fog light aiming and new fog/driving lights

digphisher

digphisher

New member
Since I've had my runner, I noticed that the fog lights do basically nothing but light up the road 5 feet in front of my truck. They don't really help me see anything but the dead possum that I'm about to run over. I replaced the bulbs with silverstars hoping that that would help. The light got whiter, and so did the ground 5 feet in front of me. Is it possible to adjust the aim in these fog lights? I want to aim it out a little further, but not high enough to blind oncoming traffic. If anyone knows how to do this, please let me know.


the second thing is that I was planning on getting another pair of fog or driving lights for my runner. I am planning on cutting out a place for them just below the bumber in that lower grill. Now I know what the traditional mounting is: driving lights over the bumper and fog under the bumper. I was thinking of getting driving lights for that install, but properly aim them so that they do project out, but not high enough to blind oncoming traffic. Does anyone have any feedback on my idea? I am open to all suggestions. Thanks!
 
Register to hide this ad
Hi,

Please don't take this the wrong way, but from what I remember from my days in Poland, fog lights are just that, Fog Lights.
During a fog, it doesn't help to light up high because the glare off the fog blinds the driver. The lights are meant to be pointed down lighting up as much of roadway as possible, but mainly right in front of you.

I remember driving through fog so thick that we had to go 5mph following only the curb on the side of the road as a marker of where to go.

But maybe I'm mistaken, it's what I remember from a while back...

I found this topic as I was just searching about putting on some fog lights myself in my 2002 4Runner. In Los Angeles it's mainly for show, but I like the look. It seems that my car has a fog light switch inside, I need to look for some wiring, maybe it's as easy as plugging in some lights.
 
polvadis is correct when saying that the fogs should be low to illuminate the ground in front and around. I'm not aware of any adjustment on the fogs. I've looked there to see what the bulbs are and I can see no way to adjust.

Also I have hella 500 driving lights on my safari bar and it is lower than the bumper. There are directions on how to aim the lights. I followed it and it illuminates the road and I haven't been flashed by oncoming traffic.
 
Our fog lights can be aimed!!

Just to let you guys know, I do understand what fog lights are for, and how they are supposed to be used. However, my lights seemed like they were really only lighting up 5 ft in front of my truck. That didn't seem right to me.

I was doing some internet searching, and ran across some forum where a tech at a dealership stated that when cars are built, their lights are not always aimed correctly, so everytime a new car arrived at his dealership, he would take the time to aim them. He said that a lot of times they would fall out of aim during transit.

Thinking that this may have happened to my runner, I did the test for aiming (parking 25ft from a wall) and looked at my lights. My fogs didn't hit the wall, they hit the ground!

I figured that there had to be an adjustment, and I found it!!! On the back of each fog light housing, there is a bolt-looking thing. It has a 8mm bolt head, and a large flange around it. I started to tighten it, and sure enough, my fog lights raised up! I aimed them according to PIAA's website, and when I drove last night, it made a world of difference!!

Just thought that everyone would like to know that our fog lights can
be aimed!
 
Last edited:
could you somehow work out a pic of somesort as to what or where the bolt is exactly. and i agree with you, my lights do drop alot. but just now i have 6 more lights ready to be installed. :)
 
atomic punk said:
dude, that's METAL.
\m/
Click to expand...

yup, i got a Carr Lightbar which will hold my 4 Hella FF50's and a Westin Safari Light Bar holding 2 PIAA 520 SMR clear lights.

its gunna be like the sun comming at you at night :bouncy:
 
Here is a picture of the driver's side fog light, and I am pointing to the adjustment.

clockwise raises the beam and counter-clockwise lowers the beam. It will take a while to raise it any significant distance.
 

Attachments

  • foglight adjustweb.jpg
    foglight adjustweb.jpg
    42.8 KB · Views: 19,940
digphisher said:
Here is a picture of the driver's side fog light, and I am pointing to the adjustment.

clockwise raises the beam and counter-clockwise lowers the beam. It will take a while to raise it any significant distance.
Click to expand...

What I need to do to get to that bolt? Do I need to remove the housing from the bumper or it is accessible from the bottom with removing the skid plate?
 
I don't have a skid plate. However, I could access that bolt from under the truck. I just laid on my back and looked up, and there it was. You shouldn' t need to remove anything. I hope this helps.
 
I have just ordered a light bar from "stylin concepts" which is a light holder that attaches where the license plate attaches. The fog or driving lights attach there:

http://www.stylinconcepts.com/part.aspx/PartID/28606/PartFamilyID/984/SubcategoryID/348/Category/25

It should save a lot of drilling. I plan on attaching a set of HID driving light to it:

http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProducts/AutomotiveLighting/HighPerformance/Xenarc/XenarcKits.htm

Total cost will be less than $400 and it should be an easy installation. I also found the wimpy stock "foglights" worthless. I hope this mod works out. Just in case it does, I will take photos. Everyone here has been very helpful, so maybe I can contribute something. Wish me luck!
 
Let us know how that works out for ya. I'm not sure if the plastic bumper on the 4th gens will be able to hold up the weight of large lights. On mine, the license plate is held up by two screws. Also, I'd be hesitant to put an expensive set of lights like those on the front without any protection.
 
sharp4runr-

I agree. I don't have the light bar yet and will make sure it is right before i order the lights. I may even drive around with it for a while to test it. Running over $300 in lights would make for a very bad day! I'll let you know. If I'm not 100% confident I'll go with one of the "bull" bars.
 
Installation complete and easy. I'm having trouble downsizing the photos to show up here. Still working on it......
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

J
Pod Light to Fog Light Control/Switch (4th Gen)
Replies
1
Views
10K
Boort
Boort
Marasmus' Toyotas
1997-1998 Fog Lights on a 1999+ 4Runner
Replies
0
Views
4K
Marasmus' Toyotas
Marasmus' Toyotas
K
Do I have factory fog light wiring?
Replies
1
Views
3K
phattyduck
P
B
2012 SR5 Turn Signal Housing Replacement
Replies
1
Views
2K
Blooze
B
Corbet
New 4Runner owner looking for advice.
2
Replies
24
Views
5K
Toffees
Toffees

Members online

Total: 979 (members: 6, guests: 973)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,312
Messages
3,554,089
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top