I'm thinking of adding aftermarket fog lights to my truck, and was wondering is there existing wiring I can use? After checking my light switch, it does pull out when in the on position like on the 4X4 model, so if I add the relay and fuse to the power distribution box and fuse box, will that get power to the existing wiring harness? Next, where do I tap into to this power? I noticed a two wire connector clipped to the inside of the engine compartment near the passenger side head light, is this the connector for factory fog lights? It sure would be nice to use existing switchs and wiring if available! Any help here would be greatly appreciated!

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Paul... :-)
99 F-150 XLT SC Sport, 4.6L, Auto, Captain Chairs, Class III Towing Package, 3.55 LS, Sliding Rear Window, White, 4X2, CD, Soft Factory Tonneau Cover, K&N Filter, WMS Velocity Tube, Line-X Spray on Bed Liner...
More to come

 

From looking at my 99 when I was going to do this, adding a relay and fuses would not help because the wires just were not there in the pd box under the hood. ie: no metal contacts to seat the relay into.

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2000 F150 SC XLT
5.4
4-sp auto
255/70r-16
3.55 LS
Heavy Duty electric
Heavy Duty cooling
Trailer Towing Group
Keyless Entry
Soft Cover
Captains Chairs
wedg blue& silver two tone
Fog Lights
Bed Liner
Fender Flairs
Cab Steps
10 disc CD changer

(Just 892 more payments and that sucker is all mine)

 

PaulT, I had the same idea for my '99. Mine has the pull out switch, extra wires behind the headlights and even a fuse marked fog lights. However, I pulled out my switch and checked for power at the unused plugs and got nothing. I was informed somewhere else on this board that the headlight switch pulls out to allow removal of the switch. There must be a different switch for fog lights.

 

Thanks for the Help! I guess I thought maybe Ford would make it easy for us! I guess not! Well, that was a brilliant idea that died a quick and painless death! Thanks again!

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Paul... :-)
99 F-150 XLT SC Sport, 4.6L, Auto, Captain Chairs, Class III Towing Package, 3.55 LS, Sliding Rear Window, White, 4X2, CD, Soft Factory Tonneau Cover, K&N Filter, WMS Velocity Tube, Line-X Spray on Bed Liner...
More to come

 

I'm glad we have this board and this kind of info as I plan to put fog lights on my truck in the spring if not sooner so if any of you find a way to make the existing wiring harness work let us know.

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2000 F150 XLT Reg. cab
4.6 Triton Engine
4x2 3.55 rear end gear
sliding rear window
automatic keyless entry
white styleside short box

 

You could just tap into the low beam wire at the headlight. This way the fog lights will turn on with your low beams and go off with the high beams. Most states it's legally supposed to be that way, at least here in Jersey it is.

Another idea, see if a wire off your switch energizes when you pull the switch. If it does, tap a wire into it and run it to your frog lights. I would use a relay off the battery to do it right. This way you have the least amount of voltage drop which means maximum voltage to your lights, and no burnt headlamp switches. Dodge had this problem, and was burning up headlight switches when people put lights on w/o relays.

Good luck everyone.

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1997 F-150, 4.6, automatic, Dark Toreador Red, Supercab, Flareside, 4X4 Off-Road, Towing Package, Ford hvy dty rubber floor mats, Kenwood 10-disk cd changer, Ford bugshield, Chrome Grizzly Wrap Around Push Bar with 2 KC 100w Daylighters, Ventshades, Ford bedliner, cab and bed professionally undercoated, Code Alarm Sure Start RVS remote starter, Ford alarm, Realistic CB with Wilson Little Wil antenna and Astatic power mic, ported MAF sensor, and Lots of TLC!! (Besides being an F-150 nut, I am a Ford auto technician.)

 

Sycoholic,

Thanks for the tip! I plan on doing a little exploring this weekend to see what I can find out with this. If I find anything worth reporting, I'll post it here! I've always run a relay off the battery, and fused it as well! If I can figure out how to get enough juice to trip the relay using the headlight switch, I'll be happy!

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Paul... :-)
99 F-150 XLT SC Sport, 4.6L, Auto, Captain Chairs, Class III Towing Package, 3.55 LS, Sliding Rear Window, White, 4X2, CD, Soft Factory Tonneau Cover, K&N Filter, WMS Velocity Tube, Line-X Spray on Bed Liner...
More to come

 

PaulT What kind of foglights are you installing? I'm trying to find something that looks good on my 99 F-150xl. I've got a standard bumper with no holes for fogs. Maybe the vent holes on both sides of the front licence plate?

 

Froman,

I have the Sport Model with the 4X4 Honeycomb grill. I was going to mount a pair of the small pencil beam style lichts behind the grill. Whatever I get, they will be as small and powerful as I can get, because I don't want to obstruct the airflow to the radiator. I don't think the honeycomb grill will cause too much obstruction to the light while maintaining a clean looking front end! Besides, I just spent $100 on a Calgon Full Bra for when I travel to and from GA, so I'm in no hurry to modify the bra, or add anything that will stop me from using it!

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Paul... :-)
99 F-150 XLT SC Sport, 4.6L, Auto, Captain Chairs, Class III Towing Package, 3.55 LS, Sliding Rear Window, White, 4X2, CD, Soft Factory Tonneau Cover, K&N Filter, WMS Velocity Tube, Line-X Spray on Bed Liner...
More to come

 

Well I fell like chiming in here. This summer I bought a kit from Ford to put fog lamps on my 4x2. They are completely factory in appearance and operation. The kit came with the fog lamps, a new lower bumper, wiring harness, and new switch for in the cab. During this all day ordeal I saw parts of my truck I never want to see again. But I learned a lot, which I'll try and share with you.

First I'll dispell a rumor from earlier in this post. The headlight switch does not pull out to make removal easier. It pulls out to turn on the fog lamps. I have removed that switch when I replaced mine, so I know.

Now the existing wiring in our trucks should be able to operate the fog lamps. When I removed my switch it was already wired for fog lamps in the cab. In fact I had to remove the wire and replace it with the wiring harness that I ran through. Second, those plugs under the hood are obviously for the fog lamps. So somewhere in the middle the wiring is not complete. There is a missing relay (which could be added to the power box under the hood), but there is something else. Somewhere else the existing factory harness is not complete, but I don't know where that is. Also in case you're wondering, if you add fog lamps you do not need to replace the switch in the cab. The only reason I replaced mine is because the new switch has a light-up fog lamp indicator to let me know the fog lamps are on, but if you don't want the indicator you could go with the original switch.

I hope this helps some. Any questions just post them here. Just remember when I did this work myself I added a second wiring harness because I gave up on trying to get the factory one to work. But with enough time (and wiring diagrams) one could figure it out. If someone is that set on making the facotry harness work (which would be cool) I have a copy of the wiring diagram that came with the fog lamp kit. You could compare it with a wiring diagram of our trucks and try and find that one "thing" our factory harness is missing. If someone wants this let me know and I can scan in the diagram.


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1999 Lariat SuperCab Flareside, Amazon Green with Silver trim, 5.4L, 4x2, 4 wheel disc/ABS, 3.55 limited slip, towing package, fog lamps, sliding rear window, captains chairs, keyless entry with alarm, spray-on bed liner, bug guard, and K&N. http://www.csc.calpoly.edu/~bfriesen/truck.html

 

Freezer,

Thanks for the info! I was hoping that Ford may have made it that way. I did some limited research in the owner's manual, and beside the missing relay in the Power Distribution box under the hood, there is also a fuse box under the dash on the driver side that has a place for a fuse (marked Fog Lamps in the manual). That may be the break in the original harness you didn't find. This weekend when I have more time (and daylight) I'm going to do a little signal tracing and see if I can figure it out! If a relay and a fuse will get power to the connector on the passenger side under the hood, wiring that to a heavy duty relay from the battery will be a piece of cake!

The next chore will be figuring out how to mount the fog lights behind the grill! I've seen the red and blue emergency light mounted there on numerous Expeditions used by local Police Departments, so I may flag down a cop one of these days and check out his set-up! Most are pretty cool if you catch them on a break! But then again, I may be asking for bail money if they think I've gone off the deep end!

I'll keep you posted on my findings!

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Paul... :-)
99 F-150 XLT SC Sport, 4.6L, Auto, Captain Chairs, Class III Towing Package, 3.55 LS, Sliding Rear Window, White, 4X2, CD, Soft Factory Tonneau Cover, K&N Filter, WMS Velocity Tube, Line-X Spray on Bed Liner...
More to come

 

PaulT, I wish you the best of luck in getting your factory harness to work. If you are successful, please let me know cause I'm curious. As for mounting, here is how the factory lights are mounted. If you crawl up under the bumper, on either side of the bumper are three square holds about 1/2" across. They are spread out about 12" apart. The factory fog lamps came in a metal housing that bolded into those three holes. The holes then guaranteed alignment. However, if you're going aftermarket there are no guarantees they will mount to these holes.

Again, good luck, let me know, and ask me any questions you may have.


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1999 Lariat SuperCab Flareside, Amazon Green with Silver trim, 5.4L, 4x2, 4 wheel disc/ABS, 3.55 limited slip, towing package, fog lamps, sliding rear window, captains chairs, keyless entry with alarm, spray-on bed liner, bug guard, and K&N. http://www.csc.calpoly.edu/~bfriesen/truck.html

 

I did install the 4x4 lights, bought the dealer upgrade kit. It came with a new switch and a wiring harness. All switches pull out so you can get at the **** release, then you insert the **** 180 degrees and turn it to remove the switch. Nothing on my truck was used, even relay was external, not in the power dist. box.

 

Well I tried pulling on my switch to see if it pulled out and I couldn't get my switch to pull out so I'll end up mounting a switch for the fog lights when I get a chance to put so on my truck. That way can just have the fog lights on or with the park lights and also have them on with the high beams.

 

Freezer - I'd like to have a copy of those specs you have for installing the fog lights. I have 99 Sport and I'm going to replace the lowerhalf the front bumper (plastic!!) and buy the piece with the fog light holes, and I'd like to wire them to my existing switch. If you could please e-mail them to me at:
stdclp14@shsu.edu

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1999 Ford F150 XL Sport
4.2L Flarside