Hello,
Still loving the new xD. Installed my snows on Saturday (just in time), and so far it seems great on the slick stuff. Never had VSC or ABS before, and now I have both.

Anyway, to my question. I'm planning on putting in some fog lights kind of like Zolitz's in this thread, but I'd rather have them on whenever the car is on, more like mini DRLs. As I understand it, Zolitz, since you wired to the parking lights, these fogs would only come on when you turn on the parking lights? Does anyone have any ideas on where I could find a convenient switched power supply to wire these in so they'd be on whenever the car is? Also, is oznium.com (as mentioned in the thread linked above) a good source for these?
I'd also appreciate any other general advice or constructive criticism on this project.
Thanks,
Andy

 

Just wondering, but couldn't you get "normal" sized foglights and install them instead of the kind like zoltiz has? I'd prefer the regular foglight look to LED (I think thats what they are) ones.

 

Sure, I could do that. But I'd still want to wire them such that they're on all the time - do you have any suggestions for where to find an appropriate wire or empty fuse?
Thanks,
Andy

 

i didn't read the guy's write-up, but idk if the line can hold the extra power of a normal bulb setup - you would probably need to throw in a relay from the parking light switch on the steering column.

the leds, otoh, might not suck up enough power to necessitate a relay and might be tapped straight into the line (much easier).

if by 'when the car is on,' you mean 100% of the time, you could always throw in a relay from your ign. cable to the lights (usually yellow of some sort, accessable from near the key cylinder and behind the radio. this will probobly need a relay to be safe, unless you are using LEDs - again, IDK the power requirements for LEDs).

to find the proper line, pull out your multimeter, ground out the proper end, take off the shell around the steering wheel column (should be just a few screws, fairly easy on the xA anyway), and probe at the wires near the headlight switch/key cylinder (depending on if you want always on, or on with parking lights). should read 0 when parking lights are off/ignition is in off position and somewhere around 12V when parking lights are on/ignition is on ACC position.

 

I'm sure you can find a switched power inside the engine bay - that way you won't have to run the wire through the firewall. Multimiter approach to the fuse box should work.

LEDs that I use only draw 1W, so I did not need a relay. With any halogen you pretty much have to run a relay to your switched source and power the lights directly from the battery. On the other hand, LEDs work great as DRLs/notice me lights in the twilight. They don't produce enough light to illumiunate the road ahead, but they are bright enough to make people pay attention, which was their purpose.

 

Thanks zolitz - I was planning on LEDs for exactly the reasons you mentioned - lower power, and illumination that's enough to be seen by other drivers. I guess I'll just dig in with a multimeter and see what I can find for switched power; I was just hoping someone else might have attempted the same thing.

As far as LEDs, did you go with oznium.com, or did you find another source?

Also, as far as I can tell from your pictures, you installed these with a screw going through the LED housing forward into the plastic bumper insert. Has this held up well for you? Did you glue or caulk the LED housing into its the hole? I was thinking about a low-profile bolt/nut arrangement instead of a screw, which seems like it would hold a little tighter than just screw threads into plastic. But I do tend to overengineer things - I guess there really won't be much force on the LED housing itself.

Anyway, thanks for your help,
Andy

 

I got mine off http://www.plasmaled.com/ (actually the guy's eBay auctions turned out to be couple $ cheaper). I accidentally ordered 2 sets, so I have one set for sale if you want to take it off my hands for $25 shipped.

As far as mounting - the hole I made in the bumper plug was small enough to make the LED housing fit very snug, especially after 2-3 layers of black electric tape wrapped around the LED pod, plus the pod itself is waterproof, so any kind of splashing will not hurt it.

Bolt/nut mounting might be more reliable, but I had to work with whatever hardware I had around, so screws (and a tiny hotel shampoo bottle) had to do it - I wish they were a bit more subtle on the outside, but from 3 feet away you can't tell anyway, so I'll live.

 

Sure - a pair of 1 watt LEDs for $25 shipped? I'll take them. Are they white or blue?
I might post again or PM you if I have any more questions once I get them, but I'm looking forward to trying them out! PM to follow for contact/payment info.
Thanks,
Andy