Rear Fog Light Install

[Herbie3Rivers]

Does anyone out there in NB land have a pictorial how to on installing the Euro rear fog light on the NB? I think there used to be one on bugmod.com, but I don't ahve it anymore. I finally have the light and I need to know how to wire it into the car and install the light in the bumper.

[marvins_dad]

New Beetle 98-03 Rear Fog Light Install
Author's - multiple credits: VWMike, BICHO, & Hestersu


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In this article, we're going to cover the process of installing a Euro-spec Rear Fog Light. The driver's side rear fog light is standard on European New Beetle's. The rear fog light not only provides increased safety in poor visibility driving conditions, but is a a fantastic looking mod (on or off) that adds the true Euro-look to any NB.

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Tools needed for this Mod:
TORX bits and driver
Socket Set with 8mm socket
Small Flathead Screwdriver
Large Flathead Screwdriver
Wire Stripper/Crimper
Wire Cutter
Wire Coat Hanger
Solder Iron or heat gun (for heat shrink) Voltmeter or Test Light
Additional Supplies Needed:
1 - Roll of 18-gauge insulated wire
2 - (minimum) 18-20-gauge Electrical Butt Connectors with heat shrink plastic

Parts needed for this Mod:
Red Fog Light Assembly (left side)
Turbo “S” - VW Part Number #1C0945711C
All Others – VW Part Number #1C0945711A
Euro-Switch - VW Part # 1C0941531A01C
Special Wire – VW Part Number 000-979-133

Approximately 1-1/2 Hours labor time.


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Some Hints & Recommendations from the Authors of this article...
Have all of the parts and supplies on hand before you start – it's much easier that way.
Read these instructions several times because there are recommended installation sequences that will enhance the overall installation.

Cut a wire coat hanger and form a 15” - 18” length, with an eyelet on one end for threading wire. Make the eyelet as tight as you can, it will help avoid snags/hang-ups when you do the wire threading. You will only need the wire for a couple of areas; as for the most part you are pushing/placing the wire under the interior body panels and doorsill.
The VW special wire is yellow in color and has two identical ends. Cut the wire in half and save the other half for a friend who might be doing this modification in the future.


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Now we're ready to start the mod...
From the dashboard carefully remove your light switch. If you do not know how to accomplish this task, go HERE for installation and removal instructions. With the switch removed, look at the rear of the wire coupling and the switch and note that it can only be inserted one way. Then take the Stock or the Euro switch and look at the back end; here you will see several pins, one of which will be marked NSL (pictured below) This is the pin that controls the rear fog function. On the wire coupling, the matching slot/slit or NSL position is where you will insert the special VW wire. It is empty now, but seize this opportunity to note how the other wires are inserted; this is significant because you must put the connector in the same way or the resultant will be a poor contact and no fog illumination.

Now you are ready to put the VW special wire that you just cut into the wire coupling. Appraise it one more time, so that you feel comfortable with inserting the wire into the coupling. Look at the switch and look at the wire coupling, the wire coupling only fits one way on the switch. Be sure you have everything figured out. The connector goes in from the rear of the wire coupling. Place it in the proper hole and look at it. Line the switch up and make sure you have the right position, the NSL. Now push the connector into the hole. It should lock into place and you should now assure you have the proper position. Hopefully you have followed these instructions correctly because once it is in place, it cannot be removed.

[marvins_dad]

NOTE: There are actually three light switches that can be used in this modification and for this exercise we address for the most part the Euro Switch – “double pull” version.
The three types of switches are the:

Stock Switch
Euro Switch - true double pull (preferred and used in this mod by the authors)
South American Switch (identical to Euro Switch, but with only a single pull)

Turn-On your ignition, move the switch to the fog position and pull out the switch as if to make the fogs go on. If you have the Euro Switch, this is a double pull. Now is a good time to make our first check and assure a properly wired switch. Using a test light or Voltmeter, check the connection with the switch in the fog position and the ignition on. Your test light should illuminate and/or if you are using the voltmeter, you should get a reading of approximately 12-volts. This check is important because it will avoid a larger trouble-shooting task later, should the fog light not illuminate. After the successful testing of your switch connection, TURN-OFF the ignition and proceed to thread the wire (pictures below).

[marvins_dad]

Now we're going to thread wire back. Take the roll of 18-gauge wire and cut a piece that is about 12-13 feet long. This is too much, but it is better to have too much than not enough. Next, push the front, driver’s seat all the way back and look under the dash. There is a panel above the pedals that you must remove. In the far left corner up by the clutch (if you have one), there is a white plastic piece. There is a similar white plastic piece up in the far right corner above the gas pedal. The panel slides into these pieces. Three torx screws secure the panel. Remove the screws now and set them aside. One of the screws is by a pink connector for reference. The panel will drop down slightly. If you have a turbo, the manual spoiler deploy switch is on this panel. Carefully unplug the spoiler deployment switch by pulling it straight up. Gently slide the panel out of the two plastic pieces and take note how the panel fits so you can put it back in correctly later.
Now take your coat hanger with eyelet and carefully push it through the light switch hole eyelet end down. As it comes out from under the dash attach the 18-gauge wire length you previously cut, to the eyelet and pull it up and out of the light switch hole. Strip a quarter-inch off the end of the VW special wire and do likewise to the wire length you just pulled through the hole. Take your first butt connector and crimp the ends as appropriate. Do a slight tug to make sure you have a good connection.

Important Note: Leave the light switch out of the hole as you begin your wire threading to the rear of the car because this extra distance gives you the necessary slack required for future switch removal. If you fail to leave this slack you will not be able to remove the light switch later.

[marvins_dad]

At the very bottom of the dead pedal, at the lower left corner, where the carpet meets the kick panel, you will notice a small gap. The gap is actually a channel between the dead pedal" and kick panel. Take the coat hanger and push the eyelet end up through the gap and up to the top of the dead pedal. Attach the wire length that is coming from your wire coupling and attach it to the eyelet. Carefully pull the hanger back out, pulling the wire along with it. Again, take care not to pull the wire so taut that you take out the slack needed for future removal of the light switch. Next, starting at the dead pedal, begin pushing the wire under the kick panel and then under the length of the doorsill. You should be able to do this without tools, but if you need tolls use a flat screwdriver, being careful not to mar any surfaces, to assist in lifting the panel or doorsill edge. You should now have worked your way back to the bar where the shoulder strap and seatbelt are attached (picture below left). Work your way carefully around this part and continue working the wire under the panel.

[marvins_dad]

To make this less painless, you may want to remove your bottom seat cushion and drop your seat back. Use the two flathead screwdrivers to help push the wire in along the way. There is a gap in the back seat along the bottom where you can actually find the wire harness that goes to the rear of the car. Follow this bundle a little further and then put your wire under the edge of the carpet in the rear of the car. Pull it out from underneath the carpet in the center of the cargo hold just underneath the catch for the hatch. You will need to open the two knobs that give you access to the spare tire area in order to accomplish this step. Looking at the rear area of the hatch, you will see a rubber grommet where a wire bundle disappears into the bumper. In this wire bundle are two black wires with a blue stripe. One of these is the wire you want to cut and splice into. The problem here is selecting the right wire to cut. There are two of the wires one for each side. You have 50/50 chance of cutting the right one. It is purely up to you to decide if you want to cut the wire here or go on down to the actual connection point at the light socket assembly and splice there. It is your choice; we choose to cut down by the light. The plus to cutting it by the light is that you know you have cut the right wire. The negative to cutting it at the light is that it is now more difficult to return the vehicle to it original stock configuration should you have a desire to remove the Euro Fog Mod. To left of the rubber grommet is a rectangle area that has a rubber seal type flap; this will give you an additional access port. You can feed your wire through that and to the left light area. Look under the car as there is a gap in the under side of the bumper just to the right of the tail pipe. It's just big enough to feel around with a finger or two. Get the wire and pull it down and out. Again, give yourself enough slack to work your connection.

Now you are ready to remove the rear backup light. First, remove the guard over the socket assembly. Two 8mm nuts hold it on. They may be finger tight and easy to remove or they could be rusted and a real challenge to remove. Here is where you would need the 8mm socket to assist you in the removal. Unless your new fog came with new 8mm nuts, these are the same nuts that hold the new fog light assembly in place. Next twist the socket assembly out of the existing light assembly.

[marvins_dad]

If you have a non-Turbo S then this connector is like the one on your front corner lights. If you are not familiar with this, stop now and go take a front corner off by popping the little tab. Use a Phillips head screwdriver to remove the screw and then pull the assembly out. You will see the socket assembly. Twist it to see how it connects then put it back together and reinstall it. Now go back to the rear and get the light out of the assembly. It will not drop down very far. If you are this far, you have decided to cut the wire at the socket. Working under the car is difficult to say the least. If you have a way to put the car on a lift, it would be helpful so you have ample workspace. Push the light assembly out now. There are two wires inside of the plastic sheeting. The sheeting is split so you can work the black and blue wire out. Pull enough of it out so that you can work with it and then cut it and cut. Assure you leave enough wire to work with; then strip a quarter of an inch off of the wire and attach and crimp the butt connector. You should have plenty of your initial 12 foot of 18-gauge wire left, so give yourself a little slack and cut your wire off. Strip a quarter of an inch off of the wire and crimp it into the one you just cut and stripped. Use the solder iron or heat gun to heat the butt connectors heat shrink. As a further precaution, you may want to wrap tape around it this connection for piece of mind. Place the red lens assembly in the hole and twist the light socket back into the assembly; now put the guard back on and secure with the 8mm nuts.
If you have excess slack at this time, you can pull back into the hatch cavity and secure.

[marvins_dad]

Now comes the big moment time to test all your connections! Push the Euro switch back into the dash and turn your switch to the fog position; pull out to the second position, which is both front and rear fogs. If you are using the stock switch this is not applicable, just turn the switch to the fog position and pull out; the rear light should be on as well as the fog. If it is, you have done everything correctly, if not, one of the butt connections is no good and you need to retrace your steps and figure out which is faulty and correct it. Clean up your mess and enjoy the fruits of your labor. With the vehicles used for this workup, the ignition had to be on in order for the fog light to illuminate. Enjoy!


Thanks to BUGMOD.COM and the Wayback Machhine!

[Herbie3Rivers]

Thank you!!!! I've got the light and the wire and on the way, and I want to be able to put it in as soon as I get it. Can we maybe move this to How To's so we have it saved?

[marvins_dad]

Just came back to do just that!

[hestersu]

Today, I accomplished the rear foglight mod on my 2006 TDI. Everything I wrote originally still applies with the exception of the rear foglight assembly which is different from the 98-05 assembly and the Turbo S assembly.

There are a couple of suppliers for the assembly. I purchased mine from ECS Tuning (www.ecstuning.com). Look under 2.5l beetle and you will find it. This applies to the 2.5 and 1.9 TDI. You still need the euro switch and a wire to run from the switch to the back of the car. ECS has a wire kit that works well. It costs $13.95 but is worth it. The bulb that comes with it won't work but that's OK. The assembly comes with the socket and the bulb. Your reverse socket/bulb will work just fine.

The other supplier is www.oempl.us. The sell the assembly and a "trigger wire". My guess is the "trigger wire" is either a long wire to run from the front to the back or it is the little short wire that is discussed above.

A couple of notes.

It would really help to have the VW terminal release tool (http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=228942). This tool will help you push out the blue/black wire out of the existing plug at the rear assembly. This is really handy and will make the task much easier. On that same page is a link to a description of how to use the tool. You need to study that. I was lucky and got the tech at the dealership to push it out for me. There are 2 pins in the plug and are marked #1 and #2. #1 should be the blue/black wire - push that pin out. Run your wire from the switch to the back as discussed above.

There is a rubber plug in the spare tire well just behind and to the left of the license plate. Slice a hole in the rubber grommet and feed the wire through to the outside. You will be right beside the assembly. Plug in the wire into the now empty slot. Plug everything in and put in the new assembly and test. You should be good to go.

Here's a picture of mine with the light illuminated.