Polo 9N 2002
Front Fog Lights
Here is a how-to type thing detailing how I fitted VW front fog lights to my 9N Polo.
I phoned my local VW dealer to get a price for some front fogs. They quoted me £57+VAT each light, plus £57+VAT for a new switch. They also said it will be "probably a couple of hundred quid for a new wiring loom 'cos I don't think the fog wiring is there".
I then asked Martyn @ VAG Parts for a price. He came back with a very good price, so I ordered them from him :)
NOTE: There is no wiring in place for front fogs so this is not a simple plug and play modification. The whole job took me 3 hours from start to finish. It doesn't, as yet, show the front fog warning lamp in the dash when the front fogs are switched on but this is something I will try and add in the future.
You will need:
1 Relay
Several spade connectors both male and female
2 Ring Terminals
Some suitably rated wire
In-line blade fuse holder + 15A fuse
Cable Ties
As well as all the usual tools.
Fitting:
A week after ordering the fogs I had the following sitting on my doorstep:
2 Fog Lights
New switch with front fog postion
Two new grilles for the front bumper
And fixing hardware.
The first thing I did was to remove the switch, which was an effort in it-self!
To remove the switch:
1. Make sure it is in the off position as shown below.
2. Push the switch in, approx 5mm.
3. Turn to the sidelight position, the switch will click and lock in
place.
4. Pull the whole switch unit out of the dash and disconnect the plug on the
back.
The pictures below show the stages of removing the switch.
Once the switch was removed, I used a multi-meter to determine which pins on the new switch were used for the front fog lights.
Now I had found out what wire I will be using to switch the fogs I started fitting them.
I removed the grilles on the front bumper where the new fogs will be fitted. There are two clips that need lifting to remove the grilles. (See Arrows in pic)
I then got my two lengths of wire and soldered some ring terminals onto the ends. I cut out a section of the ring out to make it easier connecting it to the battery.
I then fed the wires from the battery box, out, and down towards the left hand side (battery side) grille, where the new fogs will be fitted.
I followed the loom of wires that went down towards that area, cable tying the wire to the conduit.
This picture shows how it should look once run and cable tied to the conduit, nice and tidy :)
Once the wire was down to the lower grille, and cable tied in place, I cut the wire leaving enough to work with.
I then crimped some spade connectors onto the ends ready to connect to the relay.
I then made the following connectors up.
The blue one will be the earth connector. Point 1 will connect to the wire coming from the battery , point 2 will connect to the earth terminal on the relay and points 3 and 4 will go to the fogs. Point 4 is long enough to go to the other side of the car, where the other fog will be.
The red one will be the one that connects the fogs to the relay. Point 1 goes to the switched terminal on the relay, with points 2 and 3 going to the fogs. Point 3 is also long enough to go to the other side of the car.
I then connected these connectors to the fog lights themselves.
Making sure the the short wires on the connectors I had just made went to the left hand side fog, I soldered the wires onto the fog light connectors. This was only because I had no plugs to use. (Note added by VAG Parts - two fog lamp plugs now included, along with the correct terminals) I made sure that the red wire went to the pin that connected to the centre of the bulb, open the fog light up to check this.
After soldering the wires on, I used insulating tape to tape up the terminals. As shown in the second picture below.
I then threaded the long wires from my connectors to the other side of the car as shown below. I then connected these wires to the RHS fog light as I did with the LHS one. I then taped the terminals.
This is a picture showing the car with the two fog lights connected to the connectors and them not yet fitted in place.
I then fitted the fogs in place by pushing the grey plastic clips into the holes and using the screws to screw them in place. The picture below left shows the fog light fitted in place.
I then fitted the new grille to the RHS, making sure all clips were in place, as these grilles had extra clips.
Now was time to run the switched positive wire. I used some red wire with a spade connector soldered on the end. I connected this wire to Pin 86, and ran it up with the power cable I ran earlier, under the battery box, and over towards the ABS unit.
I had used a rubber grommet which is behind the ABS unit, to get my Amplifier power cable into the car and so there was already a hole there for me. You will need to cut the rubber grommet, and spend a couple of hours threading the cable through until you find it inside the car!!! :) I'll give you a clue, it is in the passengers foot well, not too far up. I lifted the soundproofing that was there to find the hole, then cut a small hole in the soundproofing to make it easier.
The pic below shows where my wire enters the bulkhead, just behind the ABS unit.
Once the wire was into the car I connected the relay up.
This is the diagram shown on my relay:
In my experience, all relays use the same numbering system, but please check before wiring the relay up.
Pin 30: Perm Live
Pin 35: Earth
Pin 86: Switched Live
Pin 87: Fog Light Positive
Pin 87a: Not used
So.... I connected the positive wire I ran from the battery to Pin 30. Then connect the earth wire I ran to the blue connector I made earlier, and the other loose wire to Pin 35.
Then I connected the red connector I made earlier to Pin 87.
I then taped the relay terminals up and cable tied the relay to the horn bracket, just above the LHS fog light. The relay in my pic below is green.
Now was time to connect the power cables to the battery.
I cut a few inches of cable, and the ring terminal off of the end of the positive cable. I then soldered this to an in-line blade fuse holder with a 15A fuse in it, I asked somebody with factory fitted fogs what fuse they had. I then soldered the rest of the power cable, that goes down to the relay to the other side of the fuse holder, making sure there was not an excess of cable left in the battery box.
I then connected the two ring terminals to the battery using a 12mm socket to loosen the nut and placing the terminal under the nut, then re-tightening it.
This shows how tidy the wiring is once the battery cover is closed. The wires cannot be seen!
This picture shows the fogs in place and connected, with just the switch to connect.
A few close up pics of a fog light.
Now was time to connect the switch up.
Before doing this step I tested the fogs worked by connecting the switch wire to the positive terminal on the battery, I heard the relay click and both lights came on. If they do not, check all wiring now, before going any further.
I had removed the switch earlier and found out what pin was the one used for the front fogs.
I needed to get the wire from the passenger footwell over to the headlight switch itself. I did this by cable tying the wire up out of sight, then poking the wire through behind the stereo.
I then fed the wire back down into the drivers footwell, again, cable tying it up high, out of sight, and then into where the relays are housed. This panel is removed by just pulling it.
I then fed the wire up to the hole for the light switch and cut it, leaving enough to work with. I stripped the wire, folded the end over, and inserted it into the plug from behind.
The correct pin to use on the plug is shown below. This is as looking at the plug from the front, shown the in pic below. The pin on the plug will not have a contact in it, so you will know if this is the correct one or not. (Note added by VAG Parts - correct terminal now included for connection to this pin)
That's it!! Start your engine, and turn your lights on, then pull the switch out one click. Get out and check that the fogs are on.
If they do not work, but they did when you tested them earlier, it must be something to do with the switch wire, wrong pin maybe?
Here are some pics of the fogs installed and working :)
It's not as plug and play as I would have liked, but I am happy with them!
Any questions about fitting the fogs, just ask me.