Stereo & Electronics - changing signal lights to fog lights

so i shattered one of my driving / front signal lights on my TA, and was curious if there is any way to wire the fog lights to be used as the daytime running lamps and my flasher signals? will this throw codes?

you would just have to cut the wires goin to the fogs, and rewire them to the wires going to the driving lights.

Are you talking about having white turn signals, then? If so, that could definitely get you a ticket.

The fog lights would draw too much power and be too bright for turn signals. Why not just fix/replace the the turn signal housing?

Cool idea I think, but would need to be low powered for night driving. It would be really cool to be able to turn the fog lights to always on, flash with signals, or always off.

just find thee part. it couldnt cost you much at all for a new housing, just dont go to the dealer.

true good call with the ticket idea... thanks guys. the lens cracked and leaked, working on making my own...

true good call with the ticket idea... thanks guys. the lens cracked and leaked, working on making my own...

Yea - BTW - A flashing white light (around 50-70 flashes per minute) is a recognized distress signal in North America. So, if you had a flashing white light on your car, you could get more than a ticket - perhaps surrounded by cops with guns drawn! (Taxi cabs in large cities have flashing white lights on them that the driver triggers when being robbed.)

haha true... i didnt know that one! the stock fogs are kinda yellow white, and i buyrned one out anyway... but im going to do it with my friend in town to help me...

(2000 trans am)
- getting rid of front driving/signal lights (above the air inlets), and getting new fog lights (broke one of those too), and programming/wiring fogs to work as driving/ signals...
- any one have recommendations or any stats to do this? (electricity boggles my mind, and im an architect!) thanks!
- pics this weekend!!!

from a design point of view i think these side lights look like an afterthought, i think by getting rid of them it will help add to the four nostril grill effect that the ram air hood starts to impose...

So you ask a question and get a number of very reasonable responses explaining why you shouldn't do the modification and why it won't work properly yet you're going to do it anyway? All for the cost of a $30 turn signal housing? :bang:

yes, sorry if i dont want to be like everyone else, another black t/a... to me my car is an art form, and i will modify it till the day i die... lol. and nothing is impossible... i will post pics after i do it. i am sure i can find a 'yellow' round driving light, besides i found bulbs that made the turn signals look white anyway, (cops only had a problem with my interior blue bulbs).

One option might be to use amber LED replacement bulbs. A Google search for "880 LED amber" turned up a few possibilities (make sure you get high wattage ones - the cheap ones wouldn't be bright enough). They would plug into the existing socket and wiring harness so you wouldn't have to modify the fog light housing. You'd have to change your turn signal flasher to an electronic one because they don't draw much current compared to an incandescent bulb.

cool thank you... what would be a 'high wattage' one? aye difference in electronic flashers? i assume id have to get one to match it up to the wattage of the bulb or bulbs connected to it...

from a design point of view i think these side lights look like an afterthought

They are not an afterthought. Just taken out of a parts bin. If things like this were custom, you'd end up paying for a Ferarri. The marker lights are a key thing for others being able to see you at night. (Same reason airplanes have lights on their wings.)

If you are going to look at putting in amber bulbs with clear lenses, why not do the same with the markers or use a black-out kit for them? If you really want a new look, I'm sure you could work a different light in their spot - but you still need amber markers in the front and reds in the back quarter for the car to meet DOT specs.

cool thank you... what would be a 'high wattage' one? aye difference in electronic flashers? i assume id have to get one to match it up to the wattage of the bulb or bulbs connected to it...Try ipmart.com (non-sponsor) and search for their 880 amber LED bulb. It has 13 1/2 watt LEDs which is about as powerful as you can get.

As far as the flasher, any two prong electronic flasher will work if you leave ordinary bulbs in the back. If you replace all the bulbs (front and back) with LEDs then you'll have to get an electronic flasher specifically designed for LEDs.

thanks again all... i will be talking to a shop this weekend about it and will report back with pics!

ok well been working my ass off with no time, but im back on it...

**again switching my driving/parking lights to my fog lights, and deleting parking light housings**

3457 Minor volts 14 watts 8.26
3457 Major 12.8 28.54
880 12.8 27

these are the ratings for the front bulbs and the fog light bulbs, so a simple plug ad play crossover may work, and i already tried just changing/moving the connectors themselves, but of course they dont fit. now, my problem is the turn bulb has three wires going into it (light blue, black and brown), while the fog light only has 2 (purple, black). SEE PIX. this is the drivers side so maybe wire colors vary on the other side. how should i connect them? or should i just search for a fog light housing that can be used as a turn bulb as well? thanks for the input again all!

i do not want to go to hid's, i dont think they would flash well with what i have read, and i dont think they will draw to much power or burn anything, the fogs have been fine the first ten years of the cars life... and please dont ask me why...

There are three wires because the running lights and DRL/turn signals use separate filaments on the dual filament 3457 bulbs. The brown wire powers the dim (3 candlepower) filament for the running lights when the headlights are on. The light blue (right side) or dark blue (left side) wire powers the bright (40 CP) filament for daytime running lights and turn signals.

DO NOT use HIDs if you want them to flash with the turn signals. For that matter, halogen isn't the best option either - flashing won't damage them but they tend to be slower to warm up than regular bulbs so the look may not be what you want.

ah ok, so i need to have the 3457 bulb in the fog light housing? or is there an 880 version that is dual filament? or can i just not connect the brown wire, allowing only the turn signals to work and the driving lights? how would you achieve this look? thank you for the responses, i greatly appreciate it!

The 880 (and its equivalents such as the 885 and 893) is not available in a dual filament configuration. Besides, they are also available only in white and it is illegal to flash white lights (for your turn signals). Trust me, this will get you the wrong kind of attention very quickly - I have friends who have been (wrongly) ticketed for a headlight modulator on their motorcycle (legal in all 50 states).

You could change the lens color to amber (film cover or special paint) and continue to use the original bulb. In that case you would just leave the brown wire disconnected. Technically that's illegal as well but I doubt anyone would notice. I would highly recommend getting LED replacement 880 bulbs since the halogen ones don't flash very well.

If you can find or modify a dual filament socket to fit the fog light housing, the possibilities are much better. For example, you could install those "switchback" LED replacements that are white for running lights and turn amber for the turn signals.

2nd paragraph your talking about using the same 880 bulb yes? im sure i could find a way to alter the color. so i would connect black to black and color to color and should work? (driving and signal light?) and yes i will look at the LED ones...

i will take another look and see if i can use the corner light socket and drill out the fog light and get it to hold somehow...

thanks again, i really appreciate all info. pics to come!

Yes, connect black to black and blue to purple. Then if you use the original bulbs and change the lens color (or use the amber 880 LED bulbs) you will have turn signals and daytime running lights - you just won't have parking lights when the headlights are on.

bad-ass. thank you so much for your help, i will try this and post pix when im done.

got it to work! just as simple as that. i dont think the fogs were ever useful anyway when the headlights are on. so now my fogs blink bright, and act as my driving lights! thanks for all your help WhiteBird00. ima try and get a video up later on...

update on this: works well but there seems to be some corrosion along one side of the wires of the bulb, rusted all the way through the connector and the pin broke off inside it. doesnt seem to be a result of water, so maybe the fact that they arent made to flash finally wore on the bulbs. i will replace the connectors and am ordering a set of LED's that will hopefully solve all future problems...

Yes, connect black to black and blue to purple. Then if you use the original bulbs and change the lens color (or use the amber 880 LED bulbs) you will have turn signals and daytime running lights - you just won't have parking lights when the headlights are on.

Aren't parking lights legally required?