I have a 2002 2500HD with fog lights that are little better than nothing. I read somewhere here that the bulb could be replaced witha high beam bulb 9005. I bought one to try, but it does not fit at all. Maybe they work on the newer trucks, but not on my 2002. Is there any upgrade that I can do to the existing fog lights, or do I have to replace them? Thanks.

I'm not sure that the 9005 will replace 880 for your '02 fog lights.

The 9005 trick works for replacing the 9145 in the '03-'05s. One would need to trim just a bit off of one of the tabs to make it fit--NOT trim the whole thing--and it will seal perfectly. It takes only as long as popping the old ones out of the harness, placing the 9005s in and a quick snip with a small pair of dikes and your good--10 minutes tops.

You can get the 880 bulb in Sylvania Silverstars. You will have to decide if that is the way you want to go. Some might object, but for the most part the whiter light should make things look crisp at night. I have not had any problems in the fog or rain.

You might check with Hella or PIAA for other 880 options.

Hope this helps.......:cool:

check out mackin's pictures. he has an aftermarket (PIAA) i believe airdam that looks good and fits good fog lights.

I seem to remember some time back people were replacing the 880's with higher wattage and melting the fog lite assembly

Bob

Check with an after market parts supply shop. They may have something that will work.
At one place, they said they had a "blue" bulb that would replace the factory 55 WATT bulb. Don't remember the make. It was 20% brighter, too.

If we have it up here, you certainly have it down there.

I've heard of guys replacing the 9145 in the Fords with the 9005s in stock and larger wattages and then experiencing some meltdowns. Take a look at the Ford housing compared to the GM housing and it is understandable--the Ford housing is considerably smaller therefore affording much less surface area and atmosphere to dissipate the heat. To my knowledge the late model Ford HDs have never used the 880, but early on used the H3 and then the 9145 like the GM products. 880s are something like only 27 watts, BTW.

I don't think upgrading, within reason, will hurt the GM housings or wires. The 9005s can be found in several wattages, while the stock 9145s run between 38 & 42 watts, IIRC.

I've been running 65-watt 9005s in two trucks for a while now with no problems (upgrading from the 9145s) and see a noticeable improvement over the stockers, but they also reflect more light upward--probably due to the lack of coating on the tip. The tip-coated bulbs (stockers) will reflect light back into the housing reflectors and keep the light dispersed lower compared to the overall brighter 9005s....whew!!;)

The PIAA set-up might be the ticket for the thread starter.

Thanks for the replies. I guess bulb replacement in the 02's is not as easy as in the 03 - 05's. I will start looking for Silverstars, Hella, or PIAA. Thanks again.

PIAA stuff is major $$$$
A pair of PIAA bulbs (locked in a case) were $110 CDN a pair. BULBS for replacement. Not sure for what lights, but yeee ikes.

Which Piaa's fit?

I have been using silverstar 9005 for the fog lights for 5 months, NO problems at all.

Stubby,

If you want a low $ & low effort alternative, the GM 893 bulbs are a direct fit replacement for the 880's & are 37 watts as opposed to 27 watts I believe, it was enough of an improvement that I noticed the increased brightness of them, & is all I can get away with, anything beyond that has melted housings, Mackin has had this misfortune as well I think. I also have the Kennedy light harness with Silverstars & they are awesome, I may try the Silverstars for the fog lamps too sometime.

Crusty.

When I still had those fog lights on my truck I put 893 bulbs in them. They were a higher wattage, but were physically identical. They made a difference, but they still weren't as good as the aftermarket lights I have on my truck now.

check out mackin's pictures. he has an aftermarket (PIAA) i believe airdam that looks good and fits good fog lights.
wont fit the GMC's though...sucks!

9005's will melt down...mine burned the metal reflector cone until it melted part of the light housing and the cone fell into the bottom of the light housing a rattles........................... major bummer:confused: