Installing Custom Fog or Driving Lights
Installing these lights isn't too hard - just takes a little patience. First thing you
need is the lights. I opted for fog lights because this is a nice low position
on the car and that's where you want your fog lights. However, if you want to put driving
lights there that will work too.
I found these lights in the JC Whitney catalog for $27.95 + S&H. The lights fit almost
perfectly into the existing holes in the front bumper for your blinkers.
The stock numbers are 89VN0411T (Fog lights), and 89VN0410N (Driving lights), and the
description is SLIM-LINE HALOGEN DRIVING & FOG LIGHT KITS. JC Whitney's
phone number is (312)431-6102.
Their URL is http://www.jcwhitneyusa.com. When I checked their web site it was not nearly as extensive as their catalog. I recommend just ordering the catalog from their site.
Once you get your lights of choice in, the fun begins. Here are step by step instructions
for installation.
READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE BEGINNING
What you will need:
Fog/Driving Lights
Plenty of 16 Gauge automotive electrical wire (Trak Auto)
Switch for lights (Isuzu has one for $20 - expensive but looks good)
Power Rotary Tool (e.g., Dremel Tool)
Power drill
Philips screwdriver
Wire cutters
Wire stripper
Hack saw blade
Duct tape
Electrical tape
Wire raps (black)
Chicken wire (optional)
Black spray paint (optional)
1) Remove the existing front blinker housings. These are the orange plastic covered lights in the bumper.
Two screws hold these in place. Save the screws!! You are going to mount the new lights the same way your
existing blinkers were mounted, so you will need these screws.
2) Now you need to RUIN the existing blinker housings. Take either the hack saw blade, or your rotary
tool, and cut the back of the housing to remove the light bulb assembly, being
careful not to cut the wiring harness as you will be reusing this.
3) Remove the plastic grill from the front of truck. There is one screw in the center, 4 plastic connectors
across the top, and two plastic connectors down behind the headlights. Be VERY careful when you are removing these so as not
to break them. The trick with the lower plastic clips behind the headlights is to get your hand down in there
and squeeze the clip together while pulling the grill out.
4) Now you are going to install the blinker in the running light housing. To do this you need to remove
the housing from the vehicle. There are only 2 or 3 screws that hold this in place, but once you get it
off the wire will be holding it to the car. There is a little connector that you can disconnect to free it
completely.
4) Once this is off you should take the light bulb that is in there out to avoid breakage.
5) If you look on the back side of this piece of plastic, there should be a raised circular pattern in the
plastic that says "European lights" or something to that affect. This is where you are going to reinstall
the blinkers.
6) Now carefully cut out the area inside the raised plastic circle. I used
a metal point attachement on my Dremel tool. When done make sure the blinker bulb will fit through hole. Rinse the light housing out thoroughly
and let dry. You don't want any black plastic crap, or water trapped inside.
7) There is enough wire running to the blinker to move it up into the new hole
you have now created in the running light. However, you need to pull one of
the push type plastic connectors that holds the wire in place out of the body of the truck.
8) Make sure your light housing is dry. Hook up the light that was already there first, to hold
it it place. To install the blinker I used a lot of duct tape. If you can think of a better way
to do it please let me know. You want to get the seal as water tight as possible.
9) Now with a bit of a struggle you should be able to get the running light back in place. Test the blinker and
make sure it still works. The first time I did it I shattered the bulb.
You're done the hard part - now all you have to do is install the lights!
10) Follow the wiring instructions that came with your fog lights to install the wires. I hooked mine up so that they
will only come on when the head lights are on (HI or LOW beam). This way I don't leave them on accidentially.
The hardest part here is running the wire into the passenger compartment. I went through the rubber plug next to the
steering column.
I bought the $20 switch from my local Isuzu dealer that fits into the dash board between the rear wiper switch and
the tailgate release switch.
11) In attempt to protect the glass on my new fog lights, I bought some chicken wire and spray painted it black.
Then using the light as a mold, shaped and cut it to fit around the light. The chicken wire acutally goes behind
the light and is held in place when the light is attached to the truck. This did not work as well as I thought it would.
The first time I went off-road both lenses got spider web cracks all the way through them. The only thing the chicken wire
did was keep them from falling apart. You can see both the chicken wire, and the cracks in the lenses if you look carefully
at the picture at the top of this page.
12) To mount the lights to the truck you will need to remove the screws that hold the front of the lens on, and drill
the hole all the way through. Using the screws from the original blinker housings, screw light in place. The holes
may be off about an 1/8 of an inch, so you need to mess around with it a little to get it in place.
OTHER MODIFICATIONS:
CB installation
Keyless entry
Grill Gaurd
Driving Lights
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