Fog Lights: Install [Retrofit] fog lights on 2010 Prius?

Does anyone know a company where I could order the 81482-47020 and 81481-47020 foglight covers online with shipping to Canada? I tried parts.com but they say they don't ship internationally and my local Toyota dealers want $80 EACH for them. Ouch!

 

I have never had the Toyota lights in hand, only seen the pictures, so I cannot confirm the connector fit, sorry. Anyone else know if the aftermarket lights use the exact OEM connector?

 

Both use a H11 bulb, so they would be the same. At least the ones I got off ebay.

 

It appears autopartspeople.com might - they say they will contact you first to get approval on the shipping charges, if you are outside the US.
I ordered mine from them (but I'm in the US.) They are not as good as parts.com in terms of service and reponsiveness - but they did arrive!

 

Here are some photos showing the final results of my foglight installation in my 2010 Prius III. I think the looks of the foglights are a big improvement over the appearance of the original dummy covers.

My installation, like most installations done by other forum members, uses the Toyota Yaris OEM 06 07 liftback foglight kit, which includes both foglights, all wiring harness, an on/off switch, and bulbs. The kits are available on Ebay for $27.99 plus shipping, and fit perfectly within the 2010 Prius. I did not use the switch that came with the Yaris kit (see a following paragraph, and photo, to see the switch I did use). The Yaris covers that come with the kit are not useable, and are discarded

In addition, Toyoto Prius OEM covers (part numbers 81482-47020, LH, and 81481-47020, RH) are needed. These covers replace the Prius dummy covers, and can be purchased from www.parts.com for $31.81 each, plus shipping. The dummy covers are discarded.

One of the photos shows the location of the chassis ground for my dash-mounted foglight on/off switch. The location of the chassis ground for the foglights themselves is at a bolt head near the driver side foglight under the vehicle. I forgot to photograph it before covering up that area. Sorry.

Anyway, I used my multimeter to make sure I had picked locations that are truly chassis grounds. Just because something is metal does not mean that it is grounded.

I decided to use a dash mounted switch for my foglight on/off switch. The way I wired it allows the foglights to be used independent of anything else. They can be turned on even if the vehicle has been turned off (see the included schematic), and do not depend on whether the headlights are off or on. I found a mini rocker switch at a local Autozone store. It is illuminated by an LED, which comes in various colors. The switch is priced at $3.99 plus tax, and the part number is PL-SW12B.

What attracted me to this mini switch is that if a CAREFULLY cut hole is made in the Prius switch blank, the mini switch can be inserted into that hole, and then the entire assembly (mini switch and Prius switch blank) can then be inserted back into the switch hole in the Prius dash, and will fit perfectly. The hole in the switch blank should be cut to 1/2 inch by 3/4 inch. The interior of the blank needs a little grinding with a Dremel tool to provide sufficient clearance for the 2 conductors sticking out of the mini switch.

Jim

 

if I ever get around to it, I'll need 2 relays to allow them to function with the low beams only. Inspections are really strange around here sometimes.

 

You can still use only one relay - just use the low beam's 12V source to power the relay coil, instead of using the fog lights' 12V power source as Jim did.

 

but I want them to cut out as they should when the high beams are one - DTDP relay

 

Ahhh...sorry, misunderstood. Yes, then you'd need two relays - or one relay and some control logic.

 

Thanks, Jim, I appreciate the pictures. When it all comes I'll have to retrace my steps in this long thread to find details like where you went through the firewall with the 18 gauge relay wire. I've ordered the covers from parts.com and the Yaris kits from the seller on e-bay, so now for the hard part!

Lee

 

Hi Gadgetdad:

Thanks to post 301 from Hawkmoon77, getting through the firewall was easy. See image # 8.

Jim

P.S. Well, easy - sort of. My back is still sore from getting into position. Too bad instrument panels can't be swiveled for access.

 

I just got my yaris foglights, the cover and the stalk for it. I am kind of confuse about the installation part. I got the part about removing the wheel to get the stalk install part but what is the rest? I heard if I am using the stalk then all I need is to get the power from the 12v+ provide by ECU from pre-existing circuit to the driver's fog light then run another 12v to the passengers fog light. Is that mean other than the steering wheel, then I don't have to open anything else inside the car and work straight from the hood? I am stupid at these stuff and I haven't get the car yet, but I printed out Hawkmoon77 instruction and I am not sure which part is for switch install and which one are for Stalk install. And for stalk install, which harness I got from that Yaris Kit will be able to use and which will not? Someone please help!!!

 

I understand you'd like to take care of this yourself, and please, no offense, but I'd strongly suggest that you find a friend, etc. that has some experience with this type of modification to do it for you, or at least assist/supervise. This mod is not for someone with little to no experience, particularly if you're going to use the stalk and existing relay circuit. You run the risk of damaging your electrical system and other components if you connect the wrong things or disassemble/assemble things incorrectly. I'm an engineer, and I have done lots of work on vehicles, and I still make mistakes - some of them costly.

Anyone you know that could help you out? If not, I'd suggest you find a good aftermarket shop (or a dealer) and pay them to do the mod (even if you have to print out some instructions from this forum.)

Good luck!

 

I'm impressed you bought all the parts before getting your Prius. Gutsy!

From the Yaris kit, you'll need the lights and the light-to-light harness. That's the one that actually plugs into the lights. Some might argue that you should make a replacement harness with larger wire - it's not neccessary. You'll also need to keep the connector on the main harness (red wire) that plugs into the Yaris fog light harness. I'd cut the connector off leaving about 3 inches of wire on the connector for splicing to the 12 v wire you'll run from the dash per hawkmoon's instructions. You'll need some crimp wire splices, a crimp tool and some electrical tape to tape over the splices. Radio shack has these. Practice on some scrap wire to learn how to get a tight crimp splice (the wires shouldn't pull out after crimping with modest pulling).

If you really want to do this yourself, be patient with yourself and the information. I suggest you re-read this thread over and over 'till your car comes. Memorize the pictures and hawkmoon77's instructions. When you get your car, pop open the hood and get familiar with everything with the directions in hand. Put the vehicle up on jackstands/ramps and open up the covers to access the back of the fog light blanks. The purpose is for you to get familiar with the vehicle and doing some disassembly AND increase your confidence. Go thru the work process in your mind while staring at the engine/ dash areas. This may take a couple of weeks.

When you decide to do the installation, set aside a weekend and go slowly and be patient. BTW, the wire passthru under the dash looks like an empty hole in the rubber plug. I used a sharpended, small-bladed screwdriver about 7 in long to make the hole into the engine area, pushing it thru repeatedly to get the hole open. When the screwdriver goes thru the rubber, try seeing the screwdriver tip on the engine compartment firewall with a flashlight. I put some plumbers grease on the wire (3 in my case) going thru the hole & was able to push the wire thru.

The reality is that there's no class for doing this. Everyone here started with some project and learned from the experience. This project won't disable the vehicle and doesn't require cutting/splicing existing vehicle wiring. You could stop part-way thru and come back later to finish (except for the light stalk install). If you do stop part-way, use electrical tape to make sure there's no bare wire ends with 12V that could contact ground and pop a fuse.

 

Thanks Dark_Matter_Doesn't and jayvee.

I had been looking for my Prius since June and I am sure I will get it around this time (acutally my car is coming to port on Oct 18th), so last month I started to do my shopping. I bought the Fog light kit, the cover, the stalk, the VIP RS3200 alarm and Signal Mirrors. I got everything on hand except for the alarm and the signal mirrors. I am planning to install everything myself (if I can) and I already got someone to clean up my mess if I failed. I had actually understand more of the hawkmoon77 and other people's instruction with picture more after I got my kit and start looking at it. But just like what I said, I couldn't tell which steps are not necessary for the stalk install and which one are.

I am looking at the harness I got from the Yaris Kit, and I do know what you mean the one that acutally plugs into the light part. But I don't get when you said

"You'll also need to keep the connector on the main harness (red wire) that plugs into the Yaris fog light harness. I'd cut the connector off leaving about 3 inches of wire on the connector for splicing to the 12 v wire you'll run from the dash per hawkmoon's instructions."

I saw there is a connector connects the light to light harness (red wires) to a bunch of wires with relay. The side for the lights to light harness is Female and the other is Male Plug. Do you mean 3 inches from that Male Plug? And leave all those relay, one thing said "CAR SHOW" on it , Green Plug and Ground wires alone?

 

Correct. You'll need to keep that male connector plus about 3" of the attached wire. You can (in principle) discard the rest of the Yaris harness, because the vehicle provides the relay & power.

I saw that you're going to do the mirror turn signals. Assuming you do the fog lights first, and since you'll be right next to the turn signal lights when you install the fog lights, plan to splice in two extra wires, one from each turn signal. Even better: when you run the 12 V wire thru the firewall, put two additional 18 gauge wires thru at the same time. They will provide power from the front turn signal lights for the mirror lights. Buy 15 ft spools minimum. Then splice in the 18 gauge wires to the turn signal lights when you install the fogs.

 

thanks a lot

 

Today I went to Autozone, NAPA, and Home Depot. The first two place didn't sell any wires by itself and I asked the guy in Home Depot and they didn't understand what I mean 12v wire. Is there another term for it?

 

Just about any plastic-insulated wire will handle 12VDC without shorting out. It's the current that wire will carry that's most important. There's a standard for wire sizes called American Wire Gauge (AWG). Look this up on the 'Net - you can find current capacity values for AWG sizes. Note that larger number sizes correspond to smaller wire size. For example, your house uses 12 or 14 AWG solid copper wire. There's also stranded copper wire that's more flexible - that's what you want for your car. The same size of wire comes in different colors of insulation.

For the foglights, I think hawkmoon77 ran 14 or 16 AWG stranded wire from the ECU to the lights. That will easily handle the 9 - 10 amps of current the foglights will draw. For the mirror turn signal lights, 18 AWG should be good enough.

For the wire, go to one of the Fry's Electronics stores in the Houston area. Get 15 ft spools, the crimp union joints needed for the size of wire you're buying and a crimp tool. You might also get a cheap digital volt meter to check connections.

 

+1 The last question worries me... if you've never bought wire berfore, this project is probably over your head. Not trying to be mean, just honest.