small2336

A few ago, I swapped out the factory fogs in my '05 KR for 4, 4" CREE Auxbeam LED lights (Raptor style setup). I didn't notice it at first, but for some reason I wondered why most of the FM stations wouldn't come in as clear. Just last night driving home the daylight headlights came on with the fogs and cut out my radio station. A light bulb!!! So how are my foglight interfering with the radio frequency? Is there a fix?
I checked the connections. Everything is clean, ground wires are good, and vehicle antenna is good. What am I missing.

connorfx4

I had this same problem when I got a cheap Chinese LED bar of Amazon. I looked into the problem a little bit by searching on Google. Some say it's caused by cheap LEDs. I replaced that bar with a name brand one and no more static.

small2336

After some more digging, it seems you are correct. A lot of people have had the same issue. I figured Auxbeam, though cheaper than your Rigid Industries, would have negated this issue. Apparently I'm wrong. It's only an issue during night driving, which I don't do a lot of anyway, so I guess the price is worth it in the end. Just annoying.

connorfx4

Oh man, no way I was forking out the cash for Rigid. I got another pretty inexpensive one with good reviews. The brand I have now is Eyourlife.

The Retrofit Source sells "radio static reducer rings" I have not given them a try nor do I know anyone that has. May be worth the few bucks to give them a shot though.

small2336

Same here Conner; rigid industries was out of the question and I could purchase 4-5 of the same lights with an Off-brand and still have money left over. I'll look into the reducer rings and go from there. It's a minor inconvenience. I wonder if doing a retrofit HID headlights mod will do the same?

connorfx4

There's a thread in the 97-03 section about HIDs having static too. That's the only thread I've seen on them causing it though.

dyeguy1212

iTrader: (1)

All kinds of electronics cause RF interference. Not necessarily because they are "cheap", but because they didn't do any testing to verify it wouldn't interfere. Most likely because the company cheaped out

scobar

iTrader: (4)

It's the cheap ballasts. Sometimes you can fix it by improving the ground of the ballast to chassis.

^^This. You really need to be careful with what you put in your truck, a lot of the lighting products on the aftermarket are just crap. Not even from the standpoint of how the product performs (most are also crap), but from how they build the "kit". Cheap wire, cheap power supply, cheap everything. The goal is turn n burn so QC is not even on the table, sadly

Personally, I would go without vs. settling for cheaper/lower quality. Things I put in/on my truck are things I rely on.

connorfx4

Wait a second. You said "not necessarily because they are cheap." Then you said "most likely because the company cheaped out." I'm confused.

small2336

It's one of those shots in the dark, where owners who can't afford the multi-hundred dollars lights - which will only be used for show or for the occasional lighting of a deer in a vacant field - opt for a slightly less expensive version. Sure, it's a chance. Sure, they look just as good, but as we all have seen there are varying reviews and issues with each of the "cheaper" models. From brightness to RF interference. Like it's been said, QC is not on the up and up with these chinese knock offs. I guess that's why they call them chinese knock offs. Oh well. Life goes on.