Ok, so I wanted to show ya’ll how I chose to install my Hella FF1000 fog lights for my ’02 WRX. The procedure is rather simple and takes 2 to 3 hours to complete. By no means is this the only way to install these bad boys. This DIY install procedure can be used as a guide to help easy your installation pains. DS = driver side, PS = passenger side. Note: The accessory WRX bracket is a must have. If you have snow covers that fit over your stock fogs, they will not work with the Hella FF1000 lamps. The new lamps stick out much further than the stock ones and will not fit behind the snow grills without heavy/intense modification. I have pictures illustrating this after Step #6. PM me for more info and enjoy! ~Dan
Step #1: Pickup a few tools and supplies before you start. Tools: Small flathead screwdriver. Really long #3 Phillips screwdriver, NOT #2. A cordless drill with torque limiter is really handy but not required. Wire cutters and wire strippers. Small butane blow-torch or a soldiering iron. Small flashlight. Small sized pliers. Supplies: Lead-free solder. Nylon zip-ties, 3/16â€Â, quantity 2. Silicone lube, electrical grade. Electrical rubber tape. Vinyl electrical tape works, but rubber is highly recommended. Fender washers, neoprene rubber, 5/8†x 2â€Â, quantity 2. Heat-shrink tubing, 3/16â€Âx6â€Â, heavy duty, not vinyl, quantity 2. 2-position interlocking connectors, polarized, RadioShack 274-222, quantity 2. Everything can be found at Home Depot, except for the interlocking connectors.
Step #3: Remove the stock foggers. It is recommended that you do one at a time. There are three small bolts that hold in the lamp (green arrows). There is a fourth smaller screw, but this is the adjuster, do not turn this screw (red X). The green arrows point where the bolts are located on the bumper. A small flashlight is very helpful to locate the bolts. It is extremely helpful to have your car on jack stands or on ramps as the fog lights are pretty close to the ground even with stock suspension. Your lower back will thank you. This pic is of the DS lamp. The PS will have a mirrored bolt pattern. Use a small flathead screw driver to remove the wiring harness; there is a small push tab.
Step #4: Attach the WRX mounting bracket to the new lamps. Mounting the Hella fogs without the WRX bracket is nearly impossible. You’ll have to remove the Hella mounting bracket first which requires you to cut the wires going into the lamp. Don’t lose the large turn screw and zinc washer. The WRX bracket has a concave surface that fits flush with the back of the lamp. Don’t fish the wires through the hole of the WRX bracket. There are small channels where the wires feed through and come out the bottom, so be careful not to squeeze the wires between the lamp case and the WRX bracket. When the time comes to adjust the aiming of the new lamps, you’ll soon notice that you have to adjust the position of the lamp while it is mounted in the fog well. In order to adjust the aim of the lamp, the WRX bracket must be loosely attached. If it is too tight, the lamp won’t turn. The problem is after you aim the lamp, you have to remove it from the fog well in order to then fully tighten the WRX bracket on, which will cause the lamp to slide around on the bracket. The new lamps barely fit into the existing fog well. You may want to cut away some plastic to make it fit easily. I chose not to cut any plastic as it would get ugly in a hurry. So here’s where the rubber fender washers come into use. Fit the washer between the back of the lamp case and the WRX bracket. This allows you to easily adjust the lamp without unwanted slippage. The neoprene rubber washer, which I was bending in the picture to show it is flexible, will also help with vibration. Be careful not to torque the bracket on too tight, the threads are relatively fragile. I recommend you test fit the new lamps with the WRX bracket on so that you can understand this problem.
Step #5: Wiring… the fun part! You’ll see that the stock waterproof wiring harness is nearly impossible to tap into. I chose to make my own harness. If you open the back of the stock fog light, you’ll see that a small, 6†long jumper wire is used to connect to the source harness. The jumper wire is attached with a small screw to the back of the lamp. You could use this jumper with the stock harness to get the new fogs plugged in. But if you ever wanted to put the stock fogs back on or sell them to someone, then I’m sure you’ll want to keep this jumper wire. So I chose to leave the jumper wire alone and cut the source wires that connect to the rest of the car. Here’s where the RadioShack connectors come in handy. The idea is to close off any exposed wiring so nothing corrodes. Water, snow and mud gets into the back of the fog wells easily, so it is important to shield against the elements. The RadioShack connectors are nylon, crimp and pop-in style, which is very similar to a Molex type connector. Here’s how I made the connection. Crimp on the pins in male/female pairs with a proper wire crimper. Only a small amount of wire needs to be striped of the insulation. I also crimped the insulation on for safety. Then I soldered the wire onto the crimp for extra safety. I used a small butane blow torch because it was much faster than a soldering iron. Be careful not to use too much solder because otherwise it won’t fit into the nylon connector. I then used about an inch or so of heavy-duty 3/16†heat shrink tubing over the crimp and solder; see picture below. Carefully push the wire through the back side of the nylon connector; small pliers help a lot here. The nylon connectors are polarized so you can’t connect it backwards, so take note as to where the wires are located in the nylon connector.
Step #5 continued: As I mentioned above, I chose to cut off the stock wire harness coming out of the fog well. I used the same process to make the opposite gender connection to the stock wiring. Since both the stock fog lamp and the Hella FF1000 lamp consume 55 Watts each, I did not change out the stock wiring, relay or fuse. On the new lamps, the blue wire is +12 Volts and black wire is ground. The source wires coming from the car are the same for the DS and PS; where black is ground and white/black stripe is +12 Volts. After I made the connection and tested it, I forgot to take a picture to show the difference between the stock and Hella foggers, sorry! Then I disconnected the newly made harness and flooded the connectors with electrical grade silicon. This helps to improve conductivity, but more importantly, it waterproofs the contacts. Then I completely wrapped the connection with two layers of rubber electrical tape. In order to prevent wire snagging and chaffing, I used a nylon zip-tie to secure the wire onto the WRX bracket. This also prevents the wire getting squeezed between the bracket and the fog well wall. Be sure to leave enough slack so the lamp can be adjusted.
Step #6: Adjust and aim. I must admit, aiming the Hella FF1000’s in a WRX is not easy and quick. As mentioned in Step #4, after you get all the wiring done, you have to install the new lamps in the fog well, adjust them, remove, tighten and repeat a few times. You’ll have to partially tighten the WRX bracket onto the lamp so you can move the lamp around, but not too loose as it will flop around easily. The problem is when you tighten the mounting bolts, the lamp changes position. So take your time adjusting the lamps so they don’t blind people, but so you can see far ahead. I recommend a utilizing a flat wall with marked reference points. It really comes down to preference. I don’t like the lights pointing down at the ground because the light will reflect back up and make it difficult to see further ahead. I wouldn’t want to blind anyone either. Contrary to this, I read somewhere that they should be pointing in the same spot as your high-beam headlights. Be careful not to over torque the mounting bolts, it would not be easy to replace the nuts behind the plastic fog well. After installing and testing, it becomes quite apparent that the Hella FF1000’s are much brighter than the regular stock headlights. And better yet, they are even brighter than the stock high-beam headlights! So take your time while adjusting and try not to blind yourself while admiring your well spent money!
Before and after pic. The camera can not show how bright the Hella FF1000’s are, but if you look at the brightness of the orange turn signals, you can see they are indeed brighter. I took the picture in the same place, so the change in brightness is also revealed by looking at the garage floor. Sorry I didn’t exposure lock. Stock fog light verses Hella FF1000. The top half of this picture was taken so the camera lens is pointing parallel with the license plate mounting surface. The bottom half shows how the new lamp protrudes past the black plastic fog well on the outside. It gives the illusion that the FF1000s are larger in diameter, but it was measured, and they are the same.
