[thtechnician]

As many on this forum have documented, the stock headlights on the pre-facelift Ecosport are pathetic, essentially useless for our highways.

So after upgrading the headlight bulbs to 90/100w and the fogs to LEDs, I decided to try installing a pair of aux lights to help with the long range throw. I ended up choosing a pair of Hella Comet 450s that I bought from a local shop.



To mount them, I searched and found this post (Ford EcoSport : Official Review) by ecosport rules which included pictures of the clamps he used. So I took some measurements, and gave them to a local fabricator who made the clamps for me. I left some spare room to allow for adjustment and for adding rubber tubing to avoid rattles.



I also bought a pair of generic connectors to allow me to remove the lights after trips to avoid trouble with cops/theft.

For wiring, I first opened the Hellas and replaced the original wires with my new connectors.



For triggering the lights, I used a Bosch relay with a fuse. I wired it to come on with the high beams by tapping a wire from the relay set I already had for the upgraded 90/100w bulbs.



I made the wiring harness and zip-tied it to the crash bar and the front grill.



Using the connectors allows me to take off the lights when they're not in use. The mounts don't protude too far out and the connectors can just be pushed behind the grill.

[Mr.Boss]

Consider using waterproof connectors, something like these

[Reinhard]

Nice stuff. Thanks for sharing. Its nice that this was possible by installing bolt-on clamps. I just hate having to weld such things on the cross-members. Bolting on is so clean.

Especially with the car makers doing away with fog-lamps altogether OR bringing in bespoke shaped LED integrated units - the easy way of round projector HID/LED fog-lamps is starting to slip out of hands for illumination upgrades. So I think we'll be seeing a resurgence of such auxiliary lamps to be added in front of the cars one way or the other (while also attracting unnecessary police interest).

A couple of thoughts -

1. Like Mr.Boss already mentioned - definitely better to use automotive grade water-proof connectors in this place - as the placement is in an area prone to frequent water splashes.
2. I'd suggest using a shorter bolt OR installing it in the opposite direction, to ensure it doesnt get too close to the radiator / intercooler. Especially risky in case there is some nudge / dislodging of the aux-lamp - the bolt might touch the fins.
3. See if you can spray some lacquer clear coat OR cover the bolt & nut with a thread-lock resin compound. That way the installation as well as the beam angle can be made more secure, and it won't get loose due to frequent rattles (especially the ones induced by rumblers).

Nice project indeed! Enjoy the new confidence in safety in night drives.

[sunny_dogra]

HELLA Luminator LED 3000 & 4000 / supernova series, i think these are better alternatives, nonetheless excellent job and a great product.

[thtechnician]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Nice stuff. Thanks for sharing. Its nice that this was possible by installing bolt-on clamps. I just hate having to weld such things on the cross-members. Bolting on is so clean.

I'd suggest using a shorter bolt OR installing it in the opposite direction, to ensure it doesnt get too close to the radiator / intercooler. Especially risky in case there is some nudge / dislodging of the aux-lamp - the bolt might touch the fins.

See if you can spray some lacquer clear coat OR cover the bolt & nut with a thread-lock resin compound. That way the installation as well as the beam angle can be made more secure, and it won't get loose due to frequent rattles (especially the ones induced by rumblers).

Thanks. I noticed a few videos online where they drilled holes into the crash bar and bolted directly through it but I didn't want to go down that route either. The bolt on design is easier to install and not intrusive.

There's about 3-4 inches of gap between the crash bar and the radiator so I'm not too concerned about that.

I only install the lights on highway runs and take them off after, so thread locking isn't feasible. I've driven over some non existent parts of the Mumbai-Goa highway and they didn't move much so I don't think it's required either

[Tassem]

Awesome DIY! I'm a huge fan of excellent lighting myself. And have been steadily moving towards a low profile, but more effective lighting setup that I can use on highways and not just while offroading. One that can keep me safe at night while doing daytime speeds and at the same time won't attract attention. And I am there now.

If you ever decide to upgrade further, try the below:

1. Projector retrofit for your foglamp.
2. A pair of Hella Black Magic LED pods in spot configuration.

Since you have chosen a plug and play setup, the pods will be a 5 min upgrade for you.

These will change the way you look at night driving, literally.

Below is my journey:


In the beginning, it was a lot of light but also a lot of show!


Then I added a set of LED floods. This is where I started to think about how efficient these setups are. At the same time, I went for an excellent set of 4300K LED bulbs for my foglamps as well.


Then I got tired of lugging all of that attention around but not being able to use it safely or effectively. Downgraded to just one set of aux lamps while retaining the LEDs in the foglamps. Again, kept these covered except during highways or off-road.


Then one day, I lost it and redesigned my entire setup to LEDs. Chose to go with maddog lighting since they're excellent. Much lower profile, much higher light output. I also upgraded my foglamps to projectors with 5000K HID and that was life changing. But while the maddogs were excellent, they were not focussed and was mostly flood. This meant a ton of glare as I cannot point them where I want to.


And then finally my current and best setup so far. Much much lower profile, but the brightest most effective and power efficient setup so far. The pods at the base of the windscreen are Blackmagic LED driving lamps. The one near the grill are Blackmagic Bar spots. They allow me to drive safely in all conditions including rains and are completely glare free in the current config. Intentionally chose this pic so that you can see how low profile they are.

There have been a few iterations in between but these have been the most sifgnificant. At one point I had replaced the Hellas on the roof with Hella LED floods. Felt like driving a streetlamp. Good for me, bad for everybody else.

[thtechnician]

Originally Posted by Tassem

Awesome DIY! I'm a huge fan of excellent lighting myself. And have been steadily moving towards a low profile, but more effective lighting setup that I can use on highways and not just while offroading. One that can keep me safe at night while doing daytime speeds and at the same time won't attract attention. And I am there now.

If you ever decide to upgrade further, try the below:

1. Projector retrofit for your foglamp.
2. A pair of Hella Black Magic LED pods in spot configuration.

Since you have chosen a plug and play setup, the pods will be a 5 min upgrade for you.

I'll keep that in mind, thanks. Your truck looks great! The first image is what I imagine everyone behind me on the highway uses when they're tailgating me with their high beams on

[sj@8535]

Originally Posted by thtechnician

As many on this forum have documented, the stock headlights on the pre-facelift Ecosport are pathetic, essentially useless for our highways.

So after upgrading the headlight bulbs to 90/100w and the fogs to LEDs, I decided to try installing a pair of aux lights to help with the long range throw. I ended up choosing a pair of Hella Comet 450s that I bought from a local shop.

Attachment 2538918

Hello

IMHO you could replace your 90/100 watts halogen with 75 watts 4300k LEDs
Far better output and an optimal colour temperature.

Have tried it out in my gen 1 Innova and the headlight output is impressive.
Also used the 90/100 watts halogens in my car which ultimately destroyed my cars reflector.

[thtechnician]

Originally Posted by sj@8535

Hello

IMHO you could replace your 90/100 watts halogen with 75 watts 4300k LEDs
Far better output and an optimal colour temperature.

Have tried it out in my gen 1 Innova and the headlight output is impressive.
Also used the 90/100 watts halogens in my car which ultimately destroyed my cars reflector.

I considered that, but there are already several threads that have tried and it's not very effective. The reflector design itself is not very good. I had the same 90/100 bulbs in my Mahindra TUV before and the throw was fantastic. The most logical upgrade will be projector HIDs.