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Hella 500 Vs. Harbor Freight lights?????

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Old 01-05-2010
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Hella 500 Vs. Harbor Freight lights?????

well i want to get some lights for my brush guard. but idk what to get. im leaning towards the hellas because i like the look and they come with all the wiring but they are expensive. i have seen the harbor freight lights on a couple trucks and they all seem to rust.


If i would get the harbor freight lights what would i need to wire them?


so what do you guys think? tell me your options plz....
 
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Old 01-05-2010
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the only difference is you can't afford the hella's cause u spent all ur money on the brushguard that hangs 8" to low AND the rust on the HF lights will match ur truck.
 
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Old 01-05-2010
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i love my hellas. id personally go with them because they are proven, slim case and theyre polymer so no rust. i have never used a harbor freight light but my guess is they are just like walmart ones
 
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Old 01-05-2010
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Originally Posted by jtslmn720
i love my hellas. id personally go with them because they are proven, slim case and theyre polymer so no rust. i have never used a harbor freight light but my guess is they are just like walmart ones
yea i like the slim too my cousin had them on his truck and they worked great. plus they come with the wiring and i have to buy a relay and all that crap.
 
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Old 01-05-2010
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The HF ones are ok...I would go with hella ones next time though.
 
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Old 01-05-2010
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I am running the Hella 500's on my truck and love them. No personal experience with the HF ones..
 
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Old 01-05-2010
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had a pair of HF, they were ok for a while, but eventually they would start to get fog/water in the light.... I have had Hellas for about 3 years now and they are wonderful....def worth the extra $$
 
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Old 01-05-2010
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Originally Posted by Lazler
the only difference is you can't afford the hella's cause u spent all ur money on the brushguard that hangs 8" to low AND the rust on the HF lights will match ur truck.
QFT
 
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Old 01-05-2010
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Go with HF, you can probably replace them like 10 times for the cost of a hella.
 
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Old 01-05-2010
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not to thread jack but do you have to put a relay in them to wire them up or can i just tap into my factory fogs in my lower valance???
 
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Old 01-05-2010
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jason (chevyslayer925) has them wired too his fog light wiring but that has a relay already so yes you can wire them right to your fog light wiring
 
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Old 01-07-2010
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This is something you already know but even if you wire the new lights to the Fog Light Circuit, make sure the have a separate relay and a fused power wire; only use the Fog Light circuit to actuate the relay.
Get the HF Lights, save up for the others later, if you need them.
Wire them up using good quality wire (12 ga min), relay (30 amps) and fuse holder (25 amps), all parts rated for at least a pr 150 watt lights, do it right and when you can get the Hella’s you will only need to replace the lights.
 
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Old 01-07-2010
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hellas, theyre like $50 from walmart man. thats nothing for 2 lights and wiring imo.
 
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Old 01-08-2010
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Downey,

Which Hella’s are you talking about.
 
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Old 01-08-2010
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i got my hella 500s from wally world i love em but i just wired em into my other lights why do i need to use the fuse and relay sorry not electrically inclined
 
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Old 01-08-2010
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My opinion is that Ford makes their circuits for the load of an OEM setup only.
If you didn’t have Fogs to begin with, yes it should be OK to use the circuit but if you have existing Fogs then the added load from the second set of lights MAY/MAY NOT cause future problems.
if you use the Fog Light Circuit to activate the new light relay, if there is a problem it will be quicker to check it out.
Also, you can put in a separate switch to turn on the new light manually, if you ever wanted to.

IMHO, keep it simple and run grounds for extra components back to the battery.
ltr and luck.
 
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Old 01-08-2010
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Originally Posted by cornfed89
i got my hella 500s from wally world i love em but i just wired em into my other lights why do i need to use the fuse and relay sorry not electrically inclined
walmart carries hellas?

oh the fuse is so your truck doesnt catch on fire. thats all. no big deal right?
 
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Old 01-08-2010
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in the wiring diagrams it wants you to wire tap your high beams so you can only turn them on when high beams are on, but since i dont have high beams i tapped them into my factory foglights and then ran them to theyre own switch through the relay. so i can only use them if my foglights are on.

and i got my hella 500FFs at walmart for 47 per pair.
 
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Old 01-08-2010
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Originally Posted by fordlife
in the wiring diagrams it wants you to wire tap your high beams so you can only turn them on when high beams are on, but since i dont have high beams i tapped them into my factory foglights and then ran them to theyre own switch through the relay. so i can only use them if my foglights are on.

and i got my hella 500FFs at walmart for 47 per pair.
really?? thats a sweet deal.
 
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Old 01-08-2010
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yea it was awhile ago
 
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