Fragile OEM fog lamps?

[Larryjb]

When I got my 2002 Tahoe, the DS fog lamp was missing. I was considering replacing it, but haven't as yet. Today I noticed that my PS fog lamp is missing now. I'm not off-roading, but we do have some snow. Are these fog lamps particularly fragile and prone to breaking?

Larry

 

[Tonyrodz]

I'd say over time the plastic does get brittle. They're also prone to getting water inside and losing the clear lenses. You can find a cheap set on Amazon for around $25. Or just replace them totally with led's.

 

[MadDogDelpho]

I just did a write up on installing some LED cubes for fogs. You'd need some kind of support like the stock ones but I think they look 1000 times better.

 

[Larryjb]

MadDog, I remember seeing your write-up.

1) Switching to LED doesn't necessarily solve my problem. The location of these fogs seems to leave them prone to damage. I suspect that when I parked near a snow bank, something caught the fogs and tore it off. Either that, or some bouncing road debris just happened to hit it square on. I'm trying to see if other's have had such trouble, or if I've just suffered some dumb luck. I don't want to go through the expense of converting to LED if they're just going to get torn off too.

2) Honestly, whether I use LED or stock, properly aimed it's just going to light up the immediate area between what's illuminated by the headlights and the truck. If the fogs illuminate an obstacle in that area while driving, that means I ignored it or didn't see it in the regular headlights. Either way, if I'm driving at full speed, I wouldn't have time to avoid the object anyway. If I'm driving slow enough to avoid whatever gets illuminated by the fogs, I would have seen in the headlights and been able to stop sooner anyway. The ONLY true safety advantage fogs will have is if they illuminate fog or rain in such a way that it avoids the glare.

I'm probably going to just tie back the wiring and be done with it. I'm not even a fan of LED or HID retrofits. As a driver on the receiving end of these lights, especially the after market ones, I really don't want to do what they've done to me. (I've been totally blinded by aftermarket retrofits, and partially blinded by OEM LED headlamps. The best bulb I've come across so far is the Philips X-treme Vision. This bulb makes a real difference in visibility, but isn't so bright that it blinds oncoming drivers. I'm not sure why, but Fxrd headlamps/lenses seems to illuminate the road better than GM. My 1992 Grand Marquis had better headlamps than my 1999 Lesabre. After I installed the Philips x-treme visions into the Buick, visibility was acceptable. I noticed that my Tahoe also had poor illumination than my 25 year old Mercury (stock, BTW). The Philips improved the visibility enough that I believe it's better than the Mercury now.

Larry

 

[95escahoe]

When I got my Esky one side was missing the lens picked up a pair of crystal clear fogs off Amazon put in LED's and called it a day








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[Larryjb]

So far with the exception of Tony, no one has actually answered my question:

Are the 2002 Tahoe fog lamps especially vulnerable to breakage?

I can understand that the plastic will become brittle, but is it's location an issue too?

Larry

 

[Tonyrodz]

Imo, I'd say yes. The nbs Tahoes anyway. Look how they're mounted, location and they're made of plastic, which gets brittle with heat and time. I smashed a brand new one on the highway when I hit a plastic pot. It got obliterated! There was nothing left. I don't think that would've happened if it was made of metal.

 

[95escahoe]

So far with the exception of Tony, no one has actually answered my question:

Are the 2002 Tahoe fog lamps especially vulnerable to breakage?

I can understand that the plastic will become brittle, but is it's location an issue too?

Larry

It's pretty common for the lens to come off over time, the whole thing is just plastic could easily be damaged any number of ways


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[Larryjb]

Thanks all. I guess I'll tie back the wiring and be done with them.

Larry

 

[MadDogDelpho]

Gotcha, guess I misunderstood. And I know the feeling as well, so I only use them as fogs when I need them and don't have them on all the time. The plastic was pretty sturdy on my truck when I made the mounts, but I'm down in Texas so I don't have any snow problems to deal with.