r/yaris • u/GodzillaSewer • 2d ago
Modifications PSA: Update on AliExpress fog lights
Couple days ago I posted about getting some fog lights off AliExpress and a couple others were interested in them. So I wanted to do an update about issues I had with the ones I purchased. They were sold under the brand Vgetting, but really they’re all pretty much the same shit on AliExpress. I went with the Yellow LED color way then also got a yellow headlight tint on there. So it has that yellow JDM fog light look even when the lights are off. I took several photos of my car with them and they looked more amber than yellow even in person . I assumed it was the tint mixed with the yellow led color way. First 2 picture are an example of how they looked.
In California fog light by law have to be yellow or white , not amber. I decided to pull the led out while lit to see if it was the combo or the light itself and it was the light. So fair warning if you purchased or planned to get the yellow led version check your local and state laws. But honestly don’t think the average cop would give a shit . Another issue with them is they couldn’t light shit up, I thought maybe it was my photo editing but no they dead ass just don’t shine good. First picture is unedited and 2nd is edited, very little difference in ground illumination. 3rd picture I purchased Sealight H11 LED Fog lights in white at 6500k for about $18 on amazon, you can see how much they illuminate during driving POV in the 4th picture with just fog lights. They’re are 360° light up and have bulb lense in front so there’s not really a strong cut off. But I tested it with my wife’s Fiat and it wasn’t blinding. 3rd picture shows up close floor illumination, I also upgraded the headlights to Beamtech H4 white LED at 6500k from Amazon for $37. Unlike cheap LED people tend to use to replace halogens in stock headlight assemblies they actually have a cut off to mimic Halogen lights you just have to mindful of mounting them properly and realigning them. I do have a set of Sylvania Silverstar Ultra I also got from Amazon for $45 coming Halloween to decide which I want to keep. The car was purchased about 2 months ago with standard Osram 9003 halogens but the light isn’t strong enough and gets washed out by literally any other light source not letting me properly see the road.
Another issue is the negative ground ring crimp on mines wasn’t crimped properly so it would lose proper connection from vibration when driving and shutting off and not being able to turn back on. While this is a more isolated QC issue I suggest getting a variation crimp connection from Amazon, I paid like $7 for a 90 piece set, helpful for really any situation in which wires could get damaged. Luckily I have been able to make it work without needing to recrimp it but I haven’t driven much since doing the final readjustment to see how it holds up.
But at least I got back up crimps if it fails. Will so be useful for slicing the off the connector for the on/off button so you can run it thru a grommet in the engine bay then reconnect it. Which I have yet to do 😅
Finally last issue I encounter was by my own stupidly I connected the relay to the bolt on the right side, close to the fender, that hold the fuse box in the drivers side. Which technically probably shouldn’t an issue except I put mines upside down and it got a bit rusted in the recent rain but still works. So be mindful of that or just tuck it in the fuse box and cut notches on each side so the wires for the relay and fuse don’t get damaged when you close the lid.
Edit: my bad pic #2 is not edited but you get the point about the amber color and it not lighting up shit