Scrappycrow
Full Access Member
Y'all,
This is to document how I installed a Diode Dynamics SS3 LED "Pro" level fog light kit, but with the amber lenses swapped out for clear "SAE Driving" lenses. It's important to understand that while it started as a fog light kit, the lens swap and wiring arrangement makes it a driving light installation. The wiring modifications are thus geared to the lights being driving lights, not fog lights.
LED COLOR TEMPERATURE, LENS COLOR, LENS PATTERN, AND AIMING:
The LEDs in DD's SS3s are 4K white if you order an amber fog set, and are 6K white if you order a clear fog set. Since my main headlights are halogen (and will likely remain so), I wanted the 4K color temperature, thus the amber set with a swap to clear "SAE Driving" lenses.
The driving lenses have an 18°x8° pattern and I have them aimed parallel to the road surface. This makes for a bit more foreground lighting than I'd like, but the mounts can't go more than 1° up relative to the truck body without modifying them (my truck has a 1° nose-down rake with a driver and full tank of gas, so I have them aimed 1° up relative to the truck body).
For reference, the DD fog lenses have an 80°x8° pattern and the DD spot lenses have a 6° conical pattern.
WIRING:
A common aftermarket part to enable an "all lights on" setup is the Fleece Module. However, there are two issues that don't suit my arrangement: 1) I have no need or desire to have my driving lights on with my low beams, and 2) I do not care for the "piercing" (i.e. Scotch-Lok style) of wiring tap, which inherently damages the wire insulation and can break the individual strands.
So, what I did is install an SPDT switch as per the crude schematic below, with the switch behind the driver-side fuse box cover. When flipped to the "high beam" side, the driving lights come on automatically with the high beams and cannot be controlled with the fog light switch. When flipped to the "fog light" side, the lights will not come on with the high beams and can be controlled with the fog light switch in the stock manner. I used what I had on hand, which was a C1510AB switch, some 18-gauge TXL wire, and some 18-20 & 22-24 gauge butt connectors. IMPORTANT: The wiring harness at the BCM appears to be 22-gauge, so you do indeed need 22-24 gauge butt connectors if doing this.
Anticipating the question "Why even have the switch if you are only using these as driving lights?," I did it this way so that I can reinstall the fog lenses and revert the circuit operation to stock by flipping the switch to the "fog light" side. Should I ever desire to have an arrangement that will duplicate the Fleece Module function (fogs optionally on with lows and automatically on with highs), I can simply add a properly-oriented diode between the "high" and center "fog" terminals.
I hope the community finds this useful!
Regards,
Scrappy
This is to document how I installed a Diode Dynamics SS3 LED "Pro" level fog light kit, but with the amber lenses swapped out for clear "SAE Driving" lenses. It's important to understand that while it started as a fog light kit, the lens swap and wiring arrangement makes it a driving light installation. The wiring modifications are thus geared to the lights being driving lights, not fog lights.
LED COLOR TEMPERATURE, LENS COLOR, LENS PATTERN, AND AIMING:
The LEDs in DD's SS3s are 4K white if you order an amber fog set, and are 6K white if you order a clear fog set. Since my main headlights are halogen (and will likely remain so), I wanted the 4K color temperature, thus the amber set with a swap to clear "SAE Driving" lenses.
The driving lenses have an 18°x8° pattern and I have them aimed parallel to the road surface. This makes for a bit more foreground lighting than I'd like, but the mounts can't go more than 1° up relative to the truck body without modifying them (my truck has a 1° nose-down rake with a driver and full tank of gas, so I have them aimed 1° up relative to the truck body).
For reference, the DD fog lenses have an 80°x8° pattern and the DD spot lenses have a 6° conical pattern.
WIRING:
A common aftermarket part to enable an "all lights on" setup is the Fleece Module. However, there are two issues that don't suit my arrangement: 1) I have no need or desire to have my driving lights on with my low beams, and 2) I do not care for the "piercing" (i.e. Scotch-Lok style) of wiring tap, which inherently damages the wire insulation and can break the individual strands.
So, what I did is install an SPDT switch as per the crude schematic below, with the switch behind the driver-side fuse box cover. When flipped to the "high beam" side, the driving lights come on automatically with the high beams and cannot be controlled with the fog light switch. When flipped to the "fog light" side, the lights will not come on with the high beams and can be controlled with the fog light switch in the stock manner. I used what I had on hand, which was a C1510AB switch, some 18-gauge TXL wire, and some 18-20 & 22-24 gauge butt connectors. IMPORTANT: The wiring harness at the BCM appears to be 22-gauge, so you do indeed need 22-24 gauge butt connectors if doing this.
Anticipating the question "Why even have the switch if you are only using these as driving lights?," I did it this way so that I can reinstall the fog lenses and revert the circuit operation to stock by flipping the switch to the "fog light" side. Should I ever desire to have an arrangement that will duplicate the Fleece Module function (fogs optionally on with lows and automatically on with highs), I can simply add a properly-oriented diode between the "high" and center "fog" terminals.
I hope the community finds this useful!
Regards,
Scrappy
