How to swap OEM for Hella fog lights?

I'm looking to buy some Hella 500 or 550 fog lights to replace the OEM fog lights on my 97 XJ. (Plan to mount them on top of my new aftermarket bumper, instead of underneath.)

In terms of wiring them up, is there anything to do, other than splice the Hella wires to the OEM wires?

One concern: The Hellas are 55 watts each, and I've been told my OEMs are 35 watts each. So, will the stock set-up provide enough power to enable the Hellas to shine optimally? Or do I need to make an electrical mod?

Thanks,

Dave

ChaplainDave said:

In terms of wiring them up, is there anything to do, other than splice the Hella wires to the OEM wires?

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I did exactly that with my Hella 500s. I cut the pigtails off of the OEM lights and soldered them onto the pigtails from the 500s. Plug-and-play.

Thanks -- good to hear it's do-able.

But did you have any issues caused by the different wattages--35 for OEM and 55 for the Hellas? The Hellas wern't under-powered/dimmer than optimum?

ChaplainDave said:

Thanks -- good to hear it's do-able.

But did you have any issues caused by the different wattages--35 for OEM and 55 for the Hellas? The Hellas wern't under-powered/dimmer than optimum?

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Considering you don't want a bright lamp for use as a fog light, you may want to go to a 35W bulb in your Hellas - which will still benefit from the improved lense and reflector bowl of the Hella lamp.

Pretty much what I did. I have two sets of the rectangular Hellas on my bumper (500? 550? I don't remember...) with a 35W bulb in each of the amber ones (foglamps) and a 100W bulb in each of the clear ones (driving lamps.) Works rather nicely, methinks...

As long as the wiring is at least 14AWG, the only thing you should need to make larger would be the fuse (the OEM 35W pair probably has a 7.5A fuse - 35Wx2=70W, 70W/12VDC=5.83A.) You'll want a 10A fuse (55Wx2=110W. 110W/12VDC=9-1/6A.)

If the wiring is 16AWG or smaller, trace and replace with 12-14AWG instead.

Thanks, guys.

I swapped my OE driving lights for some 55W driving lights. Each one tested fine separately. When both were wired up, something blew and I have no power to either. I checked fuses under the passenger side panel and nothing looks blown. Is there another fuse I'm not aware of?

relay on the drivers side next to the rad? maybe not with newer models but its like that one my '90...just an idea

Check the fuse for the fog relay in the PDC?