Front fog lights

J

Jonno27

Member
 Nuneaton
I'm sure these are a common issue with these cars and was wondering if anyone has renovated the front fog lights on their Z4.
I have a 2008 Z4 E86 and the reflectors have perished and was wondering if anyone has dismantled them and re-chromed the inside of these?
With the price of a new unit being approx £250 each side I think the refurbish route is the best option, just wondering how easy or difficult they are to dismantle.
Cheers
 
It happens to every facelift!

I think it's quite a challenge to get them apart to refurbish them, and they'll probably deteriorate again.

Thinking about how often I have ever used front fog lights I'd be tempted to replace them with blanking plates from a basic model that didn't have them.

I solved the issue by selling mine and buying an MC - they don't have them!
 
I have completed a couple of sets now. Remove the front lens, clean them out, paint the inside black, then fit some of those led work lights designed for pickup trucks. 3M tape holds them securely. Seal the front lens back on. Wire them up to the existing loom and they work pretty well.
 

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I’m having the same struggle. The fog lights have seen better days and I want to get them to look better. From BMW they’ve been getting more and more expensive.
I found one side for cheap in the US, arrived in a week in Finland.
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-fog-light-automotive-lighting-63177162739
The other side I found on german Amazon, so now I have a set of new fog lights that cost me ~ £170. Still rather much for what they are but 🤷🏼‍♂️ Will look nicely when I get the bumper repainted and the lower grill replaced.
 
Those LED fogs look great @enuff_zed! Do you have a link to the type of LED lights you're talking about? I've had a look and found some which might be suitable but not sure of dimensions/specs
 
remo said:
Those LED fogs look great @enuff_zed! Do you have a link to the type of LED lights you're talking about? I've had a look and found some which might be suitable but not sure of dimensions/specs
Click to expand...

Daytime Running Light - MASO 2x 3 LED High Power Car White DRL Daytime Running Light Fog Lamp Waterproof 12V : Amazon.co.uk: Automotive

Daytime Running Light - MASO 2x 3 LED High Power Car White DRL Daytime Running Light Fog Lamp Waterproof 12V : Amazon.co.uk: Automotive
www.amazon.co.uk

I cut the plugs off and used other male/female connectors to splice into the existing loom.
You can't really bolt them in, so 3M tape holds them perfectly well.

I also pulled the fog light bulbs out of their holders, popped the green cover off the back of the holder, dug out the filler, drilled two small holes from the bulb side into the space where the filler was, and another two holes from the plug side into the same space. Fed the wires through, then out of the plug before popping the cover back on. Looks neater and helps to keep it all watertight. Sorry, no photos of it though.
 
I pulled mine apart recently when I had the bumper off to re-lacquer a headlight. Blasted it with the hot air gun but it was a bleeping son-of-a-bleep to get apart, I'm amazed I didn't break one. The casing is cast aluminium so it degrades into white dust given time and damp and usually takes the reflective surface with it. I scraped it all back to something solid and sprayed them up with the rest of the lacquer to stop the rot. Sealed the lens back on with PU sealant. Dunno how well they'll last but one's already got condensation in again.
 
smorris_12 said:
I pulled mine apart recently when I had the bumper off to re-lacquer a headlight. Blasted it with the hot air gun but it was a bleeping son-of-a-bleep to get apart, I'm amazed I didn't break one. The casing is cast aluminium so it degrades into white dust given time and damp and usually takes the reflective surface with it. I scraped it all back to something solid and sprayed them up with the rest of the lacquer to stop the rot. Sealed the lens back on with PU sealant. Dunno how well they'll last but one's already got condensation in again.
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I drop them in a bucket of very hot water and touch wood the two sets I've done so far have come apart fairly easily.
 
Oh, one thing you may notice from the photos is that they angle out slightly. My fault as I lined the lights up squarely with the front edge of the plastic casing. Forgetting that when on the car the whole light assembly angles outwards. In fact, the 'customer' is quite happy with them like that as he uses a lot of country lanes and has them on as DRLs. They light the verges quite well. If you want them more forward aiming then be careful how you align them in the casing.
 
smorris_12 said:
Dunno how well they'll last but one's already got condensation in again.
Click to expand...
These ones I just did are being used as DRLs. I suspect the heat from the lights will help keep them dry much longer.
In fact, as the front fogs aren't an MOT item, you could wire them to come on with sidelights, or even separately switched if preferred.
For me, putting the sidelights on, then hitting the front fog switch seems easy enough.
 
Fitted another set of modified front fogs yesterday. The two sets I've done so far have been for owners who want to use them as DRLs, so they can be seen in their dark coloured cars on Norfolk back roads. It is possible to wire them up to an ignition live so they come on as DRLs straight away, but both owners have opted to keep them wired into the fog light circuit for originality, and just flick on sidelights and front fogs when they start up.

Fog mod.png
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enuff_zed said:
Fitted another set of modified front fogs yesterday. The two sets I've done so far have been for owners who want to use them as DRLs, so they can be seen in their dark coloured cars on Norfolk back roads. It is possible to wire them up to an ignition live so they come on as DRLs straight away, but both owners have opted to keep them wired into the fog light circuit for originality, and just flick on sidelights and front fogs when they start up.

View attachment 287486
View attachment 287487
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I'm seriously considering doing this ad wiring the lights up to a live feed to use them as DRL's. I need to speak with my mechanic to check everything out, but great idea
 
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