Fog Light Bulb Confusion

[NoDak]

Anyone know, for sure, whether the H11 bulb @55 watts is too much for the stock fog lens, housing and wiring?

well according to the owners manual, the oem bulb is a H16 and 19w.

based on this post of a 2014 owners manual snapshot pdf

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/155229-2014-headlight-bulbs.html#post1538183


edit : ack i misread your post, yes the H11 is 55w.

 

[dekeman]

Yeah, I considered fitting the H11s I pulled from the low beams (used H9s in there - very nice, thanks Eddie) into the fogs - but a 55w H11 in the 19w H16 location is probably too much — too much light to be effective, and too much for the housing etc, but I don't know for sure. Surely I'm not the first to be stupid enough to try this.

 

[fmulino]

You need H11 for your Fog Lights

I have already changed mine: [MENTION=106181]SoCal4Run[/MENTION]

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-g...ner-fog-light-hid-conversion.html#post1563870

 

[dekeman]

It's not the fit I'm worried about - it's the output: will it be effective and could it damage anything?

 

[eddiebx]

It's not the fit I'm worried about - it's the output: will it be effective and could it damage anything?

Could you take measurements of the diameter and approximate depth of the fog lamp reflector bowl? I'll do the same and we can compare...because the 2010-2013 fog lamps are factory 55w H11s, and I would imagine that they are likely made of similar material. My thinking is, if there's enough of an "air cavity" (I dunno what to call it, lol) in the 2014 fog lamps, then it can probably handle about the same amount of heat as the 2010-2013 housings? This is all speculative of course because I've not the faintest clue about material science

Why not just be daring and try it out on one fog lamp to see if you melt anything? It'll be cheaper to replace just one, lol.

 

[dekeman]

Will do. I suspect they are the same. Will measure, post pic tonight.

 

[eddiebx]

Will do. I suspect they are the same. Will measure, post pic tonight.

I just measured it, it's ~3" diameter and I eyeballed the depth...my best guess is it's approximately 3"-3.5" deep (the tip of the bulb looks to be about 2" away from the glass lens). Hope that helps!

 

[dekeman]

Same: 3-inch diameter and about 2.5-inch depth.
What the heck, I'm going to try the H11s and see what happens.
Guess I better stock up on fuses.

 

[eddiebx]

Same: 3-inch diameter and about 2.5-inch depth.
What the heck, I'm going to try the H11s and see what happens.
Guess I better stock up on fuses.

Livin' on the edge :flame:

I think you should be "okay" electrical wise...H16 19w bulb @ 13 volts is ~1.5 amps; meanwhile the H11 55w bulb @ 13 volts is ~4.25 amps. Only 5.5 amps more on the fog light circuit, no biggie IMO.

If you want to reassure yourself, take a look at the fog light wires and compare them to the head light wires to see if they are the same gauge wires (I'm guessing they most likely are). If they are the same thickness, you should have nothing to worry about as far overloading the ampacity of the wiring harness goes (since headlight wires are meant to handle 55w all night long).

No idea on the heat capacity of the fog light housing, but based on your measurements, I would be tempted to try it out too :

Important thing is to make sure not to go H9 because your fog light housing (like mine) does not have a front glare shield covering the tip of the bulb. The H11 have an opaque tip, while the H9 does not. Don't want to make it thaaat annoying for on coming traffic, lol.

 

[dekeman]

Thanks for all your help Eddie.

 

[hishaun84]

I've been running them for about a week (H11 55w yellow hella lights) and no sign of melting or any type of heat damage. I must say though, these suckers are BRIGHT!

 

[dekeman]

^^ Nice.
Installed 55W H11 in to the fogs where 19W H16 were. Does appear to be noticeably brighter, but fog lens is also hot to the touch, so not sure if this is a good fit.
[MENTION=85512]eddiebx[/MENTION] any idea what temperature difference there would be from 19W to 55? Are your lenses hot to the touch?

 

[bowen873]

^^ Nice.
Installed 55W H11 in to the fogs where 19W H16 were. Does appear to be noticeably brighter, but fog lens is also hot to the touch, so not sure if this is a good fit.

[MENTION=85512]eddiebx[/MENTION] any idea what temperature difference there would be from 19W to 55? Are your lenses hot to the touch?

Did you end up leaving them in? Either of you have any issues? I was looking at some different options as well, and the H11 is cheaper than getting a set of bright H16's.

 

[NoDak]

well its either going to melt face or catch fire going from 19w to 55w.

who knows if the wire leads are rated for 55w or 19w.

 

[kevinpt]

and to think i only went from a 55w to a 60w fog in my 4th gen. some guys are really bold here. i would say go with lifetime led in the fog if anything. if you get there h11 led fogs they are only 22w each so your not going up much as far as output

 

[bowen873]

well its either going to melt face or catch fire going from 19w to 55w.

who knows if the wire leads are rated for 55w or 19w.

Yeah, that's why I was asking. I also looked at the LED option.

 

[dekeman]

The fog housings in the 14s are the same as the 2010-13s, which also run 55w, so in theory they should be the same. I checked the lens temp in a 2012 Limited that belongs to a friend, and his were just as hot as mine — at least to the touch. I haven't had any problems yet, but I've also used the fogs more sparingly, perhaps in an abundance of caution because I still worry they might be too hot. Definitely waaaay more light spread out low - in effect making them a better fog light.

 

[crackiswack]

The fog housings in the 14s are the same as the 2010-13s, which also run 55w, so in theory they should be the same. I checked the lens temp in a 2012 Limited that belongs to a friend, and his were just as hot as mine — at least to the touch. I haven't had any problems yet, but I've also used the fogs more sparingly, perhaps in an abundance of caution because I still worry they might be too hot. Definitely waaaay more light spread out low - in effect making them a better fog light.

Any update on this after a few more months? Looking to put H11's the foglights as well

 

[jasonv]

Seems to me your pictures and questions should be directed to the vendor.

oh? does the vendor post here?

 

[dekeman]

Thought I'd update this after a year with my H11s in the fog housings.
While the housings in Gen 5.5 are the same size as Gen 5., the bulb changed in 2014 from a 55W to an H16 with 19W, obviously producing less heat (and less light).

So with the same housing, and 2010-2013 models running 55W and same wiring, no problem right? Not quite. Heat is an issue, as evidenced from my housings that have a slight sunburn from the H11 bulbs.

I've since swapped the H11s out for JDM Astar (1200 lumen) LEDs, which are stone cold and give off decent enough light. Not sure I like them, but figured they're better than the H11s for now.

Still very happy with the 9011/H9 set up for headlamps.