TRS Morimoto LED Fogs - Lights from the Retrofit Source

It only took a few days and a slightly modified HID harness, but the new fogs are done. My 2014 DCSB didn't come with factory fogs, so I purchased an ebay harness and added some wire. Today I did a sanity check to see if the harness worked, and decided to keep going. The wiring could be better, but it looks stock. No internal switch as I want the fogs to activate with the parking lights.
Beam pattern on the LEDs is very precise with an intense white light. Fits in the stock holes with just a small gap. Nice accessory and $400 cheaper than factory fogs (with install).

And now..... the pics








If you want to do a similar install, here is the wire harness I purchased: http://www.ebay.com/itm/121414289736
I added 8 feet of 16 gauge primary wire to the short 1 foot fog light connector and used the 4 foot connector to do the closest fog light. I ended up with about two extra feet at both fog lights, so maybe I used too much. I also bridged all the open ground wires on the harness together for single ground point. My fogs trigger off the parking lights, which is the last connector at the extreme edge of the light housing. The green wire is the positive side.

 

Those look good! nice

 

Do you have a total cost sheet as well as night time photos?

 

The project was fairly low cost. The lights were $120 for the group buy. Harness was $7, extra wire about $14 (40 foot roll x 2). Other items.. wire ties, wire loom, and solder I already had around.

When you say nighttime photos, do you mean of the lights themselves or the beam patterns? My truck didn't come with factory fogs, so not I can't compare them to anything. As for beam pattern, mine looks like these other Tacoma shots. It's a very precise beam and I tried to position it just under the low beam pattern. Hard to do, since the halogen pattern is so sloppy. It really makes you appreciate the precision of a projector lens.





Here are some really well done install threads. I give lots of credit to those who have already done a super job in documenting the process.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/lighting/333657-morimoto-xb-led-fogs-12-14-install.html

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/310-7th-generation-2012/829514-xb-led-diy-install-guide-trs.html

 

Is there anything out there like this kit for a 05-11?

 

The Tacoma did not have the standard Toyota fog light mount until 2012, so LEDs may be hard to find. You can find plenty of halogens, but no LED kits. Maybe the folks at TRS can make a conversion kit for the old halogen enclosures.

 

Want! But I have an 05

 

So about $140. For an LED set up, that is a good deal. Close to a stock set up but a better outcome.

I was asking about how the light output/pattern looks on the road.

Don't try to put the lights lower than the low beam, let them shine where they are going to give you the best coverage. If they are too low, you are basically wasting the light.

 

But I was asking if you had any pics from inside the cab on the road.

 

I'll try to get some good shots from the driver's seat. My fogs are activated by the parking lights, so I won't be able to show the low beam pattern without fog lights.
Mine are set under the low beams to fill the area under the narrow low beam pattern. Since the truck is so tall, the low beams miss a big area directly under the horizontal cutoff. The fogs fill this area, allowing me to see things in the road better. The high beams seem to raise the upper horizontal cutoff but don't do much for sending more light down into the roadway. This is what bugs me about the factory setup because the fog lights turn off when high beams are engaged. This leaves you with a blind spot directly in front of the truck.

 

Supposedly, the reason for this is that some states only allow four lights to be on, on the front of the vehicles at one time while on the road way. Theoretically, when you turn your high beams on, you already have two low beams on and you add two more. Since these vehicles are sold in all states, the lowest common denominator must be used.

On my '05 Trailblazer, I could hold the high beam switch in the back position and it would keep all the lights on. But after about a minute, the lights would go off for a second and then reset to low beams when I let off. (Not really a safe thing to do.)

But as we all know, there are always modifications that can be done to make these things work the way we want them to. If you search, you'll find several mods that will allow you to keep your fog/driving lights on as long as the key is in the on position, or even if you want them on at any time, key or not.

 

As usual, the federal guidelines for vehicle lights are murky at best http://fmvss108.tripod.com/fmvss108text.htm Basically, the lights have to be DOT and SAE certified, then the car maker follows the minimum and maximum candlepower output guides for grouping lights together. It used to be wattage based but HID's blew that concept all to hell. Now LEDs can produce a ton of light for less wattage, but in a very focused beam.
These are federal standards and car makers try their best to follow these, but often there are state and local laws. I've seen some small communities on the water ban HID's because it disturbed the wildlife. There is some crazy shit out there.
As for multiple lights, it's really a matter of how they are aimed. Fog lights (which have really become driving lights these days) are generally safe since they are mounted low. Bumper, grill and roof mount lights tend to upset local law enforcement if you use them on the road. If you lift your truck, you are supposed to re aim your lights, but most people don't do that right away. HID and LED aftermarket bulbs are terrible in OEM housings, since they can blind oncoming traffic.
I guess what I'm saying (finally) is that the standards are really hard to understand and it mostly comes down to common sense. Be courteous to other drivers and try not to throw more light than you need. Remember, the guy at the other end of your 5000watt beam may be a cop.

 

So true. I lived in New Jersey for a few years and my Jeep had KC Daylighters on the bumpers and driving lights next to fogs build into the custom bumper. I used the KC's all the time on the roads because of deer and bears. Police would not care as there is not a restriction to the amount of lights you can have on your rig. This is due to Jersey being a farming state, and a lot of farmers having a lot of lights on their trucks. Plus there are a lot of rural roads as I stated before with a lot of animals.

However, go into NYC and you'll get a ticket, but upstate NY is similar to Jersey.

Jersey also does not have a height restriction to trucks on the roads.

 

There is a difference between driving lights and fog lights. Driving lights are clear, pencil, long distance beam patterns with a little fan in the bottom of the road. Fogs are clear or amber and fan out to show the bottom of the low beam pattern.

 

I totally agree, but I guess I'm still old school. For me, a fog light has to yellow and aimed to only illuminate the road directly in front. Anything else will light up the fog and actually reduce visibility. Fortunately, we rarely have dense fog in Tampa. What this means is that most people leave their fog lights on all the time, which basically makes them driving lights. (not really true "driving" lights since the pattern is all wrong, but you get the idea)

 

I agree.

The Tundra has the ability to adjust the headlights up or down. this was initially used for lowering the headlights when you were under heavy load, lowering the rear and raising the angle of the front. It has since been touted as a safety factor being able to lower the lights so the beam does not reflect off of heavy rain, snow and even fog.

This should be a feature on the new Tacoma as well.

 

There are horizontal and vertical adjustment screws on the back of our headlight assemblies, so you can adjust the beams. It's not easy since you have to get behind the lights. My Ranger used a worm gear so you could adjust them easier. Are the Tundras motor controlled?

 

There is a roller switch in the cab, on the dashboard, just to the left of the steering wheel. You can adjust it as you are driving. Super cool.

 

I'd like to see this done to a 05-11' Tacoma. I installed HID's in my fogs a few years ago but they were way to bright for oncoming traffic and being behind vehicles that I eventually took them out and used regular halogen bulbs again.

 

Why not just adjust them properly? I've had HID's on several other vehicles with out blinding others.

But they are nice when you are in the left lane and slow ppl won't get out of the way.