Flickering fog lights

When @Tundra2 helped install my bumper in July of 2020(time flies BTW) it was extremely hot and humid, and I was ready to be done. Not realizing someone made adapters that would allow me to use the OEM fog light plugs we instead cut them off and used the hardware that Baja Designs provides with their lights. Noah even asked me to make sure and I should have picked up on his hesitancy.

This was fine for 15 months or so but now my fog lights flicker. I mentioned before that they don't flicker if the truck is parked and off but they do if it's parked and engine idling. That's odd to me.

What's the best way to fix this? Can I go back to an OEM connector? I tried unplugging and reconnecting the plug and it didn't help.

 

You'll probably just have to redo the splices to the factory wiring. Get a good pair of crimpers and adhesive lined heat shrink butt connectors.

Those connectors look decent and unless you're planning to go back to factory lights there's no reason to toss them.

 

Question for you first.

Are these LED by chance?

One of my friends put LED light bulbs in his stock housings recently. When he's driving, the flickering from them is enough to give epileptics a seizure. If he's parked, nothing. But the vibration of the car moving on the street makes them almost appear like they're strobing. It's the weirdest thing.

 

The are LEDs but not in a stock housing. Baja Designs.

 

Like these?

Butt Connector Marine Grade - Adhesive Lined Heat Shrink - A81218-12-10 AWG - 25 Pack

Butt Connector Marine Grade - Adhesive Lined Heat Shrink - A81218-12-10 AWG - 25 Pack

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0121ZVXW0

 

Yup. I'd probably grab a pack like this.

Heat Shrink Butt Connectors — Insulated Waterproof Wire Connector Terminals 200 PCS Electrical Connectors Kit Marine Automotive Wire Crimp Terminals Butt Splice Set 3 Colors 10-12 14-16 18-22 AWG

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081K2GTGY

 

This kit came today. Since I have no experience with this, how do I know which size is best? Trial and error?

 

Strip the wires back about 6-8mm, then see if they slide into the connector. If they don't fit, go next size up.

Given the pic above, you'll probably just use the red ones.


Crimp them on then heat them so the ends shrink down to seal the wire & insulation.

 

I don't own a heat gun. Guess I'm buying one.

 

Hair dryer?

 

I was actually wondering about that but assumed it wouldn't get hot enough..?

 

On high, I bet it would, do a test sample

 

Hair dryer may work on high heat if held close enough. Still, everyone should have a heat gun. Wagner makes a really solid one.

Advice above to find the butt splice that's too skinny, then go one size up is perfect. I'd add, if you don't have a GOOD pair of crimpers, get one.

Don't use one of these:



At bare minimum go to the store and get a pair of these, I think they have the non-Klein blue-gripped ones at Home Depot:

 

Cigarette lighter does the trick. I used one until I bought a butane gun

 

I hardly use a heat gun so the cheap harbor freight one has gotten me by the last 4 or 5 years just fine. If you'll hardly ever use the heat gun I'd reccomend it.

 

Lighter. Start with some distance, kind of run it up and down the heat shrink and get closer until you see it start to contract. When it starts to shrink you're close enough, just keep going back and forth so you don't melt it. Practice not on the wire first. Us a scrap piece. It works very well.

 

I'd second this. The crescent ones are the blue handled ones.

Or a BBQ lighter if you want extra reach.



I use a butane torch or my mapp gas torch if doing 1/2" and larger heat shrink.

 

I'm lost here. From your post I thought I would be reusing both sides of the connector pictured but now that I'm into this I don't see any way how these butt connectors are going to work with this connector. They don't really fit far enough down in there to send current to the light side.

 

Those guys just work on the wires. You need the specific pins to go inside the connectors.

 

I'm not seeing the point of the butt connectors then. I fished those old pins out of the trash. They are pretty mangled if you can imagine that. I guess if they still slide onto the male side they might work? Still unclear how the butt connectors tie all this together.

 

I assumed you were redoing the wire connection where the connectors went to the factory wiring.

So connector above>wire pigtail>butt connector>factory wiring. Is what I thought you had going on

 

Thoughts on how I should proceed?

 

Cut out the black connectors and use the pink ones in their place

 

The pink butt splices are for connecting two pieces of wire together. You'd normally use that to mend something you cut, like, if you have a different connector you want to put in the place of an old connector, you could cut the old connector off, then splice the different one onto the factory wire stubs you left behind.

Then you have the OEM style waterproof black connector with green rubber on it. There is a special crimping tool and special wire terminators you need to use that. I don't see any evidence you have the special waterproof cable ends you need to use that connector. So I'm not sure if you can use it.

Ideally, you typically want to avoid splicing where possible (if possible). But in this case, I'm guessing you want to use the pink butt splices to crimp new connectors onto your existing OEM wiring that's already been cut?