HELLA 550 Series 12V/55W Halogen Fog Lamp

Terrific lights. Just what I needed for the rv. Much better price via Amazon than local.

Bought them for myself for my birthday, one of my existing fogs was out in my 93 Range Rover.

The box includes complete wires, a switch and even a cool looking fused relay.

The install instructions are complete, as a “Real” man, of course I did not refer to them until complete. I don’t stop for directions either.

I was able to replace the first one in about 45 minutes. I was able to use the stock wiring harness, so basically no wiring, just wrenching.

I will drive around with one new one old until the weekend when I have time to replace the other one. Even in daylight I can tell how much brighter this one is than the stock one.

Faster than expected ground delivery, but Amazon does know it’s my birthday.

Scotty

Overall rating: 4/5 stars. I would recommend the lights overall because the installed, finished product is great. I’m happy to have the lights on my truck. That said, the user should be prepared to do a good bit of work for the install.

Mounting 5/5 stars:
I installed these lights on my 1995 Toyota Tacoma. Mounting the lights was accomplished using two 2″ wide x 5-3/16″ long 90 degree “concrete angle” steel pieces from the hardware store at a cost of a couple dollars each, combined with bolts, nuts, and washers. The steel pieces had one hole pre-drilled on each side of the 90 degree angle, about 1/2″ from each end, perfect for this application. I do not have a dedicated light bar or brush guard. My truck has a sub-structure for mounting the bumper, radiator, etc. that already has holes for mounting things like this. I mounted the lights on that sub-structure. The kit includes a steel bracket that clamps to the light housing with a bolt and nut as well as a second nut, bolt, and washer for mounting to your vehicle. Mounting the lights was the easiest part of the process for me.

Instructions: 3/5 stars
I’m not sure if the other reviewers received the same instructions that I did. My wiring instructions were pretty minimal. My instructions included two wiring schematics (one for low-beam operation, one for high or low-beam operation), a diagram for aiming the lights, a diagram showing how to assemble the mounting part of the light, and a diagram showing how to connect the positive and negative leads to the lightbulb. Mounting the lights, connecting the lightbulbs, and aiming the lights are pretty straightforward even without diagrams but the diagrams are worthwhile. The wiring schematics were the real letdown for me, specifically the assumption that the user will know how and where to splice the fog light system’s green and blue wires into the vehicle’s parking lights and low-beam headlights. I’m guessing lots of people know how / where to do this splice. I did not know where or how to do this splice and the schematic didn’t provide the detail I needed to complete this task. I ended up wiring the entire system, mounting the relay and switch, and taking my truck to an auto electrical shop for them to complete the low-beam and parking light splice.

Provided parts: 3/5 stars
The lightbulbs themselves are high quality and provide bright, white light. For installation, the leads are easy to connect to the lightbulb using provided wires and crimp terminals. The housing for each light is plastic. The plastic for the housing seems pretty sturdy. My concern with the housing is the fit. The plastic housing includes a hole in the rear for running the bulb’s + and – wires. This hole is about 1/2″ in diameter, much larger than necessary for the two wires. Also, the housing seal is moderately tight around the lens. Time will tell if the housing is water tight enough to protect the insides. The kit does include a rubber stopper (probably intended to stop up the hole in the back of the housing?) but the stopper does not fit in the hole with wires in place and there is no [obvious] way to run the wires through the stopper. My suggestion is for Hella to make the hole in the rear of the plastic housing the proper size for two wires, forget about the stopper, and provide a gasket to create a seal between the housing and lens. The provided mounting hardware seems sturdy; steel bolts and brackets clamping to the plastic housing. The lenses are heavy and seem to be high quality glass. The fuse relay and switch are good quality. The switch includes a built-in green LED to indicate that the fog lights are turned on. Nice touch. It’s worth noting that the kit includes wires and various connectors, the end user will need cut wires to length and apply all of the crimp and ring terminals. I’d recommend buying yourself some heat shrink tubing and zip ties to make the wiring process safer, stronger, and neater.

Light production: 5/5 stars
The light produced by the kit is outstanding and is the kit’s saving grace in my opinion. The pattern is wide and forward light penetration is relatively shallow. Each beam spreads light across an arc of around 140 degrees. The light pattern makes the road much, much brighter immediately in front, and to the side of the vehicle. The light the lens/bulb combination provides is excellent, even with the provided stock bulbs. I would buy the stock Hella bulbs again as needed, they are that good.

Stone shields: 1/5 stars
I would rank the provided stone shields 0 out of 5 stars but I suppose the fact that the lights come with stone shields at all is worth 1 star. If you order these fog lights, I’d recommend ordering two of the clear stone shields as well (HELLA Clear Stone Shield for 550 Series Lamp). The white plastic covers that come with the lamps are completely useless unless you intend to remove and keep up with the covers EVERY time you want to use the fog lights. Yes, the white plastic covers will protect your lights but you can’t use the lights unless you remove the covers. What’s even the point if the lights are unprotected every time you want to use them? Do yourself a favor and buy the clear stone shields.