Diode Dynamic Fog Light Caught Fire - Caution
 

For those of you running the Diode Dynamic Fog Light, please check your fog lights....

I've had my Diode Dynamics fog light for about one year and this is the long term result of owning them:

Back in October of 2014 the negative terminal melted...

See thread:

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2003881

Pictures are broken but here they are again...

https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...ff&oe=56B4222C

https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...26&oe=56B9AECD


They replaced the harness and now about one year later this is the result....

On November 10th my fog light on driver side stopped working, I bought a new bulb and replaced it. I also noticed condensation in my housings. Upon further inspection I found the DRIVER side melting...

https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...12&oe=564DC33F


I contacted Diode Dynamics....

https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...87489403_o.jpg

This is there response...

https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...48426671_o.jpg

Again I press on...and some more back and forth happens.

I bring up the harness again...

https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...43802557_o.jpg

My concern is a possible electrical fire...This is their last message to me since I did not reply back. It was going around in circle with the condensation.

Dated November 13th



https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...11483303_o.jpg

Again they avoid my harness question and concern...

Exactly four days later...tonight...my harness caught fire and melted on the passenger side.

https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...17&oe=564EE7B5


https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...e5&oe=564EF71A


https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...30&oe=564DF858

https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...c6&oe=564E009D


I did perform my due diligence and contact the vendor to seek support.
I have sent you another e-mail Justin @Diode Dynamics. I will be awaiting your response.

Holy. I would not be happy about that. However, if I noticed it was melting, I would have stopped using it immediately.

Are you using the proper size electrical fuse ..... ??


humfrz

This came as a kit so I'm not sure. I didn't build the kit nor engineer it. I am merely the end user.

In for response. That does not at all look good.

It looks like it's possible that there was a bad crimp in the terminals. I'm really not sure why this would have happened twice on your vehicle, but that does not matter. Please contact our customer service team and we will send you a heavier-gauge harness at no cost.

For anyone currently using the fog light kit with halogen bulbs, we will exchange your relay harness for a heavier gauge at no cost.

(314) 205-3033 or email us: contact@diodedynamics.com

I apologize for the inconvenience, but rest assured we will take care of this issue for you

Thanks,

Nick C.

Please comment on customer service thinking that a melting harness is acceptable.

Thanks!

It's clear from the photos posted that the harness was badly damaged (note the frayed wires going to the connector and plug). Regardless, we will provide an upgraded replacement at no cost to make sure he has a relay with a thicker gauge of wiring.

Nick C.

I had nearly identical damage in that exact cable that connects to the fog lights. I called DD and they sent me a replacement bulb and wiring with no hassle.

In my case it may have been water intrusion but nearly identical damage.

yeah i woudnt use it either. glad vendor taking responsibility and replacing it. but why now? couldnt DD replace when op had concern at first time? i understand op why he had to post here.

I remember asking DD about foglights for people who has premium (only BRZ limited comes with fog light), they dont bother reply back to me even asked for 2 times.

shouldn't the fuse prevent this?

Not necessarily. The fuse only protects against over current situations where the current that is being drawn by the device and associated wiring/connectors exceeds the designed failure rating of the fuse, in both amps (or milliamps) and time.

If the load (in this case a bulb) or the wiring or connections are not designed properly or malfunctioning (i.e. loose connectors, wire gauge too small, too much load for extended periods of time) but still within the rating of the fuse, the fuse will hold but you get an increase in heat. If the circuit isn’t designed to dissipate or otherwise handle that heat, you get melting or potentially fire.

This is the reason why you should NEVER replace a fuse with one of higher rating (unless you hold an Electrical Engineering degree, but sometimes they’re even worse!) The entire circuit is designed for safe operation, including the choice of fuse to protect it, so changing any component in that circuit can have a potentially negative impact.

This is what happens with cheap wiring harnesses. Have you upgraded to a different fog light kit? I see you're in la if you haven't and want to if be happy to lend a hand installing it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

What other harnesses out there? LOL Other than OEM...

To clarify- this was indeed a huge mistake by our service rep. We went over this issue earlier today to ensure that all of our staff understand that there was a mistake made here. We will of course be correcting the issue for the OP, and we are investigating our harnesses here to determine whether there is any defect. We currently believe that the crimp failed over time, leading to a weak point where heat could build up. We're analyzing each connector we have on the shelf to ensure that there are no problems with them.

Thanks,
Paul
Owner, Diode Dynamics

We answer every email and PM we get, so it's very likely that our reply was sent to your spam folder. If it was on social media, my apologies, as we do miss some things on those platforms from time to time just due to the nature of FB and Instagram. I'm sorry you had a poor experience, but please feel free to call if you'd like any more info: 314-205-3033. Thanks!

I have the auer fog kit which includes what I believe is a Toyota oem harness.
But i have a morimoto harness for my headlights and it's amazing quality.
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/co...l#.Vk00Q0SCOnM




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Oh, darn ....... putting a .22 cal shell casing in a fuse slot or a penny behind a blown fuse in the fuse box was so handy ...... :sigh:


humfrz

I feel like this must be an isolated incident because many people have this kit including myself and i thought the initial quality of the harness and everything in the kit was great!

The good 'ol 1/4-20 no-blow?

https://i.imgur.com/TtFotWu.jpg

Is there a reason there's no seal on the crimped wiring? It's pretty clear that the copper isn't clean like it should be, and the inside of the connector as seen here should be spotless.

https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...30&oe=564DF858

That could possibly be due to the fire.

Are there rubber seals on the other wires?

That is our belief as well. We have not identified any bad connections or crimps in our inventory right now. It's clear that the failure here was caused by either:

1) a wire coming loose from a crimp, which in turn overheated.
2) a defect in the bulb, which caused increased resistance and heat in powering the bulb.

Again- we're happy to assist anyone who runs into any problem with our products, and will always replace any defective item that is under warranty.

Thanks,
Paul

Nick and Paul;

Thanks for being so actively involved and seeing this issue through.

I've been a DD fan for a while now, and it's great to see you guys sorting out issues actively. It shows why it's worth paying the premium over the cheaper Amazon or eBay units.

Sad to see something go wrong with aftermarket parts, but looks like DD is fixing this issue. I, myself have DD's foglights and don't have any issue, but I'll double check mine to be safe. How quickly they're taking care of this issue, I'll prob keep buying their products as well. DD, keep up bring the great product for our cars!

DD, are you putting the weather seals on the wires or not? I don't see them in the pics.

Yes, all of our harnesses use properly-sized and crimped seals for applicable terminals.

fk thats 3rd time I hear this...now im not sure whether to buy them...

What are you talking about? Third time?

I actually sent PM as well. i thought DD is rich not needing my money so i stopped looking into DD. i understand that all vendors miss some stuff but I wasnt very impressed with customer service. I am glad DD stood up and fix this issue though. I guess I will try with DD in future if i need some lighting products

Still working on it.

2years + on DD foglight kit no problems here.

I also have the Diode Dynamics Fog light kit on my BRZ. Last month I contacted them because i also have condensation in my driver side housing.

They sent me a response saying almost the same exact thing, that it's "not a manufacturers defect". And almost insinuated it was my fault that there is condensation in them. That's absurd. I have them professionally installed last year, and my passenger side has no condensation in it. So how does all of a sudden the driver side get condensation in it?

They ended up sending me a new housing for it. I am finally taking my car over to the shop next week for them to "reseat" the bulb in it's new housing and hopefully that fixes this issue and i will gladly sent them back the original housing.

But now after finding this thread, i will also have the shop inspect the negative terminal and harness and make sure it's not burning like the person here in this thread has unfortunately experienced.

Personally, I think this fog light has a lot of defects, clearly there are too many reports with people like me, and the poster here as well have too many issues with this product.

with all due respect, "not a manufacturers defect" my ass. i realize there are a lot of uses where this could happen from something not being installed correctly. but seriously this is not an isolated incident and it's obvious the product has flaws so you should take responsibility for it and correct the issue under the warranty without responding saying it's 'not a defect'.

Wow, your condensation is much worse than mine.

@Diode Dynamics, I have sent you the weight of the box on November 19th, I am still waiting for your response for a return label. I sent you a follow up e-mail yesterday and still no responses today.

Well @Diode Dynamics, it has been one week since there was agreed upon shipping label. I've been getting nothing but black friday specials from your company. Unfortunately I have not received a single shipping label or response within this one week. I am calling your bluff of "we answer every email and PM we get", I see after one week of back and fourth, my emails have gone into your "spam". You were right @zc06_kisstherain, they don't reply.

I can conclude from this experience that @Diode Dynamics' customer service is indeed lacking. I guess I'm out $150 dollars for the Fog Light kit, but that $150 showed me the principles lacking at this company. From the multiple defective products sent, to the facade agreement of Paul to refund my money, and finally to the non-responsiveness from the company despite their claim of "answering every e-mail".

I would used to highly recommend @Diode Dynamics for lighting needs, but I wouldn't anymore. Perhaps I'm being unreasonable with asking for a refund on a product that nearly killed me in a electrical fire.

@Packofcrows, I would highly suggest your lighting needs to be met from another company than @Diode Dynamics.

Honestly @Diode Dynamics, if only you didn't make the mistake of telling me a melting harness is perfectly fine, which nearly killed me, and replaced my harness at my first request like you would previously, everything would be fine.

However, as of now,don't bother rectifying this situation, it's too late and I don't give second chances.

You'll forever live with this thread for as long as it's posted.

My sincere apologies for the delay- per your request, I was communicating with you directly, outside of our normal email communication system. I have not been in the office to create the label. We have been closed most of the week for the holiday. I can certainly get that to you right now if you'd like.

Again, our service representative made a mistake, not understanding the severity of the damage. Once he understood, he offered to replace the wire harness, but you refused.

We are doing, and have been doing, whatever you want to rectify this, and now we have offered to send a label for a return for refund, well over a year since your original order. I'm sorry I was unable to reply to you this week, but we're doing everything we can here. We are just trying to do what you want at this point.

So you would not like to make the return now? You don't need the return label? Please clarify what you want us to do.

EDIT: I'm not sure if you're serious about not wanting a refund anymore, but I did just process and send the label. Let me know if you do ship it back, and we'll process the refund right away to your Paypal.

Thank you,
Paul

Please email us again, or look for our email this evening. We can replace both of the lamps, and will do so for anyone experiencing issues.

It seems the condensation issue is isolated to a particular batch of lamps. However, it's difficult to determine what exact dates it applies to, as we've had very few reports, and all of them were purchased quite a while ago.

All of those who purchased this kit will be receiving a recall email this evening so that we can resolve any problems anyone who purchased our kit is having. If you are experiencing any problems, and for whatever reason you don't get the email, please contact us.

Thank you,
Paul

Copying e-mail here, in case anyone did not receive it.

Hello,

We have recently become aware of possible issues with the 2013+ Scion FR-S Foglight Kit, which you purchased from us some time ago. Please read this email in full, and contact us if you believe your kit exhibits any issue, so that we may assist you in resolving it.

We currently believe the problems to be isolated in nature, and limited to a very specific run of foglamps and/or wire harnesses.

Specifically, some fog lamps may develop excessive moisture buildup over time, with normal use. As stated in your owner's manual, some condensation from time to time is normal for all automotive lamps, due to pressurization cycles. However, in some of the fog lamps we provided, there is an excessive amount of moisture, that does not dry over time. If you believe that one or both of your fog lamps are developing excessive moisture, please contact us for a free replacement.

Additionally, we believe that in an extremely limited number of cases, there may be an improper wire crimp on the provided harness, which may fail prematurely. In the case of wire failure, the harness may short out to the vehicle chassis, or build up too much resistance for power to be transmit properly. While this harness is protected by the inline fuse, it should not solely be relied upon to prevent any problems. Please inspect the connectors going to your bulbs on the fog lamp, as well as all other connection points. Please ensure that the harness is grounded well, to bare metal. If you notice any type of deformation or heat buildup on any connectors, please contact us for a replacement harness.


I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and frustration that these issues may cause. We work hard to verify that all of our products, and components from our suppliers, meet our standards for quality and reliability. Unfortunately, the issues described here have developed only after months, or years, of use. We are now implementing additional test procedures and working with new suppliers in order to ensure that these problems do not continue.

Again, we believe these problems to be isolated in nature, but we would like all purchasers to be aware, so that you might contact us if any problem develops with your kit. If you were denied replacement or service for any reason in the past for these problems, we sincerely apologize, and hope that you will contact us for a replacement at this time.

If you should have any questions about this message, or any products you have purchased from us in the past, please contact us so that we might assist you. We greatly appreciate your patience and understanding, and we hope that we can help to resolve any issue you may be experiencing.

Thank you,
Paul
Diode Dynamics

Paul, with all due respect, this matter could have been resolved in a much simpler resolution. However, despite all of that, I am thankful that in the end @Diode Dynamics is taking care of their customers. This was indeed a great learning opportunity for the both of us, and I'm appreciative that you took this event seriously and reflect the principles of integrity, respect, and most importantly; continuous improvement.

~Happy Thanksgiving :thanks: