New bulbs

I put a set of the HID fakes and a set of diamond yellow in my fog lights today. They look great so far in the daylight. But my ? is I put the fogs in and they blew the fuse. I went up to the 80/100w bulbs from the factory 42w ones. I figure that is why they blew the fuse. i changed it to another 10a and it blew too. I went up to a 20a and now it is now popping. Is that safe? I think it will be. Just the small fuse wouldn't handle the power the new bulbs were pulling. I will post some pics later of the new lights. Oh ya, got the bulbs at http://autolumination.com/headlights.htm I got the 2nd ones on that page.

STU

Oh ya, another thing I done that I am pleased with the look of is I took rubbing compound and polished my headlight lenses. It got the oxidation off there wasn't much there anyway. I was surprised how little was on mine to be a 02. I waxed over them when I finished to make them look slick and maybe keep the ox. off them in the future some. Really a simple fix and worth the 10 mins it took.

STU

stuartr, my opinion is that replacing a 10A fuse with a 20A is a bad idea. It is a 10A circuit and by putting in a 20A fuse you now have the potential to be drawing 20A on the wiring. If the wiring is not rated for 20A it could overheat and possibly cause a fire. Another thing to think about is the heat that will be generated by the higher wattage bulbs. That could be a problem in the housing. You may never have an issue but I would not installed a higher amp fuse or higher wattage bulbs. Just my opinion.

Wow. Those might be to much light bulb for your fog lights. I would be concerned about melting the housing with that many watts. If you are blowing the stock fuse that is not a good sign. BigRondo had a good point to about frying your wires possibly.

stuartr said:

Oh ya, another thing I done that I am pleased with the look of is I took rubbing compound and polished my headlight lenses. It got the oxidation off there wasn't much there anyway. I was surprised how little was on mine to be a 02. I waxed over them when I finished to make them look slick and maybe keep the ox. off them in the future some. Really a simple fix and worth the 10 mins it took.

STU

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Stu, you have any before and after pics of the headlight?

I tried some pic but my camera jsut didn't show it to well. i will try again tonight if I get a chance. I checked on teh housing for the bulbs and they are metal and glass. I don't think they will have a problem with the heat. i ran them a while and felt of the lens. It was warm but not boiling hot. When you are moving it would cool it even more so I don't see a problem in the future.

STU

stuartr said:

I tried some pic but my camera jsut didn't show it to well. i will try again tonight if I get a chance. I checked on the housing for the bulbs and they are metal and glass. I don't think they will have a problem with the heat. i ran them a while and felt of the lens. It was warm but not boiling hot. When you are moving it would cool it even more so I don't see a problem in the future.

STU

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Think about what I said about the fuse.

STU, The high watt bulbs will discolor the chrome/plastic reflecting surface of the fog lamps. The reflective surface will be dulled to the point that the lights are usless. (Been there, done that)
When cars are made they use as small as wires possible to keep the cost down. So, a 45 watt bulb is probably powered by a wire that can take 40 watts. With the smaller wires than required the light you get from the bulb is greatly reduced. Your 100 watt bulbs are probably no more that 70 watts now.
What happens when you put in higher watt bulbs is that you raise the resistance in the wires and therefore raise the heat. You took care of the resistance by putting in a 20amp fuse. You did nothing to counter the heat. So, **** will happen. Maby not today or tomorrow but...your playing with fire.
When the fog system finally burns out you can put in some aftermarket lights with a relay and proper sized wire and they will be 50% brighter than the set up you now have.
Like I said...Been there done that. Maby you can learn from my mistakes.

I don't really even notice a heat difference. So like you said time will tell. When you say dealing with fire. I am not sure if you mean that literally, but I don't think that it will be a problem like that. When I get some fuses I will try a 15w and see if it pops. I don't think it will. I also don't think it will lead to problems. I may be wrong but we will see.

STU

In response to:

stuartr said:

When you say dealing with fire. I am not sure if you mean that literally, but I don't think that it will be a problem like that.

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Read this again and I would really take their advice if I were you, this isn't a smart choice to make.

Bill Kemp said:

You did nothing to counter the heat. So, **** will happen. Maby not today or tomorrow but...your playing with fire.

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BigRondo said:

If the wiring is not rated for 20A it could overheat and possibly cause a fire.

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Best of luck, let us know how it goes!

Well update. I changed the fuse to a 15a and it is holding just fine. So the circuit isn't that overloaded. I have talked to others that say shouldn't be a problem. If there is a problem in the circuit the fues will blow. As for the light housings I think they will take it fine they seem to be pretty decent construction.
STU