Fog light bulb

[The Warden]

Hello!

Quick question...can the bulbs for the fog lights on a U.S.-spec car be replaced without buying an entire new assembly? If so, what type of bulb is it?

Thanks!

[John Hubertz]

Yep.  Autozone has them.  I bought a pair for I think $2.99 each....better pull one first.....and while you're at it, you might want to go through the assemblies as the inner paint coating draws moisture and allows rust to start invading the mirror plating...

Here are mine after I redid them - took about 2 hours twice (to allow drying time).  I had a post describing the process....it is in technical.

[The Warden]

Beautiful job John!

And good to know that the bulbs can be replaced by themselves...on the 123, you basically have to replace the whole lens and assembly, from what I can tell. I have one bulb out on the 116; be nice to get it working.

Thanks!

[John Hubertz]

Hey, speaking of these lights, while you are crawling around down there please describe or photograph the bolts that hold your lamps to the bumper Warden?

I might as well get ready to mount mine.

Length, size, head type, and do the bolts go up from the bottom or down from the top?

[The Warden]

John,

I took a couple of pictures...but with the plastic trim the way it is, it's difficult to see the bolts themselves. It looks like they're just standard metric bolts, that go onto a bracket that is in turn bolted to the bumper itself (couldn't get any pictures of the bracket without removing the light housing; if you need pictures of this bracket, I can take the light housing off and get the pictures, but it looks like a normal 90° bracket).

Hope this helps

[John Hubertz]

Interesting light guards - never seen anything like those.

Could you take a wider shot?

Do the bolts go up from underneath with the nuts on top?

Do the bolts have hex heads or smooth round heads?

[The Warden]

The bolts are hex-head and go up from underneath. I'm not certain if there are nuts at the top, or if the bracket itself is threaded. If you want, I can pull an assembly real quick and find out for certain...not sure if I'll be able to do that before Sunday, though. I need to remove them both at some point anyways; they're a bit loose and not aimed properly, and I need to find out why.

How wide of a shot do you want? I actually took a picture of the entire front end of the car (going to add it to the webpage when I get a chance), if you want to see what the light guards look like. The light guards (IMHO) look a bit tacky, but with where the lights are located on the car, it seems like a good idea to have them...too great a chance of road debris hitting them with where they're located...

[John Hubertz]

(laughs)  Those are USA Kangaroo bars!  Our kangaroos are awfully short and eat carrots!

I need to search your posts - seems you had a front picture in there if I recall....

[The Warden]

I didn't have a good shot of the front end in the pictures before, but I just added one. When I took the first series of pictures, the car was parked in the driveway nose-to-nose with the truck, so it was difficult to get a front-end shot. I moved the car on Friday, though, because I had to get the truck out of the driveway on Saturday. So, when I took the foglight pictures for you, I also snapped a couple of other shots. Here's one of the front end:



The kangaroo bar comment reminded me of a joke, though...

A Texan farmer goes to Australia for a vacation. There he meets an Aussie farmer and gets talking. The Aussie shows off his big wheat field and the Texan says, "Oh! We have wheat fields that are at least twice as large".  Then they walk around the ranch a little, and the Aussie shows off his herd of cattle. The Texan immediately says, " We have longhorns that are at least twice as large as your cows". The conversation has, meanwhile, almost died when the Texan sees a herd of kangaroos hopping through the field. He asks, "And what are those"? The Aussie replies with an incredulous look, "Don't you have any grasshoppers in Texas"?

[OzBenzHead]

Warden:

"Don't you have any grasshoppers in Texas"?

Hadn't heard that one for many years, but when I did hear it, it was "rabbits" rather than "grasshoppers".

I think I prefer the "grasshopper" version!   

And, on the (side) topic of 'roo bars ("bull[sh*t]bars" to some) ...

Rather than despoil my cars with those ugly pieces of equipment (which detract from safety as much as appearance), I use ultrasonic whistles. They are about 4 cm long, about 1.5 cm diameter, and self-adhere to (on my cars) the underside of the front bumpers. They are almost invisible and - believe it or not - completely effective. (Supposedly, they require a road speed of at least 50 km/h to work.)

Since I first fitted them (about 15 years ago), I've never had an encounter with a 'roo in any car so equipped. They are also supposed to be effective against other livestock and feral animals: the high-pitched whistle (inaudible to humans) sends them scampering away.

I frequently drive, fast - at dusk and dawn, the most likely times to collide with a 'roo - on a local major secondary road that has a really bad reputation for 'roo collisions; the only time I ever even see a 'roo on that (or any other) road is when I'm in a car without these neat little gadgets (in which case either I'm not the driver or I drive much slower!).

They cost about $3 at Supercheap Auto.

If you look closely at the left-hand corner of the bumper in this pic you'll see one (I have them on both corners).

[The Warden]

Hadn't heard that one for many years, but when I did hear it, it was "rabbits" rather than "grasshoppers".

"THAT'S NO ORDINARY RABBIT!!"

"Follow only if ye be men of valour, for the entrance to this cave is guarded by a creature so foul, so cruel that no man yet has fought with it and lived. Bones of full fifty men lie strewn about its lair. So, brave knights, if you do doubt your courage or your strength, come no further, for death awaits you all with nasty, big, pointy teeth!"

(in case you can't tell, I'm currently going through Monty Python withdrawls )

I use ultrasonic whistles. They are about 4 cm long, about 1.5 cm diameter, and self-adhere to (on my cars) the underside of the front bumpers. They are almost invisible and - believe it or not - completely effective. (Supposedly, they require a road speed of at least 50 km/h to work.)

They have those in the U.S. as well...marketed as "deer warnings", and I agree with you that they work quite well, particularly since they look like a gimmick. The most ready example I've seen was going down a road with my dad...same day, same conditions, in a car that didn't have deer warnings, and later in a car that did. There were animals around (field mice and a jackrabbit or two), and they just stayed by the side of the road when we went by in the car that didn't have the deer warnings. We later drove by in the car that had the deer warnings, and the animals all started running away from the road right before the car passed by. It was pretty dramatic...

[OzBenzHead]

...  I'm currently going through Monty Python withdrawls

Warden: Just to make you feel better ...   

Remember, you must visualise the RCMP singing this in full uniform!
____________________________________________

I'm a lumberjack
And I'm O.K.
I sleep all night
And I work all day.

He's a lumberjack
And he's O.K.
He sleeps all night
And he works all day.

I cut down trees
I eat my lunch
I go to the lavatory
On Wednesdays I go shopping
And have buttered scones for tea.

(Refrain)

I cut down trees
I skip and jump
I like to press wild flowers
I put on women's clothing
And hang around in bars.

(Refrain)

I cut down trees
I wear high heels
Suspenders and a bra
I wish I'd been a girlie
Just like my dear Pappa.

(Refrain etc.)
____________________________________________

[The Warden]

YES!!

I need to find a video clip of the Lumberjack sketch...

"Look, you stupid b@$!%&d! You've got no arms left!" "Yes I have!" "LOOK!!' "It's just a flesh wound!"

[OzBenzHead]

I need to find a video clip of the Lumberjack sketch...

I wonder if it's available as a podcast. I'll have a search; I'd like a copy myself.

[The Warden]

I'd be surprised if it wasn't...

...of course, now I have the Lumberjack Song in my head