Fog Lamp Bulbs

[mountainman1]

hey guys and gals....well foggy weather is here and the snow is about to fly as well...problem i have here for someone to solve is this....when at night i turn my fog lamps on...they only shine maybe 3 feet out...is there a different brighter bulb that i can put in that won't melt the lens cover....i think 55 watts is max....its's just that these factory bulbs are so dammm useless i'd like something that will work at night when she's foggy and the snow is coming down.....i don't want to gfo and spend the cash on HID...don't know how long i'll be having this one before i move to a 99.............

[shorod]

Sounds kind of like what you're expecting is for the fog lights to work like driving lights, but driving lights are not what you want in fog. A brighter, farther reaching bulb/lens is now what you usually want for fog. You want a wide, low, flat beam. That's basically why you don't want to drive with your high beams on in fog, it refracts off the moisture in the air and makes it harder to see where you're going.

-Rod

[mountainman1]

then what would you recomend for me to do...so the light shines out more so i can see the road better...3 feet is not that much...i've been in other SUVs...and there driving/fog lamps show out more....don't know if my are to be fog lamps...or driving lamps...just another sets of lights to turn on with a switch....how do i find out..if they are to be fog or driving lamps for a 98...

i never use them with my high beams....only with low beams...

[mountainman1]

looks like the buld replcement is 90006...thats the chevy low beam bulb....i have bow tie parts on this thing....

i can get a brighter bulb to throw the light out just a bit more..may go that route...

[shorod]

Better check that again. The 9006 (assuming you have an extra zero in there) is a headlight bulb. And that's not just a Chevy bulb number, that's a bulb that's used across multiple manufacturers. The fog light bulb should be something like an 899 or an H3. Have you checked your owner's manual?

-Rod

[mountainman1]

The fog light bulb should be something like an 899 or an H3. Have you checked your owner's manual?

didn't check owners manual...took the bulb to Auto Zone and they gave me the exact same one i gave them...told me it was a chevy low beam bulb..plug it in...and it works....would like to check my owners manual....but the person i got the Mountaineer from.....didn't leave it .....

[shorod]

You can view the owner's manual here.

-Rod

[mountainman1]

ROD...checked the link THANKS......didn't find the bulb replacement for the fog lamps listed but i did check mine again...both of them...9006 on them...maybe the person before me put them in...but auto zone gave me what the computer put on the screen....

i just want the right bulbs in the thing....

[shorod]

That is interesting. In the manual for my 2000, the foglamps are listed in the table like the one on page 193 of the 1998 owner's manual. You're right though, the foglamps are not listed in the 1998 manual.

PartsAmerica lists either an 899 or an H3 bulb. Autozone and O'Reilly don't appear to list a foglamp bulb on their websites. This site implies that the 1997-1998 Mountaineer uses an H3 bulb and 1999-2001 uses the 9006. At the bottom of the Mountaineer list the H3 is generically called out. Maybe you have a mid-year model and the transition to the 1999 style already occurred?

Anyway, it sounds like you got it squared away. If they fit, they should work as they are at least appropriate for a Mountaineer around that time frame.

-Rod

[mountainman1]

I think i have it squared away for NOW Rod....but you got me thinking on the build date on the mountaineer...so today i looked on the door jam...10/97.....1 month after the new model year came out for the 1998 model year....mine must be a freak.....

wayne