I am installing a new bumper without fog lights, and am looking for input on my options for spotlights mounted to my bull bar

For background:I have an 04 D2 with factory fogs that come on with my main beam. After removing the stock bumper, have the the two stock h11 fog light female connectors hanging there.

If I get spotlights that are the same or lower wattage than the stock fog lights, can I just get a h11 male connector and wire the spotlight directly to the existing foglamp wiring?

I prefer doing this because:
1. I cannot use the stock fog lights anymore, and
2. I would like to use the existing fog light switch

The only potential downside I see is not being able to use both the spots and the high beams at the same time, as that is how the factory fogs work in my understanding. Is there anything I should look out for?

I don't do hardcore offroading or camping, but this truck does get used in the dark on some rough roads in the winter.

 

This should work, just be careful of the wattage (as you have noted) and make sure your new spots are 12V, nearly all of them are in auto applications. I don't think you'll have too much trouble.

 

Ooh, 2 other things I thought of after I submitted my reply, you might already be aware of both. 1) You will get more light per watt from LED's as opposed to an incandescent, the electrical manual puts each fog light at 65 watts so the wiring will be big enough to carry a 5.4 amp load. and 2) The relay to turn the fogs off and on is controlled by the BCU and the switch on the dash is momentary, meaning that when you shut the truck off and turn it back on you will have to turn the spots back on, they don't stick on.

 

I believe that it may be possible to change a setting in the BCU so that you can have the fogs and mains on at the same time.

 

I would just cut the OEM fog light connections off and splice in the new lights with some 3M heatshrink butt connectors. And yes you can program the BCU to allow the fog lights to be on with Hi or Low beams. Just need to find someone with a T4 or Nanocom to make the changes for you.

 

Thanks for the input everyone, and good to know about the BCU potential there. Good to know about the wattage as well. I will probably go with LED's after I figure out exactly how I want to mount them.

 

I did exactly what you are considering. Works great, never got the BCU changed to I could run high beams and fogs but I probably should.

 

In many places it’s illegal to run your high beams and fogs at the same time, so heads up on that.

 

Well the high beam/low beam thing = common sense!

In town you should never even use High Beam unless you're flashing someone and even then you have a switch to turn the Fog Lights/Aux Lights on which is momentary meaning you cycle the key and the Fog Lights/Aux Lights will be off upon the next restart until you turn them on again. The LR OEM Harness put the Safari 5000's onto the high beam circuit. So that you basically had the option for 4 lights per High or Low Beam.

Heck in some states it's illegal to drive down the road with aux lights which are not covered by a hard plastic or cloth cover.... They'll give you a ticket for no covers vs driving down the road with them on...

So once again use common sense! When I lived in the TX hill country I added a pair of Hella 550's to 2 of my Mitsubishi Montero's I originally had them tapped into the low beam circuit, but it wasn't helping me to see the deer quickly enough. I moved it over to the high beam circuit (was running it without a switch) and when my High Beams were on I could see much further down the road and saved myself a lot of $$$$. Whenever I saw lights over the hill or on the horizon = dim my lights.

 

To close this thread out.

Got a good deal on some Hella 700's and they have the more classic look I wanted. Ended up just cutting the H11's and wiring them directly to the fogs. I used some drilled out and cut L Brackets to mount them in the winch location.

I am really happy with them, work off the existing fogs either on their own, or with the headlights. Have not really gotten the chance to do a ton of night driving to try them out yet given the COVID stuff and the fact I live in a city.