2007 Yukon Fog Light Mod

2007 Yukon Fog Light Mod - USE LEDs or HID bulbs ONLY!!!

Wow, I saw this slick mod referenced here, and I have to try it on my Denali! I'm gonna try it tonight and see how it works out. I haven't been impressed with the NBS fog lights or headlights since day one... To complete the mod, I found some fog light assembly removal instructions here, but I've included them here for easy reference. I picked up some Sylvania Silverstar 9005XSST's (twin pack) from Pep Boys, with a $10 rebate, and the wiring harnesses and crimp connectors. Easy to find stuff I guess.

EDIT: DO NOT USE ANY BULB OVER 40W -- SEE BELOW -- CAUSES HEAT DAMAGE. Stick with a HID bulb, or an LED bulb instead. The Sierra uses 5-1/4" fog lights (assembly looks identical, it's just larger) and Yukon uses 4" fog lights. The smaller size makes all the difference.

Maybe I'll post some pics in the next day or so -- we'll see how well it goes!

Man, this is fun!

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Front Fog Lamp Replacement (Yukon)


Click image for full-size version.

Preliminary Procedures

1. Remove either the LF or RF wheelhouse liner.
2. From the inside of the front bumper fascia, using a blunt instrument, pinch the retainers and push outward on the 2 upper mounting studs for the fog lamp.
3. Using the same blunt instrument, pinch the retainer and push outward on the lower adjustment screw for the fog lamp.

Tip
Disconnect the electrical connector from the fog lamp bulb socket.

Tip - Fog Lamp Upper Retention Studs (Qty: 2)
Ensure the retainers are repositioned into the front bumper fascia mounting holes prior to the installation of the new fog lamp if they become dislodged during the removal of the lamp.

Tip - Fog Lamp Adjuster Screw
Adjust/aim the front fog lamps after the new fog lamps have been installed.

Tip - Fog Lamp Assembly
Remove the bulb socket from the lamp assembly and transfer as necessary.

Well, THAT was easy!

DONE. Sorry, no pics for now (hot and tired). I'll wait until I get the HIDs in there to compare color temps. The Silverstar bulbs are very nice, and you could drive @ low speeds using only the fogs. It took about 75 minutes from start to finish (including clean-up); mainly because I was being VERY careful during the Dremel step and verifying polarity (see below).

Great mod for like $45.00 worth of parts. BUT, I'm freaking hot, stinking sweaty, and totally tired, so I'm off to dream about my McCulloch HIDs!

EDIT: Would have been nice if it hadn't melted my fog light housings. Use a HID or LED bulb, NOT a 50-65W halogen! The smaller fog lights on the Yukon cannot stand the heat!

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A couple of modifications to the "official GM steps" in my original post:

1) FORGET about removing the fender liner. That's retarded. There's no need to do so, and if you use a light, you can totally see up in there. Besides, you're working outside the vehicle 95% of the time anyway.
2) The "blunt instrument" would be your fingers. Squeeze the tabs together and push the peg towards the front of the vehicle. DUH.
3) If you're careful, and note the left / right side when you take out and put the assemblies back, you probably won't need to re-align the lights. I didn't.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

1) DON'T disconnect the electrical connector from the back of the bulb socket until AFTER you remove the bulb lens/housing from the vehicle, pulling the connector and wires out through the hole in the front of the vehicle. There's like a foot of slack in the wire when you pop out the fogs, so no worries there!
2) By far, the most nerve-wracking portion of this mod is Dremeling the collar of the new bulbs down to fit. You REALLY don't want to hit that expensive bulb with that grinder tip.
3) Polarity of the bulb probably doesn't matter (incandescent), BUT, if you're paranoid, black on the truck is ground, and purple is +12V. If you get a harness like I did with two black wires (gee, thanks), the purple goes to the right side of the connector (wires pointing down, clip away from you - see below.)
4) If you use butt-end (splice) crimp connectors, there's no soldering, and they sorta fit back into the loom. Just tape 'em up w/ electrical tape for weather protection anyway.
5) Use your air compressor (or canned air) to clean off the new bulbs BEFORE you put them into the lens housing. They've likely got ABS plastic dust / crap all over them from all of the Dremel action, and it would stink if they blew due to melted plastic right on the bulb surface...

I don't think it really matters, but here's a diagram of the connector with the wire colors.

fog light mod

Did the mod but used standerd 9005 bulbs becouse it had a straight plug instead of a 90 deg plug. I dont have a dremel tool but I have a bench grinder. Took a small 1in by 2in zipplock bag and placed it over the glass on the bulb and zip tied it on. It took about 10-15 min per bulb. I just kept the bulb turning and that helped keep it mostly round. I did not wire the bulb into the fixture as it was a very tight fit. I used quick conectors for the new and old plugs just incase I ever need to replace the old lights for some reason. I placed a larger plastic wire loom cover over the connectors and used a high quality tape to secure. The differance between the 24 watt and the new 60 watt bulbs is amazing. My cost 2 $9.95 bulbs and 2 $4.96 plugs and thats it. The only problem was the grinding wheel would get gummed up with the plastic so I had to keep dressing the wheel. If you dont keep it cleaned the plastic will make the bulb bounce of the wheel.

Plastic flying everywhere!

tracon said:

...only problem was the grinding wheel would get gummed up with the plastic...

Click to expand...

I had the same issue with the Dremel. Would rather have used a grinder... I kept having to stop and clean the crud off the grinding attachment, and myself!

Yeah, I'm very impressed with how bright the new 65W Silverstar bulbs are compared to the factory crap. I also used the 9005S (straight base), though I think the angled ones would've worked just fine - it's just trickier with the grinding / Dremeling if you don't use a straight-base bulb. Anyway, glad to see someone else did the mod too, and I hope you enjoy your new bright fogs!

HID kit arrived today, so I will post pics of the fogs and HIDs in next few days after I figure out this crazy wiring harness...

HEAT WARNING - Check your foglights often if you do this mod w/ 9005 SilverStars

Attention to anyone who may have done this mod -- please watch your fog lights for signs of heat damage: i.e. warping of the lens, bubbles in the middle of the lens, or a milky film/haze on the reflective backing of the housing.

Despite the success of the dudes over on gm-trucks.com with the Sierra (same fog light style, but Yukon uses smaller housings - MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE!) I have noticed all three of the above issues. :cuss: I think I will be drilling a couple of small vent holes in the back of the housing (there is already one from the factory - I'll think carefully about this first re: water and stuff), or I will try to find some other 9005 bulbs that don't run so hot.

If it gets any worse, I'm going to replace the housings, and install some bright LED 9005's as my permanent solution. I probably don't really need fogs anyway since I now have HID lights. BUT I like the look, and definitely want something in there other than the stock crap lights.

I will post more here later as I decide how to address this...

Replacement Fog Lights - 15839896

If you mess your fog lights up or the heat gets to them (YES, like mine), you can order GM part 15839896 to replace them from a place like www.oehq.com (free shipping on orders over $100). They're about $71 each. I ordered some this afternoon, and also some 9005 LED towers. I really hate the fact that I had to spend this much money, time, and energy on this simple mod, but at least it won't happen again (I hope). I don't really care that the LED arrays won't put out as much light as the SilverStars, but I'm not willing to risk a complete melt-down. I'm not having the best of "luck" lately...dang...

NOTE: Again, the original mod here was for a Sierra, which uses identical looking fog light assemblies, but they're 5-1/4", NOT 4" like Yukon. If you do this mod with 50W-60W halogen lights (9005/9006), chances are good you'll damage your fog lights. USE an LED or HID bulb, or just don't do this mod. It's wound up costing me four times what it should have in the first place.

LEDs are pretty, but...

...basically useless for usable light output. The color is not too bad, a little "bluer" that I'd like, but they're fine for my purposes. Note the little bubbles in the center of the lens in the first pic. My new fog light housings will be here early next week for a quick change-out, then it's good as new. The last pic is a near wash-out with my 5300K McCulloch HIDs blazing away. I'd say the LEDs are somewhere around 6500K-7000K or so, and if I needed my fog lights for driving, I'd be upset with the dismal light output. If you do this with LEDs, don't expect much other than "a pretty light". If I had the extra cash, time, and patience, I might try a 35W-50W HID with the semi-melted housings to see how that'd work, but I don't have any of the above at the moment.

I will be replacing the rest of the lights with LEDs in the factory housings at some point in the near future, and we'll see how that goes. More pics then I suppose.







Here's the LED bulbs I used if you're interested:



Click on image above to go to their site to check 'em out...lots of other goodies too!

Finally had the melt down. Went to walmart and bought a cheep set (19.95). They are smaller than the oem but it has more room for air flow and 3 times the light of the oem lights.When the bulbs that came with them goes I will upgrade them then. The new lights have a metal case and a glass lens.So far so good.

Sorry to hear about that Tracon! Can you possibly post some pics of the install of the non-OE fogs? That's a great option when messing around, so we don't melt down expensive OE units...

HIDs installed in fogs -- hoping for no meltdowns!

Well,

After a month of them sitting in my office, I've installed my HID kit in my fogs after testing things out re: heat for about 30 minutes. I'm not 100% convinced that the HIDs are cool enough to not melt the housings, but if they do, then I'm just gonna get some glass housings and deal with non-OE fogs. I'll report back in a few days with regard to any heat issues. I tested them in my old (melted) housings, and they didn't seem to melt them any more, and so I installed them in the newer housings. If they cause any damage, I'll report back. The HIDs are 35W, and are from mikemjohnson on here. I went with 5000K 9005's, and there are no issues with bulb length, but you'll have to modify the bases to fit into the factory housings.

Well, the installation was only tricky in that I had to extend the ground from the harness by about 6 feet, to reach my reliable chassis ground on the drivers side. The usual problem, with where to mount the ballasts, still applies. Fortunately, with using them in the fogs, there's a series of reinforced ABS plastic braces under the front fascia that I found it pretty easy to mount them to using zip ties and a couple of holes I drilled.

Holy smokes these things are bright! I'm probably going to have to use them only when on rural roads or in adverse weather. They remind me of the lights you see on UFO's on the movies -- MAJOR bright! The amount of peripheral lighting you get is very impressive, and I sure hope these things don't melt down...

Getwired said:

Well,

After a month of them sitting in my office, I've installed my HID kit in my fogs after testing things out re: heat for about 30 minutes. I'm not 100% convinced that the HIDs are cool enough to not melt the housings, but if they do, then I'm just gonna get some glass housings and deal with non-OE fogs. I'll report back in a few days with regard to any heat issues. I tested them in my old (melted) housings, and they didn't seem to melt them any more, and so I installed them in the newer housings. If they cause any damage, I'll report back. The HIDs are 35W, and are from mikemjohnson on here. I went with 5000K 9005's, and there are no issues with bulb length, but you'll have to modify the bases to fit into the factory housings.

Well, the installation was only tricky in that I had to extend the ground from the harness by about 6 feet, to reach my reliable chassis ground on the drivers side. The usual problem, with where to mount the ballasts, still applies. Fortunately, with using them in the fogs, there's a series of reinforced ABS plastic braces under the front fascia that I found it pretty easy to mount them to using zip ties and a couple of holes I drilled.

Holy smokes these things are bright! I'm probably going to have to use them only when on rural roads or in adverse weather. They remind me of the lights you see on UFO's on the movies -- MAJOR bright! The amount of peripheral lighting you get is very impressive, and I sure hope these things don't melt down...

Click to expand...

Great job Getwired!!! Keep us posted, I'm crossing my fingers for you, hope those housings don't melt on you!!!! :thumbsup: :drool:

Thanks Bear. You bet I'll be keeping an eye on these things... At $140.00 a set for the housings, I really don't wanna melt them again, but like I said, if it happens, I'll find some aftermarket ones with metal / glass housings like tracon above.

Happy New Year!

Looking for a decent (glass and metal) replacement foglight housing with an HID replaceable bulb. Leaning toward a 3000K set. Looking for your pics GW

Getwired said:

Thanks Bear. You bet I'll be keeping an eye on these things... At $140.00 a set for the housings, I really don't wanna melt them again, but like I said, if it happens, I'll find some aftermarket ones with metal / glass housings like tracon above.

Happy New Year!

Click to expand...

cant wait to see pics, but im sure you can only use them in rural areas as the 9005s are bright , i cant wait for mine to get back from mike so i can re install them. quick question on the ground wire, is yours different for some reason or does the black wire go some ware else other than the negative on the battery?? is there another ground or is it -- red wire on positive termanal , black wire on negative terminal --- thanks



better than what i had to pay for my mothers mercedes fog light housings 130 a piece, stupid pinball machine in the garage (LOL i fronted in)

HIDs in 2007 Yukon Denali fogs - pics

All,

Here's some pics of the modded HID fog lights (modded according to my instructions above), and my HID headlights in action. Just took them earlier, and man is it freezing outside. It's nice to be back in front of the computer in my nice warm office...

The 5300K bi-xenon HIDs in the headlights are linked in my sig. The HIDs in my fogs are 35W 5000K 9005's from mikemjohnson (www.higherlevelauto.com) on here. The color temps are very well matched, but they look somewhat different due to the fact that the ambers are in with the headlights and my truck is Stealth Gray and the fogs pick that up a bit from the fascia. (Yeah, okay, but trust me, they're really close...)

I really hope these don't damage the housings, and there are no signs of heat damage thus far (only been like 3 or 4 days tho). I also don't plan to drive around with these things on, as they are really bright. I'll use them in inclement weather, or when I'm on one of the many dark rural roads we have here in VA.



From L to R:

1) Low beams only
2) Low beams and fogs -- look at that peripheral lighting!
3) Fogs only -- you could probably drive with just these...I won't be doing that though.
4) High beams only (fogs turn off when high beams are used). No, the light isn't green, this is a white balance issue with my camera.
5) Side view, crazy amount of light from these puppies
6) Angle view, more impressive
7) The mother ship has landed!

NOTES: In pics 1-4, there's this weird "aurora" floating above each headlight -- this is an anomaly in the camera / lens, and not visible light output from the headlights... Also, the color differences from photo to photo are mostly due to my auto white balance I forgot to turn off - DOH! Finally, these were taken using a little 8" mini-tripod with the moonroof opened, and just reaching up and sitting it on the top of the vehicle.

GW- you trimmed the 9005 HID bulbs to fit your OE foglight housing? Looks real good.

OK im upgradeing. THE FOGS ARE AS BRIGHT AS MY LOW BEAMS AND STOCK FOGS.

man i cant wait for mike to get my hids in to me now.

those pics look awsome!! JUST THINK how bright you would be with the mod that lets you have Low high and Fogs on all at once, now quick question. i know you have Bi-xenon, but are there two bulbs for each light like the ones you posted in another thred, or just one light with twho filimants. and do they both stay on or does the low turn off?

was that the little bridge off of I-95. i think i used that one day to get out of the dc traffic. :yesnod:


but your right its COLD i mean its 22 here right now with high winds. coldest day of the year, we got snow for like 5 minuites none stuck but it was fun to watch.

hbrbmx said:

GW- you trimmed the 9005 HID bulbs to fit your OE foglight housing? Looks real good.

Click to expand...

Yes indeed. Balls of steel, yes?

Yeah, funny how we cross-pollinate, huh? I found instructions for my original post over at gm-trucks (I don't frequent that forum too much, but I am on there...)

I was a little concerned about bulb length, but it's no issue. There's at least 1/2" of clearance from the tip of the bulb to the back of the lens.

I'll order mine in the morning, thanks

Getwired said:

Yes indeed. Balls of steel, yes?

Yeah, funny how we cross-pollinate, huh? I found instructions for my original post over at gm-trucks (I don't frequent that forum too much, but I am on there...)

I was a little concerned about bulb length, but it's no issue. There's at least 1/2" of clearance from the tip of the bulb to the back of the lens.

Click to expand...

you CUT the bulb. how would it still work then ??? but it does AND IT LOOKS GREAT.