Lighting Upgrades

First off, I'd like to say that adding REAL auxilliary lights helps in various situations; overcast
conditions, foggy weather, torrential rain, snow blizzards, etc. They even help others to avoid
hitting YOU in clear weather at night! Installing auxilliary lights on your car doesn't take long.
And, as long as you don't have your 1000-watt sound system at near-clipping, 100-watt driving lamps,
21-watt rear fog light, "regular" lights with the high beams on, HVAC with the fan at its highest
speed, horn, hazards, and defroster all running at the same time, you needn't worry about upgrading
your alternator. (Whew...) If you're interested in upgrading your lighting, check out
Susquehanna Motorsports. This place has the cheapest prices
for Hella products that I've seen so far. Plus, the owner, Ken
Beard, is a cool guy that really knows his stuff. I got all of my Hella parts from him.
So far, these are my lighting upgrades:
- Cibie E-Code (right side traffic) H4 lamps
They throw a MUCH better beam pattern on the road and they're less offensive to oncoming drivers.
Technically, they *are* illegal, but I doubt you'd get caught with them. Just don't attract
attention to yourself by using cheap-ass "trying-to-look-like-HID" bulbs that are really just
dipped in blue paint!
- PIAA Platinum Series Super White 60/55W H4 bulbs
(These are the closest to HID light I've seen. Supposedly, they have an output of 110/100W)
- PIAA 959 85-watt fog lamps with ion lenses
- Hella Model 100 rear fog light
(For foggy or rainy conditions, plus the unfortunate tailgaiter)
- Hella 108 db Compact Twin Horn kit
(Yeah, yeah, these AREN'T lights, but they add to your safety)
Auxilliary Lamp Wiring
By Ken Beard
Side Repeater Lamp Wiring
By Gerald San Agustin
Wiring for Two Horns
By Ken Beard
If you own a late-model Toyota, you don't need a relay--Toyota was thoughtful enough to include
a relay for the horn circuit. All you need to do is hook up a wire from the stock horn connector
to each horn. Then, ground each horn to a suitable spot. But, here is a diagram for those who need it.
Some tips to mount your rear fog light on the AE92:
- Instructions per C.V.C. 24602 regarding legal rear fog light installation:
- Only to be used when atmospheric conditions allow visibility < 500 ft.,
- Installed as close to left side as possible,
- Between 15"-60" height as measured f/ ground,
- Edge of rear fog light lens will be at least 4" away f/ any brake light,
- Wired and switch installed so that it can only be turned on when headlights are on, and
- Non-flashing amber pilot readily seen by driver when rear fog light is on.
- Get the rear fog light center console switch at your local junkyard. Snoop around for a Toyota
that has factory front fog lights. I got mine from an MA61 Supra. You'll find that the switch
will fit perfectly in the AE92's center console near the park brake. Legally, though, the switch
is supposed to include an amber light when the rear fog light's on... You can always rig an inline
light circuit to the switch...
- I sourced the +12V power supply from the cigarette lighter--I wanted to make sure that the rear
fog light only came on when the ignition switch was in the "acc" or "on" position. That way, the
battery wouldn't run down in case I forgot to turn it off. Then, I wired the cigarette lighter
so that it would be constantly on--it sucked having to turn on and unlock my cell phone after
stepping out of my car for a quick second.
- If you wired the rear fog light to the original cigarette lighter's power, you should replace
the cigarette lighter fuse in the driver's side kick panel to a lower amperage one. Also, label
the fuse cover so that you don't forget that you changed the wiring...
- You'll need to remove the rear bumper cover's retaining plate to hammer out and flatten out the rear
lip to accomodate the fog light's mounting bracket.
- Use the 2nd from the left bolt on the bumper cover retaining plate to mount the rear fog light.
It didn't thread in as much as before with the fog light's mounting bracket, so I used some
Loctite on the bolt to help make sure that it doesn't come loose and drop the light.
- I ran the +12V wire from the console switch, under the rear carpet, across and to the left towards
the left rear seat, through the pass-through space near the seat back, under the trunk felt cover,
out through one of the rubber plugs in the small-ass space on the left side of the trunk, under the
rear undercarriage, through a drilled hole in the rear bumper cover, and finally to the light
housing. If you're wondering where to ground it, DON'T! The mounting bracket actually acts as the
ground for the circuit, too. As long as the bolt's threads are clean, you should have a decent
ground.
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fsp14@ae92gts.com