So The lights now are down to $87 shipped. I'm thinking about getting a set. It seems they drop in price about $5 a month though. Looking for more experiences with these before I pull the trigger. As discussed previously, they will probably require dis-assembly before they are even installed to correct cheap wiring crimps / build.
I recall seeing a few pics on which part of the wiring harness on these replicas needed re soldering. I skimmed through all 3 parts but I didn't come across it. Can someone lead me in the right direction?
If that's not it, people are referring to the connector to the bulb and/or pretty much the entire wiring harness included with the ebay kits. They aren't crimped very well and they fall apart easy. I have still yet to buy a set.
^That's for rewiring the foglights to work with the parking lights.
For the aftermarket fogs, you basically need to replace the entire loom that is on the foglight itself. (maybe 6-8 inches worth of wiring) What comes with them is complete garbage. As I've said in other posts, just find a junked/broken set of OEM fogs, and re-use the wiring from them. That guarantees you better wiring AND the correct connector to hook it up directly to the existing body harness.
I was also one of those who bought them at $55 and I love them (mostly because they're shiny & new), but they shouldn't be bought & installed without some mandatory work. They are not sealed properly, plain & simple. Dirt and road crud were destroying my expensive Silverstar H3s every 3 weeks until I performed the below procedure.
My autotech and I pulled off the lens covers (with no heating, just laughably pulled them off) and noticed how bad the calking was. The lens where it attaches to the housing should be water and dust proof, clearly it ain't.
Then we scraped it all off as well as sanded down the bulb protector (the black paint isn't even high temperature resistant, it chips and the debris destroys the bulb).
Applied heavy duty roof sealant. Let it dry with the back cover off to reduce out-gassing, and now they're ready for mounting. I did this last year and now the H3s burn out at their expected life cycle (I change them semi-annually but I have them lit most of the year).
looks like repete is using some simple trailer / trickle charger connectors, those will work too, as long as they aren't worse than what you already have
Also I can't find the clear lens ones any more? Did they sell out of them?
They'll come back, just give it time - they're trying to create mild panic & demand. Those vendors all heavily monitor the boards and scope them out getting clues for maximum profit (pretty sad considering their measly customer base). As an example, the smoked & especially the yellow fogs lost popularity because of a few bad comments here & on the other board, their price plunged from $100 to $63 in just weeks. The clear fogs will come back soon and be higher priced guaranteed.
They will still require rewiring, resealing, and repainting if you don't want the housing paint to flake off. That's a lot of work for 75$ fogs if they re release them at a higher price
True, but they're custom made just for the SW20, not generic 'fits everything' fogs. And OEM units cost $300+ once you do the math.
At the price these cheapies go for I think people should buy 2 sets (especially since the glass is half as thick as OEM and will most likely crack or pit within a few years, so far mine are good though after 2 years).
I've had these eBay fogs for about 4 years now and I thought I'd make some general observations:
They fit perfectly, just like OEM, would be good to mount just before a sale
They are competent summer fogs, but only so-so in rainy climates
Despite resealing them w/ fresh weather-strip calking, they still bring in condensation
Lens glass is very thin, brittle & not tempered, they crack & scratch easily resulting in a bit of a 'mesh' look, they don't age gracefully
Plastic housing isn't tough, gets marked up leading to a worn look, the bezel around the lens is also not heavy duty like OEM
I'm actually looking for an alternative, I don't think they match the rest of the car's quality. I wouldn't say they're junk, but you get what you pay for - no free lunch here.
I went back to OEM. I found 2 new fogs, one on eBay and one locally - just plain lucky I guess, never been mounted, they even have the original mounting screws & bulbs still in them.
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