LED Fog Bulbs & Lights

loganbent · January 3, 2014

If I'm reading this documentation correctly that was linked in a prior post from GM Upfitter....

Can you provide a link to GM Upfitter's post?

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?/topic/156105-found-a-little-jewel-for-you-guys.

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MotoMedic · January 3, 2014

what did you find out

Rigid's reply regarding 2014 fog light mounting kits:

"We offer a fog light kit for the 2008-2013 model trucks. We are currently still working on the 14’ vehicle line up and should be available within the next few weeks. You might even try calling a GMC dealer and asking them if they know if the fog lights have changed between 13-14. Hope this helps. Thanks for supporting Rigid!"

Bbowen826 · January 3, 2014

Rigid's reply regarding 2014 fog light mounting kits:

"We offer a fog light kit for the 2008-2013 model trucks. We are currently still working on the 14’ vehicle line up and should be available within the next few weeks. You might even try calling a GMC dealer and asking them if they know if the fog lights have changed between 13-14. Hope this helps. Thanks for supporting Rigid!"

They are giving the run around now. I contacted 2 months ago and they said they have prototypes done but are working on mass production to sell. Told me then it would be 30 days. Jase from Duck Dynasty has both the prototype fog mounts and grill on his truck from Rigid Industries. Check out his truck below. This picture is several months old. So they clearly know the lights are different.

Bbowen826 · January 4, 2014

Alright finally got the LED off road lights installed in place of the fogs. It does have that have that industrial feel and look to it. I have more pics in my gallery as well but here are a few of the finished product.

MotoMedic · January 5, 2014

Well... I gave up on replacing my factory fogs with 4" round aftermarket LED lights because they're too dang bright for normal street use! I ordered 5202 LED bulbs from VLEDs instead.

Then... I came across this: http://www.visionxusa.com/Accessories-Dimmer/c14_215/index.html

GRIPE!!!! That thing now makes the 4" round lights practical and so I've got an all new set of options to consider! These swings have me feeling like a 13 year old girl! haha

PaulM · January 5, 2014

Alright finally got the LED off road lights installed in place of the fogs. It does have that have that industrial feel and look to it. I have more pics in my gallery as well but here are a few of the finished product.

I like your lights, but are they square? Looks like hey have a slight tilt in relation to the lines of the bumper

Bbowen826 · January 5, 2014

I like your lights, but are they square? Looks like hey have a slight tilt in relation to the lines of the bumper

The led lights are square. Its an illusion that make them look tilted. The factory housing is not square and neither the top or bottom lines are level on the factory housing. I verified the truck was sitting level and used a level across the plates I made to mark the cut out for the lights. So the lights are sitting level instead of angled with the factory housing. Although it might look better angling them with the housing it would throw off the pattern of the LED on the road. These are driving lights that throw a short wide beam. So if mounted at an angle you will not get the full width of the beam on the road. If you shine the lights close to a surface the light pattern looks almost like a cross or plus. So tilting it would throw an x pattern instead.

Bbowen826 · January 5, 2014

After seeing the dimmer Motomedic found I couldn't wait until tomorrow to find out if it would work on other lights. According to VisionX their dimmer is made for their Prime lights. The Prime technology is basically using pulses of power at a high frequency to make the LEDs work at a cooler temperature. Their dimmer can slow down this pulse making the LEDs appear to be dimmer. Although it flashes the LEDs at a speed low enough to dim them it is still at a speed faster then the eye can detect. This is called pulse width modulation. I was able to find out that any DC powered led can be controlled using this technology. I actually found dimmers that can control from 6 amps to 8 amps. These dimmers are called PWM dimmers. They actually take a constant current coming in and sends out a pulsed source to the lights. The difference from what I can tell with the actual VisionX prime lights are that the pulse width technology is already built into the light. So their dimmer does not convert the power source to pulse. Instead it just sends a signal to an input wire on their lights telling it what speed to pulse at. So their dimmers will not work on other lights. But the ones I found will because it converts the source and sends it to the lights threw the power wire. Since my lights are only 2.5 amps each I think I'm gonna try one of these dimmers. Only cost about $20 too which is better then the VisionX. As soon as the dimmer arrives I will let everyone know how it works. This is a great find by Motometic and as he said it changes everything on what type of lights people can use now. (assuming it works) Hopefully I can use my lights on the road with out blinding people.

Aaron1085 · January 5, 2014

I'm interested in a plug and play LED light to simply replace the stock fog lights. No resistors, dimmers, relays, nothing....is this possible and affordable and still have USEFUL light on the road should I need it?

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MotoMedic · January 5, 2014

...is this possible and affordable and still have USEFUL light on the road should I need it?

It depends on what price you feel is affordable and how much brighter than stock you feel is useful.

The most basic level fog upgrade is a simple bulb swap. VLEDs 5202 LED fog bulbs are $60 a pair and 70% brighter than stock fog bulbs (stock 500 lumen vs VLEDs 850 lumen).

http://www.vleds.com/bulb/5202-9009-h16/white-led.html

The next level upgrade involves removing the factory fog lens/housings and installing stand-alone lights, like Bbowen has done. You're looking at prices that start at $200 a pair and light outputs that can exceed your stock headlights. I'm currently considering Vision-X 4" XP lights which are $220 a pair, 40% brighter than stock headlights, and seven times brighter than stock fogs! (stock headlight 2400 lumen vs Vision-X 3450 lumen) That's why we were so happy to find the dimmer switch... we can turn them down for street driving and crank them up for off-road!

http://www.visionxusa.com/LED-LED_Lights-Utility_Market_Xtreme/c1_286_218/p785/4%22_ROUND_UTILITY_MARKET_XTREME_BLACK_WORK_LIGHT_SEVEN_5-WATT_LED&%2339S_40_DEGREE_WIDE_BEAM/product_info.html

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MotoMedic · January 5, 2014

After seeing the dimmer Motomedic found I couldn't wait until tomorrow to find out if it would work on other lights. According to VisionX their dimmer is made for their Prime lights. The Prime technology is basically using pulses of power at a high frequency to make the LEDs work at a cooler temperature. Their dimmer can slow down this pulse making the LEDs appear to be dimmer. Although it flashes the LEDs at a speed low enough to dim them it is still at a speed faster then the eye can detect. This is called pulse width modulation. I was able to find out that any DC powered led can be controlled using this technology. I actually found dimmers that can control from 6 amps to 8 amps. These dimmers are called PWM dimmers. They actually take a constant current coming in and sends out a pulsed source to the lights. The difference from what I can tell with the actual VisionX prime lights are that the pulse width technology is already built into the light. So their dimmer does not convert the power source to pulse. Instead it just sends a signal to an input wire on their lights telling it what speed to pulse at. So their dimmers will not work on other lights. But the ones I found will because it converts the source and sends it to the lights threw the power wire. Since my lights are only 2.5 amps each I think I'm gonna try one of these dimmers. Only cost about $20 too which is better then the VisionX. As soon as the dimmer arrives I will let everyone know how it works. This is a great find by MotoMedic and as he said it changes everything on what type of lights people can use now. (assuming it works) Hopefully I can use my lights on the road with out blinding people.

Very good to know! I've decided to go with Vision-X for whatever I decide to order, so I'll probably just buy their dimmer too. I really like Rigid's products, but their 7000K color temp turned me off a bit. Vision-X products have an impeccable reputation, so I know they'll last and I can carry them forward to my future vehicles.

I'm now leaning towards going with the Vision-X 4" XP (40 degree wide beam) for my fog light openings and also still doing the center bumper light bar, but downgrading from the 20" to the 9" Prime XP (10 degree narrow beam). Those three will set me back a little over $500... but when all on full, they'll give me a "train-like" 9860 lumen, so it's absolutely worth it! haha

http://www.visionxusa.com/LED-LED_Lights-Utility_Market_Xtreme/c1_286_218/p785/4%22_ROUND_UTILITY_MARKET_XTREME_BLACK_WORK_LIGHT_SEVEN_5-WATT_LED&%2339S_40_DEGREE_WIDE_BEAM/product_info.html

http://www.visionxusa.com/LED-LED_Bars-Xmitter_Low_Profile_Xtreme_Light_Bar/c1_288_214/p862/9%22_XMITTER_LOW_PROFILE_PRIME_XTREME_BLACK_SIX_5-WATT_LED&%2339S_10_DEGREE_NARROW_BEAM/product_info.html

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Bbowen826 · January 5, 2014

Very good to know! I've decided to go with Vision-X for whatever I decide to order, so I'll probably just buy their dimmer too. I really like Rigid's products, but their 7000K color temp turned me off a bit. Vision-X products have an impeccable reputation, so I know they'll last and I can carry them forward to my future vehicles.

I'm now leaning towards going with the Vision-X 4" XP (40 degree wide beam) for my fog light openings and also still doing the center bumper light bar, but downgrading from the 20" to the 9" Prime XP (10 degree narrow beam). Those three will set me back a little over $500... but when all on full, they'll give me a "train-like" 9860 lumen, so it's absolutely worth it! haha

http://www.visionxusa.com/LED-LED_Lights-Utility_Market_Xtreme/c1_286_218/p785/4%22_ROUND_UTILITY_MARKET_XTREME_BLACK_WORK_LIGHT_SEVEN_5-WATT_LED&%2339S_40_DEGREE_WIDE_BEAM/product_info.html

http://www.visionxusa.com/LED-LED_Bars-Xmitter_Low_Profile_Xtreme_Light_Bar/c1_288_214/p862/9%22_XMITTER_LOW_PROFILE_PRIME_XTREME_BLACK_SIX_5-WATT_LED&%2339S_10_DEGREE_NARROW_BEAM/product_info.html

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Sounds like a good plan. People in the next state will be able to see you with all that light. Can't wait to see it. Great to see someone else that isn't afraid to cut into their truck and try new things. I know Rigid rates their lights at 7000k but after seeing mine i would rate it at a 6000k. it has a slight hint of blue but is very close to my 5000k HIDs.

OUSux · January 5, 2014

I like the idea of these lights, used in conjunction with the dimmer, but how difficult will it be to custom mount these down there?

Bbowen826 · January 5, 2014

You'll be happy with the VLEDs.

Here's a pic of icecrm's truck with the VLED fog bulbs installed: http://s403.photobucket.com/user/250motorsportz/media/2F673FC0-5846-426F-B944-4A594EDF79FA.jpg.html

Shouldn't be too difficult. Those are the same lights they sell in their GMT-900 custom fog kit and, if you look at my attached pic, the bracket simply lays over where the stock lens sat & bolts in place. The K2 stock mount holes look very similar the the GMT-900's, but I haven't done any actually measurements yet to confirm. I'm betting the old kit will also work on the new models but won't know for sure until I order and attempt install. At worst, I might have to make my own bracket, but luckily I can just tell the water-jet guys at work to cut it for me.

I looked at those 4" lights again you are talking about. Are you wanting to install them in place of the factory lens and keep the original round housing around them? The reason I ask is because it says those lights are 4.49" but the factory opening is only 4 1/4" at the outer flange then 4 1/8" on the inside clearance behind the flange. Also when you remove the factory lens it is a perfect circle behind it. So even if it did fit the opening you would have to cut out a section to make room for the mount. I can't tell the over all depth of those LEDs but you only have 1 1/2" of depth from the outside of the factory flange to the shallowest point behind the existing lens. I posted a larger picture of what it looks behind the lens and what I had to cut out. This is the piece im referring to be only 4 1/8" across the inside and 1.5" deep if the original flange was still installed. You can see the flange sitting above it.

MotoMedic · January 6, 2014

I looked at those 4" lights again you are talking about. Are you wanting to install them in place of the factory lens and keep the original round housing around them? The reason I ask is because it says those lights are 4.49" but the factory opening is only 4 1/4" at the outer flange then 4 1/8" on the inside clearance behind the flange. Also when you remove the factory lens it is a perfect circle behind it. So even if it did fit the opening you would have to cut out a section to make room for the mount. I can't tell the over all depth of those LEDs but you only have 1 1/2" of depth from the outside of the factory flange to the shallowest point behind the existing lens. I posted a larger picture of what it looks behind the lens and what I had to cut out. This is the piece im referring to be only 4 1/8" across the inside and 1.5" deep if the original flange was still installed. You can see the flange sitting above it.

Argh!!! In my excitement about discovering the dimmer switch, I completely forgot them actaully being 4 1/2" in diameter!

Going to pull one of my stock fogs out tomorrow & see what my options are. Might have to go back to just getting a bigger LED light bar and VLEDs bulbs for the fogs.