parking lights and also obeys the dimmer. Note that if you follow this path this switch will be lit whenever the car is running. Again, 2+ years and not a problem, so this is personal preference. If you want to get it working with the dash lights I'd suggest poking around in the AC controls area and find a line that your multimeter shows operates with the headlight switch and the dimmer. If I change mine and do find it I'll update this with that option.
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 272
i tapped in behind the heat controls, so its on with the park lights. im sure there is a way to wire it so it only lights up when the switch is in the on position.....the search has begun.....thanks for the DIY it helped alot.
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Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 15
From: Mcdonough Ga (ATLANTA)
I had just bought a fog light kit from ebay, and all it came with was a four prong switch and fog lights, the fog lights plug in but the switch doesnt, there are four wires comeing out 2 black 1 yellow and 1 blue, 1 black and the yellow are conneted together already and I also have no relay for this. I am very confused someone please help me.
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Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 224
From: Upland, Cali.
I hooked up my indiglos through (cut/crimp) the green wire on the dimmer switch. Usually you just tap the wire through the fuse box via headlight tailight fuse. If you do that the indiglos stay on ALL the time even with the car off. When you tap the wire through the dimmer switch, the gauges come on simultaneously when you turn on your parking/headlights. So, you could also probably use the green wire on the dimmer switch to power the foglights only when you turn on your headlights. And independently use the switch on and off. I could be wrong. I dunno. I will experiment it and let ya'll know.
See ya'll in Pomona at Scion VIP.
See ya'll in Pomona at Scion VIP.
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Joined: Aug 2007
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From: Upland, Cali.
Originally Posted by RETIREDCHARLIE
i have the same question as turboxB, do we need the relay? if so where can i get one and where does it go when i get it.
As to where to install...http://www.trdsparks.com/install/08590-52820inst.pdf
If you have any questions...you got my info.
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Posts: 984
From: Bergen County
This is on ebay right now and I am thinking about it.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/_Car-...m250258642842&
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/_Car-...m250258642842&
