Fog Light Install Question

That's good to know, having the switch and keeping it depressed wouldn't be a problem for me, I could do it that way. Again I'm new to all this wiring and vehicles but wouldn't it cut down a little bit on the wiring I would have to do if I leave the switch out. Basically just somehow wiring the fogs to the headlights and using my regular headlight switch to turn on the fogs at the same time. Or am I making it harder for myself that way if its possible. Forgive me if I'm wrong or it just doesn't work like that, that's just how I see it in my head. I'm just trying to learn the ins and outs of wiring lights and such for my Tacoma.

 

No worries man. The only reason I wouldn't suggest tapping directly into your headlights is because you'd have to splice into a wire. It's not a big deal but installing the switch isn't really any additional work and if you decide you every want to take the fogs and switch out to return the truck to stock, you can undo everything and no one would be the wiser.

In my opinion it's probably the same amount of work regardless of which way you decide to install.

 

Yea I would like to do as little splicing as possible. The switch probably looks like the way I want to go then. Thanks for the help, I may be back in here once I get started if I run into any trouble or have questions but hopefully that's not the case.

 

Also remember there are some enthusiasts who will never run their fogs on at the same time as their headlights unless weather requires it, hence the name "fog" lights.

 

If you do run into questions feel free to PM me, I may be able to help or take some more pictures.

 

What's the reasoning behind not running them all the time. I live in a very rural area and like the comfort of being able to see a wider area in front of me and off to the sides of the road to be able to see any potential animals crossing such as deer or bear. Very rarely do I run my headlights during the day.

I will thanks a lot. Either way I'll post back here and update on how it went.

 

So apparently my truck was already prewired for the fog lights so I got them in, however, when I went to see if it were already wired for a switch as well I pulled the 3 blanks out just below my vent and found 2 of the blanks had wires behind them, the far left which I'm assuming is the one for the fog lights and the one all way on the right, the middle one was blank. The switch that came with the foglight kit did not fit either of those connectors on those wires so I wasn't able to actually get the lights turned on. Am I correct in assuming that this wire on the far left switch blank is to the fog lights and that i'll only need to find a switch that fits this connector? Was the switch in the fog light kit not an oem switch and would not fit these prewired fog lights? If not, where would be a good place to make sure the switch I buy will fit this connector. I've embedded some pictures of the wires I'm talking about, I hope I did that right. Is that left most wire an oem wire and it wasn't put on by a previous owner?

 

If you want a switch that will plug into the oem harness, you need to buy it from the dealership, find one used on here, or find one at a junkyard.

Aftermarket switches fit the dash cutout but have a different connector as you've discovered. You could also cutoff the factory plug and wire in the connector for the switch you have.

 

So I could essentially cut the oem connector off and cut the wires to the aftermarket connector back a bit and just put the wires together. What's the best way to connect those wires together then.

 

Yeah. You just have get the right factory wires to the right switch wires. On the factory plug, White/Black is ground, and Blue is 12V from the fog light relay coil. The other two are for switch illumination. There should be a wiring diagram for your switch. You'll need to post it if you're not sure what to hookup.

 

Yea I understand what you're saying there, what is the best way to connect those wires when I have them cut, what do I need to use to connect the oem wires to wires from the new switch connector

 

Also do you know if the oem fog light wires have a different connector than the other connectors behind the factory push buttons, because it is and that made me wonder if this was something run by a previous owner and not from Toyota.

 

For a permanent connection, soldering and heat shrink is the best option. For a non-permanent option, I like crimp-on connectors like spade or bullet connectors.

That's a factory connector.

 

Alright thanks I'm pretty new to all this wiring so that's a big help. Do you have any recommendations for good connectors or where to buy them. I just want to make sure I don't end up with anything I'm going to have to replace because of bad or cheap quality.

 

I just buy my crimp connectors from the local Ace Hardware. The key is to get a good crimp. I use a stripper/crimper like

$16 IRWIN VISE-GRIP Wire Stripper, 8", Cuts 10-22 AWG, Plier Style Nose, ProTouch Grip for Maximum Comfort (2078309)

these, and it makes a good crimp.

 

Alright thanks for the help I'm pretty sure I've got a good idea what I need to do to change out the switch connectors. Now one other question I have is where does the relay go for the fog lights, I do need one right?

 

The factory fog light relay and fuse is in the fuse box under the hood.

 

I'll have to look again and maybe take a picture I didn't see a place for it the last time I checked. Would it already have a relay in place if its prewired?

 

Look under the fuse box lid. It's labeled, so just find the corresponding spot in the box. It's possible that it's already there. My truck isn't prewired, so I don't know for sure.

 

So here are pictures of my fuse box and the relay that came with the kit. What am I looking for in here. The only place I see Fog is the small fuse at the top of the box. I'm not really all that sure what I'm looking at or what I'm looking for.