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Technical How Do I Wire This Fog Light??

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by seadog, Jan 3, 2022.

  1. I’ve had a small fog light on the front of my roadster forever. I got it years ago at the Lone Star Roundup swap. I think it originally came from Speedway.

    Tonight I decided to make it functional. Admittedly I’m not a whiz at wiring, but I did wire the car using an American Autowire kit and everything worked, so I figured this fog light would be easy.

    When I got it apart there was only 1 wire hooked to a terminal on the back of the light. I thought there would have been 2 wires (power & ground). What gives here and how do I wire this thing?
    EDB5945D-8759-4F9F-8D55-F63C2ADEE2CE.jpeg 7EE72457-30A8-48B5-A450-F7746079B998.jpeg
    I want to control this light with a toggle switch separate from the main lighting circuit?
     
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  2. Bob Lowry
    Joined: Jan 19, 2020
    Posts: 1,488

    Bob Lowry

    Not a problem....the white wire is your hot lead, going to one side of your switch. The other side of your
    switch will be the power source. The light itself is the ground, (or the second wire in effect), that you are
    used to working with. Just make sure that it has a good grounding to whatever you mount it to. Bob
     
  3. lostone
    Joined: Oct 13, 2013
    Posts: 2,820

    lostone
    Member
    from kansas

    .
    I'd say the bulb grounds to the housing, housing grounds to the car so only 1 wire needed for the hot.

    .
     
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  4. Bandit Billy
    Joined: Sep 16, 2014
    Posts: 12,287

    Bandit Billy
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Since I base/cleared my frame and didn't want to make a mess of that I simply ran ground leads from the mounting bolts inside the light assemblies, routed through the conduit with the power wire and grounded the lights on a ground bus. I don't like ground issues.
     

  5. TrailerTrashToo
    Joined: Jun 20, 2018
    Posts: 1,289

    TrailerTrashToo
    Member

    Foglight.jpg A ground wire will be the most reliable solution.
     
  6. As mentioned, it's a self grounding unit, but as @TrailerTrashToo says, the most reliable method is to include a dedicated ground wire.
     
  7. Don't forget a fused power source.
     
  8. Mark Grabo
    Joined: Jan 26, 2018
    Posts: 110

    Mark Grabo
    Member
    from Upstate NY

    Make Sure it is a switched power source (turns off with the key ) So you don't accidently leave it on and kill your Battery .
     
  9. ssffnomad
    Joined: Jul 23, 2008
    Posts: 954

    ssffnomad
    Member

    I just recently got a pair of 5 1/2” Fogs. Will gently blast the rusty area. And put a good heavy ground grommet under attachment bolt .
    Stretch 4E5918BD-A2AD-446B-BCED-A8AF9BAC0A38.jpeg
     
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  10. Boneyard51
    Joined: Dec 10, 2017
    Posts: 6,442

    Boneyard51
    Member

    Whata think about bouncing that wire up to 14 gauge? I hardly ever use 16 gauge on automotive stuff…..just seems too small. Maybe that’s just me!:rolleyes:





    Bones
     
  11. alanp561
    Joined: Oct 1, 2017
    Posts: 4,612

    alanp561
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Just as you have a relay for your headlights, you should have a relay for your fog lights.
     
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  12. The wire is a hot wire. The metal case grounds to the frame when the light is installed. be sure that the mount makes good contact when the light is installed and run a hot wire to the light and you are golden.
     
    TrailerTrashToo likes this.
  13. Thanks guys! I love it when a plan works. I’ll wire it in to an empty accessory terminal on the fuse block and put a toggle switch in the circuit when I pull the engine later this month. The light draws less than 3 amps so shouldn’t need a relay as long as it’s the only thing on the circuit. Thanks again for the input.
    C8B0D8B9-7DF2-4A1E-A98F-7296527D1BA3.jpeg
     
  14. 1971BB427
    Joined: Mar 6, 2010
    Posts: 8,719

    1971BB427
    Member
    from Oregon

    I never depend on housings as a ground. Too many screwed, clamped, or bolted connections that can go bad. So as Trailer Trash pointed out, I want the ground wire separate, and as close to the socket as possible to eliminate all other poor ground sources.
     

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