Fog lights: Splice and solder, or find a factory connector?

TRevs

TRevs

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I want to get some Hella driving lights and discovered that not only do I have the wiring under the fenders, but have the function on the MFS stalk.
The Hellas appear to come with hot and ground wires; is there some reason to preserve the factory connector, or should I cut it off and splice the wires directly?
 
No need to use the factory connector, you can cut it off. And as one who has soldered thousands of connections, crimping has become the better/preferred method for years now for wire connections. Soldering can create stress risers and actually promote the wire breaking at the point where the unsoldered stranded wire meets the soldered stranded wires. There are many types of crimp connectors available, I'd go for one that is meant to be waterproof with built-in 'goo' that seals it. Or just apply your own heat shrink tubing over the top of the crimped splice.

All this is why you only see crimped connections on cables and connectors. Yep we still solder on circuit boards but rarely on connectors. :)
 
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I think Quadratec sells some adapters. You could just splice that onto you’re new lights and then be able to plug/unplug them easily.

Or buy a 2 wire connector of your choice and cut the OEM plug add the harness and use your new plugs.
 
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MountaineerTom said:
I think Quadratec sells some adapters. You could just splice that onto you’re new lights and then be able to plug/unplug them easily.

Or buy a 2 wire connector of your choice and cut the OEM plug add the harness and use your new plugs.
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check amazon. This way you don't lose the stock connection
 
you can get adaptor plugs that piggyback onto your headlight pins/connectors, or maybe they only have then in Countries like oz where they have to be connected to high beam by law?
 
Fishtaco said:
you can get adaptor plugs that piggyback onto your headlight pins/connectors, or maybe they only have then in Countries like oz where they have to be connected to high beam by law?
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More trouble than it's worth when there are butt-simple inexpensive splices that are easily found in hardware, home supply, or electrical supply stores.
 
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I don’t think I’ll be needing to plug/unplug them at all once installed, so cheap crimped connectors it is.

I didn’t think there would be any need to keep the factory connector if it will fit only a factory fog light, which I’m not interested in.

Thanks!

I don’t know what color wires I’ll find under the loom; is there a standard color for ground vs. hot?
 
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Fishtaco said:
Can you give me the splice order as I dont have front fog harness.
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There are some detailed threads on the forum about wiring the Jeep for fog lights if it doesn’t have factory wiring. Sorry I don’t have the links but they’re pretty easy to find.
 
TRevs said:
I don’t think I’ll be needing to plug/unplug them at all once installed, so cheap crimped connectors it is.
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In that case, just some simple butt connectors and some heat shrink will be all you need. 👍

Not sure on the wire colors, but in the resources forum there are links to factory service manuals for every year. The wiring section in there will tell you.

Or someone else may happen to know and can post it.
 
MountaineerTom said:
In that case, just some simple butt connectors and some heat shrink will be all you need. 👍

Not sure on the wire colors, but in the resources forum there are links to factory service manuals for every year. The wiring section in there will tell you.

Or someone else may happen to know and can post it.
Click to expand...

I forgot about the FSM, but I don't know exactly how to read wiring diagrams. Does this mean there should be a black wire to ground and a white/orange with current?

1621908321497.png


It looks like there's a blue and black coming out of the loom; maybe the PO had aftermarket lamps wired in.
 
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TRevs said:
I forgot about the FSM, but I don't know exactly how to read wiring diagrams. Does this mean there should be a black wire to ground and a white/orange with current?

View attachment 254722

It looks like there's a blue and black coming out of the loom; maybe the PO had aftermarket lamps wired in.
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Yeah you read it right, according to that diagram each connector has a white/orange and black wire.
 
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TRevs said:
I forgot about the FSM, but I don't know exactly how to read wiring diagrams. Does this mean there should be a black wire to ground and a white/orange with current?

View attachment 254722

It looks like there's a blue and black coming out of the loom; maybe the PO had aftermarket lamps wired in.
Click to expand...
Yes.

That FSM diagram is from the same year as your Jeep?
 
I seen in your profile that you have an ‘06. Mine is too, so when I get home from work I’ll look at the harness and see what the colors are.

If I happen to forget, remind me in this thread. 🙂
 
MountaineerTom said:
I seen in your profile that you have an ‘06. Mine is too, so when I get home from work I’ll look at the harness and see what the colors are.

If I happen to forget, remind me in this thread. 🙂
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I appreciate it!

I pulled back the loom a bit and I see white/orange and black going to a connector and blue/black coming out. The PO must have had aftermarket lamps there before.

AD648A6E-4184-49E8-88CC-4E389DD082D1.jpeg
 
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I’m pretty excited it’ll be so easy to install lamps on the new Savvy front bumper. I was satisfied with the Hella H4 headlamps I installed immediately after purchasing the Jeep, even though they’re just halogens, but getting more light in the rural areas will be great!
 
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TRevs said:
I appreciate it!

I pulled back the loom a bit and I see white/orange and black going to a connector and blue/black coming out. The PO must have had aftermarket lamps there before.

View attachment 254733
Click to expand...
Mine is the same. White with orange stripe and black on the back side of the connector and blue and black on the side going to the fog light.

The white with orange stripe / blue is the power.

D15E627F-2622-4207-BE27-2F56F8E48E4A.jpeg
 
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