Stock fog light replacement bulbs?

Has anyone replaced the stock fog light bulbs in an Explorer ( esoecially a 99 ) with some brighter bulb?

Details and opinions sought.

Thanks....

 

[YetiX]

Ditto, just got my stock lights (finally) but I know I'm gonna want to replace the bulbs with MORE POWER!!

Anyone (mattadams) know what bulbs are good replacements?

 

[Campo]

I went to the dealer a while back to get a replacement for a burnt out bulb and was told by the dealer that the fog lights in the 99 X's are sealed and the bulbs cannot be changed I would have to change the whole assembly for $90

 

[Sport (no trac)]

HA!! I just did this this AM. I have a 2001 Sport, but I am guessing Ford is using parts from the same bin.

My factory fogs took 9045 bulbs which I guess are high beam bulbs specially designed to work in Ford foglights via the utilization of a black tip on the bulb which reduces the glare on oncoming drivers. A 9005 bulb will replace the 9045. The difference is the 9005 doesn't have the black tip and therefore is much brighter than the 9045. Oh, and the 1 of the 3 locating tabs on the bulb is slightly different.

When you hold the bulbs so the element is pointing towards you, the tab on the lower right side of the 9005 is a bit lower than its counterpart on the 9045. Don't worry, the difference is nothing 5 minutes of filing with a nail file and Exacto blade won't fix. Believe me, I thought twice, or maybe 4 times about whether I wanted to cut into my $70 PIAA SuperWhites, but really, there is nothing to it. Do it slowly and leave the Dremel in its case. This isn't the place for vibration.

I was much happier with the perfomance of the PIAA 9005s as compared to the 9007s in the headlights. The PIAA box says "100/110 power" but I doubt that.

 

[99explorer5.0]

SEALED ?????? $90 to replace ?????? WTF ?????? I hope those bulbs last the lifetime of the car. I will be one pissed off basterd if i have to pay $90 to get a replacement fog light.

 

['96explorereddiebauer]

Originally posted by 99explorer5.0
SEALED ?????? $90 to replace ?????? WTF ?????? I hope those bulbs last the lifetime of the car. I will be one pissed off basterd if i have to pay $90 to get a replacement fog light.

$90 is nothing. My mom's '94 Town & Country's fog light was busted so my dad went to the dealer and got a fog light assembly for $110. That includes the H-3 lamp. It's very very expensive.

Tony, Ford is trying to rip you off. The bulb is replaceable. The only reason you need to get a new fog light assembly is ONLY because it is busted.

 

[Campo]

Well I did grenade my fog lamp awhile back but I put it back together with 3M 2 part epoxy, but I can't figure out how to get to the bulb without prying the lens off and resealing it....

$90....WTF.... Thats exactly what I said.....

 

[Sport (no trac)]

Replacing the fogs in my 2001 X was as easy as reaching up behind the fender liner and twisting the bulb.

 

[aldive]

Originally posted by Sport (no trac)
Replacing the fogs in my 2001 X was as easy as reaching up behind the fender liner and twisting the bulb.

But with which bulbs?

 

[Sport (no trac)]

Aldive,

Read my write-up earlier in this thread. I put 9005 bulbs into my 2001 X Sport foglights. The factory bulbs are 9045s, but I opted for the 9005s which don't have the black tip and are much brighter. The PIAAs are even brighter.

 

[YetiX]

Sport (no trac), you put 9005s in your fog lights? Just looked at the bulbs at PepBoys and those look WAY too big to fit in the fog light housing. Not that I doubt you, but are you SURE it's a 9005 that you stuck in there?

Al, I looked on PIAA's website and they don't list a replacement bulb for the fogs. I dunno.

I wish I had pulled one of my bulbs before I installed my lights this weekend to take a look at it. Now I gotta get down and dirty AGAIN!

 

[Sport (no trac)]

YetiX:

Yup, I'm sure they're 9005s. PIAA doesn't list a replacement because they don't make a 9045, but with some trimming, the 9005s fit nicely into my 2001 Sport's stock foglights. The 9005 bulb length was a hair longer, but still plenty short enough to fit and leave clearance between the bulb and lens. The only real roadblock was the locating tabs. The 9045 and 9005 are identical except for one tab where the 9005's is wider and requires some trimming with a nail file.

The 9005 foglight bulb upgrade made a huge difference. I am still not sold that the PIAA Superwhites were worth the money, but oh well.

 

[YetiX]

The owners manual says they're 889s which I think is the same as H-3s. Anyone know? If so, PIAA makes a Superwhite H-3.

 

['96explorereddiebauer]

899 and H-3 are different.

This is H-3:

This is 893/899

If you want superwhites, you need to get 893 bulbs. I got mine from www.autotoys.com for $20 plus shipping. Look for that.

 

[Sport (no trac)]

The 1996 fogs are different from my 2001's. I have round fogs and they require 9045s. Take my word for it, 9005s fit in the 2001 factory foglights with a minor bit of filing.

 

[YetiX]

I'll have to check that out. Although my X is a '96 I have a 2000 front bumper on it.

The only thing is that I checked the manual for my friends' 2000 X and it said the replacement bulbs were 893s, not 9045. Maybe there's a difference between the SportTrac and the X.

 

[Sport (no trac)]

I am surprised (well, maybe not) that there is a difference between the 2000 and 2001 fogs.

Maybe there is a difference between the Sport Trac and the X, but I wouldn't know...I have a Sport (no trac, get it?).

 

[YetiX]

I have a Sport (no trac, get it?).

Duh. I noticed that after I had posted. Must be my dain bramage.

What does your owner's manual say the replacement bulb is for your fogs?

Maybe the difference is between Sport and XLT (don't think so) or maybe they changed the fogs in 2001. Hmmn.

Lemme know what your owner's manual says.

'96explorereddiebauer,

Where did you get those diagram's? Do you know if there's a difference between the 893 and the 9045 bulbs?

 

[Sport (no trac)]

I'll check my owner's manual tonight and update this thread. What I can tell you is that based on the diagram posted by '96expl., there is definitely a difference between the 9045/9005 and 893 bulbs.

The 9005/9045 bulbs are set at a 90 degree angle to the bulb socket. If you hold the bulb so it is facing you, you will see the end that plugs into the wiring harness sitting perpendicular to the bulb. If this piece is facing skyward, the tab on the lower right is the one on the 9005 that needs to be filed to fit into the 9045 lamp housing.

See the black tip on the 893 bulb in the diagram? This black tip is not on the 9005 bulbs, which I guess are meant to be high beam bulbs in their natural applications. The 9045 has this black tip and is meant to be a foglight bulb. The black tip is supposed to reduce the glare on oncoming traffic.

 

[YetiX]

I FIGURED IT OUT!!!!

I got so frustrated reading this that I went downstairs and pulled my bulb out to actually look at the *******.

So here it is:

This is a 9005
Dead Link Removed

This is an H-1 bulb:

What I have in my fogs (which are 2001s I guess, I got em at the junkyard) are H-1 bulbs in a 90 degree housing so they look sort of like a 9005 except the silver stuff below the bulb.

Sport (not trac), do you have the same thing I do? i.e. H-1 bulb in a 90 degree housing? If so, check out this link Dead Link Removed . They have a PIAA H-1 bulb which they claim "Increases apparent light output from stock 55 watt lamp without increasing electrical requirements or generating excessive heat."

Whadda ya think?