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HID fog light hell


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So it's been a while since I first ordered my HIDs. The original bulbs they sent me for the mains were H11 instead of 9006 (despite me selecting the correct ones). They quickly sent me the correct bulbs, which was great customer service. The 9006 work fine, and the ballasts are plug&play CANBUS (no errors, no flicker, they just work).

The fog lights have been another story completely....

So the 3000k bulbs were on back order for a while. I finally got them, and they don't fit. The number listed on the bulbs is a 5202, which is what the company insists it is for a factory bulb. The bulbs are "close", but the keyed slots for where they go in the housing are in the wrong spots. The side with two slotted keys has a slightly too close fitting, and the side with one slotted key is not even close to being in the right spot. I talked to the owner (Ivan, at absoluteHID) and he said to grind the keyed tabs off and try that, and that he'd still warranty the bulbs because he's the one that told me to do it. So four hours later on a Saturday morning, with a Dremel tool, a LOT of swearing, and totally lost patience, there is just no way these bulbs will fit. Even with the slotted keys ground completely off (the edges are now smooth) when putting it in, the little clips on the side don't seem to want to catch. So if I left it like this, the bulb will ultimately eventually vibrate its way out and cause all kinds of problems.

Has anyone successfully bought HID fog light bulbs for a Journey and had them fit...without modification? If so, who was the bulb manufacturer, and what is the correct model number? I wrote down the stock bulb number on the Philips that was in it, but don't have it handy (because I put them back in, when I couldn't get the HIDs to fit). I'm still waiting for word back now from absoluteHID as to what to do next, or if they'll refund it. But would love to hear a success story, the model number of the bulb, and where you found it.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have HID fogs, but those were put in by my installer, so I didn't check personally what bulb exactly he used, but he confirmed H16 fit without any modifications. Work nice for 3 months.

Edited by Totemus
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i have putco led fog light bulbs with HID head light bulbs mine look great no problems

Did you put them in yourself? I ordered a set of H16, as I did some reading on some other forums and this seems to be the "correct" replacement for the Dodge fog bulbs, not 5202 (as seems to be quoted by every company I can find). I didn't get a chance to try these yet, but I will be doing it this week if the weather cooperates. A lot of the websites for bulbs quote many of these as interchangeable, but they're not. The keyed slots are in different spots, and they are VERY slightly different widths (probably in the 1/100s of an inch range) and you will break the housing or the bulb if you force them in.

If I find the exact match for this, I will post info on it.

This is taking a long time, but I will eventually figure it out. :P I need fog lighting (in AMBER) badly here, as we get fog in late summer so dense you can't see 50 feet in front of you. The stock lights aren't "fog" lights, they're driving lights, and worthless in dense fog.

P.S. - The HIDs I installed in my 9006 spots are a VAST improvement over the stock lighting. Who would have thought that blacking out the headlight casings (Blacktop edition) would cause a reduction in visible light? :P Oh, wait....

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I always go to sylvania's website to find the bulb numbers for any car.

http://www.sylvania.com/en-us/applications/automotive-lighting-systems/Pages/lrgallbulbs.aspx?year=2013&qual=60&model=1223&make=24

2013 Dodge Journey w/ LED tail lights has a bulb size of 2504. Google says 2504 crosses with 5202 and H16. When in doubt, go with the H-series bulb. The bulb on my Charger was 91XX, crossed with an H-series bulb, H11 IIRC. I went with H11 and had no problem installing the new kit.

For my Journey I might go with LED since the OEM foglight is useless anyway. My Special has LED bulbs for that same reason. I was hoping to get projector headlights with HID but it looks like the only good solution is to buy TYC-brand headlights, open them up, and replace the reflectors with TRS projectors. I wouldn't mind it if the TYC headlights weren't so expensive by themselves. Eagle-brand OEM-replica projectors for my Charger were cheaper at $200. Yikes.

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I got some H16 fog LED's on ebay for $15 shipped or so. They have the little projector dome on them. They didn't fit in the original housings. I had to use a dremel to sand down a little layer for the bulb width to fit. Then trim off the little tab that doesn't line up. Easy enough.

They look great, not sure if they provide more lumens than the stockers or not. I just wanted something to color match HID's. http://www.ebay.com/itm/161209415782?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

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Did you put them in yourself? I ordered a set of H16, as I did some reading on some other forums and this seems to be the "correct" replacement for the Dodge fog bulbs, not 5202 (as seems to be quoted by every company I can find). I didn't get a chance to try these yet, but I will be doing it this week if the weather cooperates. A lot of the websites for bulbs quote many of these as interchangeable, but they're not. The keyed slots are in different spots, and they are VERY slightly different widths (probably in the 1/100s of an inch range) and you will break the housing or the bulb if you force them in.

If I find the exact match for this, I will post info on it.

This is taking a long time, but I will eventually figure it out. :P I need fog lighting (in AMBER) badly here, as we get fog in late summer so dense you can't see 50 feet in front of you. The stock lights aren't "fog" lights, they're driving lights, and worthless in dense fog.

P.S. - The HIDs I installed in my 9006 spots are a VAST improvement over the stock lighting. Who would have thought that blacking out the headlight casings (Blacktop edition) would cause a reduction in visible light? :P Oh, wait....

yes i put these in myself, only took about 10 minutes,

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  • 3 years later...

I have HID fogs, but those were put in by my installer, so I didn't check personally what bulb exactly he used, but he confirmed H16 fit without any modifications. Work nice for 3 months.

Edited by jkeaton
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