Diode Dynamics SS3 Fog Light Kit Installed

[CharlesNellis]

Installed my SS3 Sport Yellow Fogs yesterday on my Limited Edition.

The instructions say to reuse the factory mounting bracket, but it didn't look possible. The factory bracket has an adjustment screw that goes across the back of the light. But the new SS3's have a bunch of protruding heat sink fins coming off the back which wouldn't allow the factory bracket to attach.

So I used the new brackets supplied in the box. Everything went together easily, plug n play. But my fogs are showing up higher than my low beams and I don't have that adjustment screw anymore to move the lights.

At first I thought maybe I put the left one upside down on the right side and vice versa, but I called today and they said there is no left or right. So is there a way to adjust them that much to get the beam lower than the low beams? Isn't that where it should be?

I see a lot of info about aiming headlights at 28-33" from ground at 25ft, but haven't come across fog aiming recommendations.

The pics are with and without the fog lights on. One against a parking garage wall and one in a bank parking lot.

Tighten down the screws on the sides of the bracket as if you want them to stay in that position. (Really tight but not tight enough to start breaking things).
You will want to position the lights in the brackets so they sit as far in as possible to get the proper angle by not interfering with the bumper.

I was able to adjust the lights from the outside by pushing the lips of the fog lights up or down by hand.

I aimed them by getting the front within 6 inches of a wall. Mark the cut off lines of both fog lights with some painters, duct, or masking tape. Reverse so that lights are 25 feet away from wall. Aim fog lights so that cutoffs are 3 to 4 inches below tape.

Make sure you didn't install them upside down. The "D" should be in the correct orientation.

 

[mynameistory]

Installed my SS3 Sport Yellow Fogs yesterday on my Limited Edition.

The instructions say to reuse the factory mounting bracket, but it didn't look possible. The factory bracket has an adjustment screw that goes across the back of the light. But the new SS3's have a bunch of protruding heat sink fins coming off the back which wouldn't allow the factory bracket to attach.

So I used the new brackets supplied in the box. Everything went together easily, plug n play. But my fogs are showing up higher than my low beams and I don't have that adjustment screw anymore to move the lights.

At first I thought maybe I put the left one upside down on the right side and vice versa, but I called today and they said there is no left or right. So is there a way to adjust them that much to get the beam lower than the low beams? Isn't that where it should be?

I see a lot of info about aiming headlights at 28-33" from ground at 25ft, but haven't come across fog aiming recommendations.

The pics are with and without the fog lights on. One against a parking garage wall and one in a bank parking lot.

You no longer need or use the factory mounting brackets. The supplied brackets that attach the light to the bumper are adjustable. The way I did this was to tighten the screws on the sides of the actual fog light until they were VERY snug (moving by hand should be difficult), then bolt the brackets into place. Then the light angle can be adjusted from the front of the bumper by pushing on the upper or lower half of the light.

As for aiming, it's typical to measure from the ground to the center of the fog light (let's say it's 20 inches). Then park 25 feet away from a wall on level ground, and place a piece of level tape on the wall 4 inches lower than your measurement. In this case, it would be 16 inches. Then aim your lights so that the upper cutoff is level with the tape.

 

[?????]

I’ve been happy with the SS3 Pro’s
They also do a great job of melting the snow to keep the lens clear. (If you’re in sub zero temps your mileage may vary)

 

[Irishperil]

Thank you both [MENTION=405742]CharlesNellis[/MENTION] & [MENTION=208721]mynameistory[/MENTION] that's very helpful!!

 

[IanB]

Installed my SS3 Sport Yellow Fogs yesterday on my Limited Edition.

The instructions say to reuse the factory mounting bracket, but it didn't look possible. The factory bracket has an adjustment screw that goes across the back of the light. But the new SS3's have a bunch of protruding heat sink fins coming off the back which wouldn't allow the factory bracket to attach.

So I used the new brackets supplied in the box. Everything went together easily, plug n play. But my fogs are showing up higher than my low beams and I don't have that adjustment screw anymore to move the lights.

At first I thought maybe I put the left one upside down on the right side and vice versa, but I called today and they said there is no left or right. So is there a way to adjust them that much to get the beam lower than the low beams? Isn't that where it should be?

I see a lot of info about aiming headlights at 28-33" from ground at 25ft, but haven't come across fog aiming recommendations.

The pics are with and without the fog lights on. One against a parking garage wall and one in a bank parking lot.

Those definitely need to be aimed down, the band of light from the fogs should fill in just below the low beams against a wall, yours looks to be higher, and will definitely be shining in the eyes of oncoming traffic.

Mount the light to the back of the slot in the bracket (back from the bumper) so you have room to tilt them down to where you want them, then tighten everything up. On my Limited it was necessary to tighten the light into the bracket off the truck, no room with them in place.

 

[Irishperil]

Those definitely need to be aimed down, the band of light from the fogs should fill in just below the low beams against a wall, yours looks to be higher, and will definitely be shining in the eyes of oncoming traffic.

Mount the light to the back of the slot in the bracket (back from the bumper) so you have room to tilt them down to where you want them, then tighten everything up. On my Limited it was necessary to tighten the light into the bracket off the truck, no room with them in place.

So all 3 responses confirmed the same concept in different words, but I'm so confused that these highly recommended lights don't have a mechanic adjustment for height, but rather require you to force them into place. Will they stay there?

You tighten the screws that attach the light to the new bracket. I did that. Then you put it back into the bumper and there's a couple clips and 2 small screws I believe that hold it on (I have a Limited)

At this point it's securely attached where it belongs. And then you just push on it from the front (with enough pressure to force it to move up or down)!?

You mentioned leaving room to tilt them where you want them. But they don't want to move once you tighten the screws. You're basically saying you have to bend or force them into the correct position? (as long as you left a gap for them to move)

 

[mynameistory]

So all 3 responses confirmed the same concept in different words, but I'm so confused that these highly recommended lights don't have a mechanic adjustment for height, but rather require you to force them into place. Will they stay there?

You tighten the screws that attach the light to the new bracket. I did that. Then you put it back into the bumper and there's a couple clips and 2 small screws I believe that hold it on (I have a Limited)

At this point it's securely attached where it belongs. And then you just push on it from the front (with enough pressure to force it to move up or down)!?

You mentioned leaving room to tilt them where you want them. But they don't want to move once you tighten the screws. You're basically saying you have to bend or force them into the correct position? (as long as you left a gap for them to move)

You've more or less got the idea. You are right, they don't have factory-style click knob adjusters. The chassis for the lights were developed to be as universal as possible, which includes OEM and custom applications like ditch or bumper mounted lights. They aren't just a 4Runner fog light replacement.

As far as adjusting, it is a little more crude to aim than factory, but you won't have to adjust them again (unless you lift etc.). Yes, you want to tighten the side screws until the lights are difficult to rotate by hand. Then after installing in the bumper, go through your aiming process by pushing on the upper or lower half of the light by hand to gradually move them.

 

[ZenArcade]

... kinda sounds like it would best to semi-tighten > install/adjust to position > remove and fully tighten down/re-install. Fearing that bumps/vibrations might cause movement?

 

[mynameistory]

... kinda sounds like it would best to semi-tighten > install/adjust to position > remove and fully tighten down/re-install. Fearing that bumps/vibrations might cause movement?

Too much work. Mine haven't moved a millimeter.

 

[bboy626]

Just ordered a set for my 2012 Trail thx for the pics and reviews!

 

[IanB]

So all 3 responses confirmed the same concept in different words, but I'm so confused that these highly recommended lights don't have a mechanic adjustment for height, but rather require you to force them into place. Will they stay there?

You tighten the screws that attach the light to the new bracket. I did that. Then you put it back into the bumper and there's a couple clips and 2 small screws I believe that hold it on (I have a Limited)

At this point it's securely attached where it belongs. And then you just push on it from the front (with enough pressure to force it to move up or down)!?

You mentioned leaving room to tilt them where you want them. But they don't want to move once you tighten the screws. You're basically saying you have to bend or force them into the correct position? (as long as you left a gap for them to move)

My 4Runner is a Limited trim as well, and it's a bit of an extra PITA compared to other trim levels as you need to get those 3 clips per side out to remove the silver bezel from the bumper. What I did was snug up the bracket to the light loosely, so there's some resistance to moving the light in the bracket, but not so much that you need to be rough to get it to move, but it will hold the position you want. Then attach the bracket into the silver bezel, and install the assembly back into the bumper (don't put the clips back in just slid back into the bumper, maybe use some painters tape so there's no risk of it falling out and damaging anything). Point the truck at a flat surface, low beams on, and adjust the fogs so the beam fills in just below the low beams band of light. Remove the silver bezels, remove the lights and brackets, and tighten the brackets to the light body saving your adjustment. Then put it all back together.

It's a bit finicky, but once you're done you shouldn't need to revisit ever again. The results are excellent, these lights are the tits.

 

[AcrylicSauce]

Did any of you guys reinstall the factory splash guard over the fog light assembly on the passenger side?

 

[bboy626]

Just installed on a 2012 Trail...looks and works great!

 

[ZenArcade]

Did any of you guys reinstall the factory splash guard over the fog light assembly on the passenger side?

I did ... actually easier to reinstall than remove for me. On the driver's side (w/out splash guard), I actually had water run out of shielding when disconnected factory wiring.

Hands/forearms healing up (scratches) from install last week.

 

[mynameistory]

I did ... actually easier to reinstall than remove for me. On the driver's side (w/out splash guard), I actually had water run out of shielding when disconnected factory wiring.

Hands/forearms healing up (scratches) from install last week.

I guess I should put mine back. Didn't feel like wrestling with it too much but now that I know it's possible, I'd rather have it back on the truck instead of floating around in the garage. Wonder why there's only one.

 

[HL4Runner]

Did any of you guys reinstall the factory splash guard over the fog light assembly on the passenger side?

Spent half of the time just to remove this thing due to tight working space. One tab got a bit mangled so I have no intention of putting it back. I believe the SS3s are waterproofed to a certain degree anyway.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ZenArcade]

Yeah, I got a bit frustrated trying to take it off, but regrouped/slowed down a bit and got the clips disengaged w/out just yanking the mofo out. The water in the shielding on the driver side (w/out guard) was likely due to dealership carwash on receipt (only 1500 miles on the clock so far). When I put the SS3's in I took car to make sure the wiring/connectors were facing away from where water would be directed.

 

[blackoutrunner]

Got mine installed today. Easier job than I thought. Passenger side went easier then the Driver side.

 

[dah352]

I got my pros installed and the passenger was definitely easier than driver due to the splash guard. Good to know that the splash guard can be reinstalled but is it really needed? Doesn't seem to provide much benefit to me. Aiming the lights isn't ideal but overall it was pretty easy to loosen the screw enough to move the lights and retighten from beneath once in place.

 

[CharlesNellis]

I got my pros installed and the passenger was definitely easier than driver due to the splash guard. Good to know that the splash guard can be reinstalled but is it really needed? Doesn't seem to provide much benefit to me. Aiming the lights isn't ideal but overall it was pretty easy to loosen the screw enough to move the lights and retighten from beneath once in place.

I was looking at the wheel well splash guards and for some reason the passenger side had cutouts/vents on them. The drivers side doesn't. That's probably why there is a shield on the passenger side.