Fog Lamps on Highlander non-Ltd

I am trying to add Fog lights to my non-limited highlander but don't seem to have much luck finding the lamps. Also my dealer says not to add them as the car is designed to not have headlamps and if I do add them, it will eventually burn out my alternator. Is that true? I don't trust dealers anymore. Anyone tried adding them? Which lamps fit? Does it cause a problem? Thanks.

markcars wrote: I am trying to add Fog lights to my non-limited highlander but don't seem to have much luck finding the lamps.

I would suggest that you take a few moments to search the net to see various styles and brands of light assemblies. There are countless styles, size, wattage, and beam patterns which will fit your applications. It really comes down to price, and proper fitment to your vehicle.

markcars wrote: Also my dealer says not to add them as the car is designed to not have headlamps and if I do add them, it will eventually burn out my alternator. Is that true?

Technically he is right. . . The designers of the vehicle only implemented the alternator which will supply enough current to run the vehicle at full accessory operation which is either at idel, or at maximum RPM. Any after market unit which draws over the 30% current mark on a OEM alternator will reduce the service life of the unit. With anything, it is the amount of on-off time and at what RPM the alternator unit is asked to produce the current supply. ie. If you are using a high output fog lamp which consumes more than 35-40 amps. When at idel, you should really turn the unit off, untill the vehicle is back in motion. The only way to compensate is to have a larger battery which can compensate for the lack of current output of the alternator. But that in it self is not a solution, but yet anotther problem all in it self. The best bet is to upgrade your alternator, and worry not about the *IF* as it isnt a matter of *IF* it is a matter of when, the unit will fail . . . Regards EVIL Teken . . .

Thanks Teken for the information on the 30% of OEM alternator rule. I did not know that. About the fog lamp search, I already spent a few months doing the searches all over (and asked a few people at auto-shops) and basically ended up with having the delimma of choosing between two PIAA lamps and then was stuck between the decision of whether to get "long throw" driving lights or short focus fog lights. Of course I would not be having it on for a long time if they would be fog lights as fog is not something I experience often. They would be great in fog, however I wanted to improve on driving lights for the most part of my driving, and hence had a tendency towards getting the long throw driving lights. The first main concern was to put the lamps in the existing lamp housing without having to cut or drill any thing new. Now about the amperage/wattage of the lamps and their load on the alternator, I have a slight doubt. These cars come in two flavours basically, a limited and a non-limited edition, both of which have the exact same chassis and most of the things in common other than a few differences(or "luxuries"), like the absense (or presense) of fog lights being one. Since one of the options was to upgrade the sound system whereby they install an external amplifier, I would assume that the alternator was designed to supply the load to the extra amplifier (at least), in addition to the load required for the electricals and electronics it is already pumping the juice for. Now if there is a way to tune the Control Unit for the electricals of the vehicle, I do not know that yet. I will have to go through my repair manuals to see the capacity of the alternator and do some comapraisons and calculations to be sure if my alternator is goign to be overloaded or not. I was hoping someone tried it already; however I got to review the manuals and check the specs before I attempt to make a big change to its load; As far as possible, I don't want my alternator to fail or burn out, besides I don't want to overheat any wires either. Hoping to keep safety before anytying else. Thanks, Mark

Mark, Realisticly the vehicle will be able to handle the addition without any faults, or undue strain on the alternator. The problem(s) come into play as age and additional current demands go up from there. I would not worry too much on the PIAA products placing too much of a load on your vehicle as it is now. But keeping in mind that it is relative to what is being used at the time. If you're sitting in the same climate as I am, where it was aprox -58'C for two weeks, you know that my heat was on full blast, the rear defrogger, wipers, and lights were all on at the same time, along with other various devices, the load placed on my little alternator was immense at idel. Even though the unit is a 135 amp alternator, you could still see the current load as being very high, given the fact that it was so cold. As in the reverse, when you are using yout A/C, with all the accessories on, the problem is only at idel. So, simply put, be aware that if all primary accessories are on you should take a few seconds to turn the units off while waiting for a light etc. Alot of people fail to realize that when the alternator fails to keep up to the demands of the users needs, that the battery is the first place that the load is being drawn from. From there, the endless cycle of jump starts appear out of no where, as the user is not thinking that the battery is actually drained at that point and the alternator has done nothing other than to keep the vehicle running, and not having enough time to recharge the primary battery. If you have a voltage guage on your vehicle, then you can monitor the effects more closely, and can react to the lull, or the lack of compensation of the alternator. The rule of thumb for me is that if the charging system should dip at anytime into 12 volt range, that I should reduce the load(s) that are present at the time. Once the vehicle is in motion, I can safely resume where I left off. This simple watch and go routine will ensure longer life of the alternator, maximum life out of the battery, and above all else, maximum safety to you and your love ones with respect to a potential power failure. Just my thoughts Regards EVIL Teken . . .