I just acquired a 2005 Mazda B4000 and it has a factory fog light switch on the dash. It is powered as the switch lights up when pushed. The trouble is that there is no fog lights on the truck.

I want to add some lights and would love to use the existing switch. Does anyone know where the factory wires terminate near the grill area? What color would they be? I am assuming that the wires come out somewhere near where the fog lights should be located.

 

You should have a couple of plug-in connectors behind the bumper area for the fog lights.

Some trucks were fully pre-wired for fogs while some were only partially pre-wired. (I'm speaking of Rangers, but I assume the Mazda's are the same way)

If you don't have the connectors behind the bumper/below the radiator you may not be fully pre-wired.

If you fall into the later category you may want to look into one of my OEM fog switch conversion kits.

 

I found the fog light wires and connectors up in the wheel well. That should make the driving light installation super easy and clean. A job for tomorrow.

 

Stick to 35 watts or less for the OEM Wiring.

If you use buggman Harness you can run 55 watts and larger.
His harness uses the OEM switch and you run new fused wiring to power the lighting based on the wattage/amperage of the lights.

OEM Fogs aren't too bad and 35 watt driving lights are ok too but 55 watts and larger are better and light up the road a lot better with a larger pattern so think on the new light wattage and doing the job the right way the first time around.

 

Can I assume that there is a relay already built into the factory wiring?

 

Yes but that is why I mentioned to keep the wattage to a minimum, 35 max, the OEM Wiring is minimal sized for just enough current for stock lights.

Using buggman Harness allows you to run a new fused power wire, sized for the wattage of the new lights plus 10-20%, from the battery to a relay and then to new lights.

Again, if the light you will use are 35 watts each or less then you can get away with the OEM wiring.

IMHO... of course ! Ltr

 

Thanks. I will heed your advice.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/113310273@N05/13019058963/

Here is a pic of the fog lights. Disappointingly NOT bright. I guess I'll beef it up to the 55 W some other day.

 

test

 

I like the look of those lights, sucks to hear they're not that bright.

My wiring conversion kit bypasses all the stock wiring & would technically let you run up to 30a worth of current draw (that's a HECK of a lot of lights) from the battery. I'd never recommend running that much current draw from a single relay, but if it's a 30/40a relay it is actually rated to handle that amount of current.

Since you have the stock wiring, you could use that to trigger a 30/40a relay powered from the battery so you could safely run larger wattage halogen bulbs. Just remember to properly size the wire & fuses according to the draw of the lights.

I'm running a set of (cheap) 100w h3 bulbs in my hella's & they really throw some light.

 

I was wondering about a set of LED Lights for the new front bumper but I am not impressed with the overall light output.
I didn’t know you were using LED lights, these should be able to run off the OEM wiring without a problem.
Low current draw is a good thing but if you can’t see 5 feet in front of the truck not good.

If you go to the standard bulbs, as Buggman has stated and like the ones I have to install, then you will need to size everything for the highest amperage draw except fuse the power wire for the lowest rated component and fuse as low as possible without blowing fuses.

IF there is a 30 amp load, a 40 amp relay will provide all the control needed, most relays will handle more than the rating BUT fuses and wire needs to be sized properly to handle the current.

How much current is required for the LED Lighting and what is the Lumen Rating of the lights ?



When choosing LED Lighting, check the Lumens Output, good output starts at over 1000 Lumens each light, there are some on the market that are rated at 2300 Lumens, I have not seen them in action but want to.

 

I'll order the kit this week. Thanks for the information.

 

I was not planning to put LED's in at the beginning of the post but because of the low draw of current I thought they might be a good alternative. I have some on my bike that are awesome (but they are also $250). These didn't have a lumen rating on the box or packaging. On the good side, they were only $35. I'll order the buggman wiring kit and replace them with 55 watt driving lights next week. I'll have to trace the factory wiring to see what the fuse is rated for. I'm guessing by the 20 gauge wiring that it is a 10 amp or less.

 

Check the circuit to be sure but OEM is rated for 35 Watts.

How do the LEDs look at night ?
Do they give off enough light to be useful ?

 

The lights look great but I hardly can tell that they are on. I am going to upgrade this week to some "real" lights. The factory head lights on the 05's are really dim too. I will probably look to upgrade those as well.