Adding foglights?

clancaster23 said:

My Forte did not come with fogs and i would like to add them but I think I remember reading somewhere that it couldn't be wired up stock? Did I read right? If so, any way you can get it to work? I know I can get the stock bulbs and the little bracket piece they go in but not sure about the wiring/steering column switch thing. Worse case scenario is I put them in but they'd just be non-functional but I'd really like to get them working correctly.

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If you wanted the appearance, they could be put in and made non-functional. The other thing to do, if you have the electrical ability is simply to wire them up to a toggle switch and switch them on when they are required. But they have to be switched off if you go to high beam or you risk getting a traffic ticket.

The stock wiring is more than you can imagine getting involved with. I've seen this done on a Hyundai and the work involved, what with the relays and such is mind boggling. But then you would have to have some way to change out the turn signal stalk that turns them on. Again, I wouldn't even attempt this. There is also a fog lamp indicator that illuminates in the instrument panel to consider.

Having trod this road in my Sonata GLS and seeing what was involved this is why when I purchased my Forte 5 door I just went and got the SX which has all of this standard. The wiring harnesses are different and they are, in my opinion, purposely designed to prevent after market modifications to achieve the stock appearance.

So, to recap, if you wanted to get the stock appearance you could simply obtain those; perhaps off ebay, and install them in the bumper. If you wanted them to work and trusted yourself to turn them off when you switched on the high beams you could simply wire them to a toggle switch which might work OK on quiet lonely country roads when fog conditions warrant their use as high beams only make visibility worse while the low beams with fog lamps enhance visibility. In my opinion, this should be a standard item, much the same as seat belts and air bags but for some reason the manufacturers haven't seen fit to do the right thing. Hyundai/Kia is not the only auto company to pull this stunt. I've seen it on other lower level automobiles as well. I would never buy a car without standard fog lamps. Kia; are you listening?

Good luck whatever you decide to do. As Bill Clinton would say, "I feel your pain."

FYI:

http://www.hyundai-forums.com/index.php?showtopic=36337&hl=fog+lamps

This thread has some age on it, but I had similar questions and found the thread and the forum useful so I thought I'd add some info.

First off, I don't have a Forte, but the fog lights were the one feature that I would like on the EX (and I don't want or need all the items in the technology package or the SX).

First off, there is another write-up here:
http://www.forteforums.com/forums/do-yourself-articles/6026-how-diy-oem-fog-lights-sedan-ex.html

missourimule said:

I do have two questions, however. Does this also include the turn signal stalk and does it also illuminate the instrument panel when the fog lamps are on?

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Neither of the above mods include the turn signal stalk. I would say the mods above get you 80% of the factory solution.

With the mods above, the fogs come on whenever the parking lights come on, and you can wire in a switch to turn them off. Note that in most states, it is illegal to have both fog lights and hi-beams on at the same time, and this mod does not prevent that.

Oddly - Ford sells a very similar kit to this for the Fiesta and calls them LED parking lights Park Lamps - LED Supplemental | Customize Ford Park Lamps - LED Supplemental | The Official Site for Ford Custom Accessories - so depending on the local law enforcement, you might get away with calling them really bright parking lights.

To take the mod a bit further:

• The thread above mentions the steering wheel stalk switch (around $70) and the kiatechinfo page on it. It would be fairly simple to wire the switch so it turned the lights on and off (similar to the example - where the lights came on with the parking lights whenever the stalk switch was in the on position). However, it would require removing the steering wheel - which I think requires removing the airbag.
• I'm not sure how to do it, but there is probably info in the relay section at Car Alarm, Car Stereo, Mobile Video, and Cruise Control Info for Installers that explains how you would wire in a second relay so the lights turned off when the high-beams were switched on.
• Getting the dash to Illuminate when the lights were on might be difficult to accomplish. (It's possible the wire harness is already there and would work, but other members have implied it is not).

Actually, there is a second caveat to keep in mind - in the owner's manual, it states that the lights drain the electrical system and should only be used in limited visibility. I'm not sure if Kia is implying the alternator isn't up to keeping them on, or what. I don't see other members stated it caused any problems, but it's something to be aware of.

Note: There is one caveat to keep in mind. Clearly stated in the Kia's owner manual is the statement that Kia is not responsible for warranty work on non-factory wiring modifications. If there were some wiring defect leading to other damages unrelated to this modification would the warranty on these other items be in any way affected?

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That is going to be a gray area, but the same thing is going to be true of any aftermarket modification. As I see this one:

• You wire in the fog lights and the fog light relay overheats and melts the brake cylinder reservoir. Should not and probably is not covered by warranty if the dealer can verify your relay caused the damage.
• You wire in the fog lights and the starter motor quits. Really should still be covered by warranty, but you MIGHT have to argue with the dealer to convince them.
• You wire the aftermarket relay harness into the turn signal stalk and the turn signal switch fails - this is going to be a REAL gray area. Your mod is unlikely to have CAUSED the failure, but a part directly related to your modification still failed. Flip a coin on whether or not it is covered.

Hope this helps and I'm enjoying the great forum!!!

Additional info:

If I were doing this - I would prefer to have it as close to the EX or technology package install as possible - i.e. lights, stalk switch, dash illumination, relays, factory harnesses etc. I think this COULD be done. It would make a nice accessories option if Kia offered it. I think the reasons they don't are:

• The Fiesta kit is $300 for essentially the fog lights and a wire harness. I think the Forte fogs are $150 each MSRP, the brackets are around $20 each, the stalk switch is around $90 (you can find some lower prices online). Figure in the relays and harnesses and you are probably close to $500.
• For a factory install, $500 isn't a bad price. I think the holdup is probably the stalk switch. I don't think they would want to sell you this with DIY instructions and risk liability if you kill yourself deploying the airbags. And they don't want to sell the LX with the non-functioning foglight switch installed, b/c it would look silly. If you figure dealer-labor to install the kit, that brings the cost of install up to probably around $1000 - and most people won't pay that for fogs on an existing car, and on a new order, they would probably rather pay a few hundred more for either the technology package or the SX.