I knew it, the mod bug would bite me with the Cruze. This time around, it's something I'll benefit from every time it's driven at night. I'm relaying the headlights, adding the OEM foglights, and moving the DRL's from the headlights to the front turn signals.
After asking around on the Cruze boards, I sprang for the factory foglights. Folks say they work very well, so I jumped. As one person posted, "it's like they (the headlights) were meant for each other".
The relay harness for the headlights I'm making from US-made 10-gauge wire and genuine Bosch relays, with blade fuses for each of the 2 relays. The connections will be crimped and soldered, with heatshrink over top. I made sure to get unpinned headlight connectors and separate headlight pins so as to reduce the chance of FUBAR'ing a pre-made connector.
The DRL relocate was made possible by a little module purpose-made for relocating DRL after installing/modifying the headlights. It will likely be the hardest to wire up out of everything. Keeping DRL's was a priority due to safety concerns. And, it'll give me warm fuzzies even if it doesn't make me any safer.
I already have a set of XtraVision H13 bulbs in the headlights, and properly adjusted the lights. Higher-wattage bulbs won't be used due to heat issues and the tiny little pins of the H13 headlight. Those will be my biggest bottleneck, since they can only support so much current.
It's entirely possible that I'll cobble up the harness and notice no improvement. I won't know until I try...
Better lighting for the Cruze
- Thread starter sciphi
- Start date
- Status
sounds great. keep updating this thread
Have you considered an HID setup? $50 for an H13 Hi/Lo kit at ddmtuning...
And it's easily removed in case you have warranty issues in future so the idiots at the stealership don't have any reason to deny you coverage in case you have any future electrical problems
Originally Posted By: Veilside
Have you considered an HID setup? $50 for an H13 Hi/Lo kit at ddmtuning...
And it's easily removed in case you have warranty issues in future so the idiots at the stealership don't have any reason to deny you coverage in case you have any future electrical problems
Headlight harnesses are full of win! 
Are you making a harness for the fogs too?
The H13/9008 bulbs your car uses aren't the best. They're basically just an improved and slightly higher output version of the HB5/9007, which isn't a good bulb either. I wish GM would've used their traditional 9006 and 9005 dual-bulb setup on this car. Those setups usually put out good light, plus you can upgrade to HIR, AND a harness. That'd be a really sweet setup.
Are you making a harness for the fogs too?
The H13/9008 bulbs your car uses aren't the best. They're basically just an improved and slightly higher output version of the HB5/9007, which isn't a good bulb either. I wish GM would've used their traditional 9006 and 9005 dual-bulb setup on this car. Those setups usually put out good light, plus you can upgrade to HIR, AND a harness. That'd be a really sweet setup.
Last edited:
If that still doesn't provide enough light, there's always the driving lights option. What I ended up doing for the Jeep was taking a pair of 100 watt long range lights (almost pencil beams, but with a little more foreground throw) that I picked up cheaply at Harbor Freight (they're holding up well though) and stuck them to the front bumper, triggered by the high beams with a bypass switch. The switch allows me to disable them, or if it's on, they turn on and off with the high beams, as the relay trigger pulls from the factory high beam wiring.
It works quite well, and on a straight, flat road, I can see much better than just the high beams, and they reach a good 1/4 of a mile, and signs are lit up for almost a 1/2 mile.
I just installed some driving lights (pencil beams, but with a little bit of foreground lighting) that I got from Harbor Freight; mine are 55w. But there were no good places to mount them on my Focus, so I had an angle-iron bracket fabbed up that I mounted my lights to. But it looks pretty silly on the front of my car, so I'm taking them off later today. I just can't justify the little extra light with the ridiculous look. Maybe I'll try to work something out where the factory fog lights would have gone, but that would take a lot of time and tools, neither of which I have very much of.
The ones I'm running are these: http://www.harborfreight.com/off-road-long-range-truck-light-system-3029.html
I just mounted them to some hardware store corner braces screwed to the front bumper (need to add backing plates to remove flex on rough roads). Looks a little funny, but not too bad, and it works great.
Originally Posted By: rslifkin
The ones I'm running are these: http://www.harborfreight.com/off-road-long-range-truck-light-system-3029.html
I just mounted them to some hardware store corner braces screwed to the front bumper (need to add backing plates to remove flex on rough roads). Looks a little funny, but not too bad, and it works great.
If I could find some way to mount some decent and proper fog lights into where the factory ones would go, I'd go that route. I'm thinking either the Blazer projector fogs or the Hella Micro DE. Both are quite impressive, and much better than the factory fog light option on this car, which is why I didn't buy them in the first place.
Last edited:
The factory fogs on the Cruze are 4" round fogs. Folks like them.
Now, to find quality ring terminals and a crimper. I'm not getting cheapy terminals, and darn sure not getting a stamped-steel crimper after reading what a hack job those can create.
Originally Posted By: sciphi
The factory fogs on the Cruze are 4" round fogs. Folks like them.
Now, to find quality ring terminals and a crimper. I'm not getting cheapy terminals, and darn sure not getting a stamped-steel crimper after reading what a hack job those can create.
I got a good used crimping pliers off of Ebay for the crimping. There is a Fastenal store nearby, so likely the ring terminals will be sourced from there or Lowe's.
The wire, relays, and fuses were ordered from Parts Express. The blank headlight sockets and pins were also ordered online. The connectors are the only items I haven't sourced yet.
There aren't any good-quality H13 harnesses out there. That's the main reason to make my own.
Originally Posted By: sciphi
There aren't any good-quality H13 harnesses out there. That's the main reason to make my own.
Originally Posted By: Klutch9
Did you put these on your Jeep? I think these lights look somewhat fitting on your vehicle, since it's more of an off-road/rugged type vehicle and looks good with big aftermarket lights, light bars, roof light racks, etc. My Focus? Not so much... If I could find some way to mount some decent and proper fog lights into where the factory ones would go, I'd go that route. I'm thinking either the Blazer projector fogs or the Hella Micro DE. Both are quite impressive, and much better than the factory fog light option on this car, which is why I didn't buy them in the first place.
If I could find some way to mount some decent and proper fog lights into where the factory ones would go, I'd go that route. I'm thinking either the Blazer projector fogs or the Hella Micro DE. Both are quite impressive, and much better than the factory fog light option on this car, which is why I didn't buy them in the first place.I've seen some pretty sweet skid plate light bars on the Focus, but those are pricey and hard to find. One Focus I saw on a forum also had a small light bar that came out of the grille, but I'd really rather not hack up my grille, and the project would be much more in-depth than I'd be willing to take on.
A bunch of parts came in today. The headlight sockets, DRL module, and wire crimper came in.
Can't wait to see the final product. Isn't getting stuff in the mail fun? 
The supplies arrived in the mail today! I'm waiting on one final item to arrive, then the installation/build will commence. I still have to pick up wire strippers, solder, and electrical tape (likely 3M Super 88 since this is an automotive application). I also got the ring and butt connectors at Fastenal today. Those were surprisingly made in the USA, with the according price tag.
Some problems I'll be running into:
1. The headlight connectors just aren't made for fitting 10-gauge wire into. This will need either solder and heatshrink, or some creative connector use. I'd prefer the latter since it's likely more secure.
2. Not sure how I'll split off the power wires for each individual bulb. Likely I can intertwine two wires into a butt connector and crimp it together.
This is fun getting to learn more about electrical circuits, and how they operate.
The foglights look nice. They're 4" round fogs. The OEM GM kit comes with everything needed to install the fogs. GM already put the relay into the car, so it's merely a matter of installing everything.
Originally Posted By: sciphi
This is fun getting to learn more about electrical circuits, and how they operate.
- Status
Similar threads
