I've just become the mother of a '94 960 wagon that luckily had only one previous owner! (My old '90 740 wagon was totaled in an accident-I sure can relate to David's article..."NO one would be caught dead in a Volvo!") At any rate, this one has the fog lights, but I notice in the rear only the driver's side is fitted to operate. The pax side has a plastic plug in the hole where a bulb could be fitted, or can't it? Is there some reasoning behind only having the driver's side fog light, light up? Will it hurt if I pull out the plug and put in a bulb on the pax side?

My 960 was five years old when i bought it. The previous owner paid about $1,500 for the fog light option, and the rear were exactly like yours, the hole had a plastic cap on. So, i poked the plastic capout, bought two bulbs, and voila! Fog lights. I only use them in fog, during snow storms, and in rural areas. Good luck!.

Dear Katrene,

Good p.m. and may this find you well. I append, below, a procedure to install a second fog light.

I have never understood, why anyone would worry about fog lights being mistaken for brake lights. The key thing is to be seen.

If a following driver's depth perception is faulty, and s/he thinks I'm slowing, that's OK. At some point, it will become clear that I'm not slowing, and said driver will accelerate. So long as the trailing driver is paying attention, s/he won't have to do anything suddenly. It is sudden stops, that lead to chain-collisions.

I believe you'll find the wiring present (grey wire) to support the additional foglight.

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

spook


940 Wagon Dual Fog Lights: Converting the Right (Passenger-side) Light Cluster

Volvo 940 wagons sold in the US have one fog light, that on the left (driver-side).

The passenger light clusters have a blank space at the top. That blank space can be used.

To do so, follow this procedure. You will need to get only three parts: a bulb, a bulb-holder, and a metal contact tab, onto which the wire to each bulb holder attaches. The bulb is a standard Type 1156. The Bulb holder may be bought from a dealer, or gotten at a salvage yard.

The metal contact tab may be had at a salvage yard, from a damaged light cluster. Remove it by pulling it straight out of the cluster, with a square- nosed pliers. Grip the part of the contact tab that extends out from the black plastic of the light cluster. This is the part to which the wire attaches. Do not try to pry out this metal tab: it is made of very thin metal, and will bend and become useless.

I. Remove the Right (Passenger-side) light cluster

A. Remove the inspection cover on the inside of the cargo space.

1. Insert a 1/4", flat-bladed screwdriver on the side of the cover closest to the hatch openings, about 3/4" below the top.

2. Pry gently outward. The cover will release.

B. Remove the load space floor panel closest to the inspection cover opening, using the leather loop at the end closest to the back seats.

C. Remove the three nuts that secure the light cluster (one at the top) and two at the bottom. Access the bottom nuts from the storage space below the right side load space floor panel. There are holes in the metal work, through which a 6" extension can be put. Use a 10mm deep socket.

D. Disconnect wires from the cluster. The wires are color coded to labels on the cluster. If the labels are missing, make a note of the wiring arrangement. Typically, on the bottom-most bulb holder, the purple wire goes at the 6 o'clock position and the Yellow wire at the 10 o'clock position. On the next higher bulb holder, the blue wire attaches. At the third highest bulb holder, an orange wire attaches.

E. Remove the light cluster from the car.

II. Opening up the top "blank space".

A. Lay the cluster down on a lightly padded surface (a newspaper section folded over will do).

B. Remove the light bulb holders

C. Inspect the surface of the top "blank space"to find the center.

1. You likely will see a "dimple" in the center. If so, take a center punch and using hand-power only, put a "nick" in the center of that dimple. That nick marks the center point of the opening.

2. To confirm that the nick is in the center, measure across the diameter of the blank, at the point closest to the metal ground strip (that runs from top to bottom, to the left of the bulb holders) to a point at about the 3 o’clock position. This distance should be 1 7/32". If your "nick" is in the center, it should be 39/64" from the edge.

D. Drill a 1" diameter hole in the center of the top "blank space"

1. Starting with a 1/16" drill bit, and using a light-weight drill, drill a hole through the center of the "blank". Use little pressure: you're drilling through plastic less than 1/8" thick. Then, use 1/8" and 3/16" bits, to expand the hole. Finally, use a 1/4" bit.

2. Take a sharp 1" diameter hole saw, with a mandrel that uses a 1/4" bit.

3. Applying power gently, use the hole saw to cut through the plastic. Use little pressure: you're drilling through plastic less than 1/8" thick.

III. Cutting notches in the "blank space" perimeter.

A. Three notches must be cut, at the 3 o'clock, 7 o'clock and 10 o'clock positions. These three notches allow the bulb holder to be inserted in the round opening, that you've just cut. These notches are in exactly the same positions as the notches in the other bulb positions. The notches are exactly the same size as the notches in the other bulb positions.

B. Use a 1/8" square key-cutting (warding) file, to cut the notches.

1. For the notch at the 3 o'clock position, the lower side of the notch will be defined by a raised ridge, that runs from the 3 o'clock to the 4 o'clock position. The notch you will cut is about 1/4" wide and about 3/16" deep. Cut from the side of the ridge, up towards the 2 o'clock position, but only make the notch 1/4" wide, which means you won't go very far towards the 2 o'clock position.

2. For the notch at the 7 o'clock position, the right-hand side of the notch will be defined by a "bulge" in the blank space perimeter, starting at 7 o'clock, and running towards the 8 o'clock position. Cut a notch about 5/16" wide and 3/16" deep.

3. For the notch at the 10 o'clock position, the lower side of the notch will be defined by the top end of a notch in the blank space perimeter, that runs from the 8 o'clock position, to the 10 o'clock position. Cut a notch about 3/16" wide and 3/16" deep.

4. As you work, check to see that the position and size of the notches is exactly the same as at the other bulb positions.

IV. Inserting the metal contact

A. On the right side of the bulb position that you just made - on the side of the cluster opposite the ground bar (that runs from top to bottom) - you will see a slot in the plastic.

B. Into that slot, insert the metal contact tab, that you got at a salvage yard, or from a damaged light cluster. Insert the contact tab using an electrician's pliers (those with a square nose). The metal contact tab goes in, such that it is aligned exactly the same as the others in the cluster. The long tapered end should point towards the top of the cluster. Grip the smooth leg of the contact tab in the plier jaws and press the other end into the slot, until it is fully seated.

V. Installing the light cluster.

A. Go to the wires that you removed, when you took the light cluster out of the car. In the same harness, you should see a gray wire. It will be doubled over, with the end wrapped in a buff masking tape. Remove the masking tape. You will see a female electrical contact inside a black plastic protector.

B. Place the light cluster into its opening, routing the wires so that they are not pinched between the cluster and the metal work.

C. Connect the wires to the contacts at each bulb position. The gray wire connects to the upper-most position, the one you just made useful.

D. Connect the ground wire to the tab at the top of the ground bar (VERY IMPORTANT).

E. Secure the cluster, by putting the nuts onto the screws and tightening them gently.

VI. Function check and close-up

A. Insert the ignition key and move to position II. Turn on your headlights. Move the fog light switch to "on". Both fog lights should light up. If not, make sure you,ve connected the gray wire to the top-most bulb position and that the ground wire is secure on its contact tab.

B. Check other lights for function (signals, reversing, brake/running).

C. Turn-off the headlights and remove the ignition key.

D. Tight the nuts that hold the cluster into place, until they are snug.

E. Replace the inspection cover behind the cluster.

F. Replace the right side load space floor panel.

Yours faith

Spook,

You usually give great advise (that I have benefited from directly), but I have to strongly disagree with you here.

>"So long as the trailing driver is paying attention"

That is a BIG "So long as". Most accidents are the difference of a few tenths of a second. If there is a perception of the driver behind me that my brake lights are on and that causes only a fraction of a second difference between when he or she realizes I am actually slowing down then it can be the difference between an accident and an accident avoided.

I will take any advantage I can get against all the cellphone/make-up/kids-in-the-back/fast-food-in-my-lap driving population out there.

Stick with one rear fog light!

Respectfully yours,
Ian

Dear Ian,

Good p.m. and hope you're well. Let me clarify. I have a medium gray car. On a rainy day - when rain, spray/mist, and fog shroud a road - I need all the help I can get, just to be seen. There cannot be too many lights, at the back of my car.

If the trailing driver is misled by my two fog lights, and interprets them to mean that I'm slowing, that driver should apply his/her brakes. His/her car will slow. That widens the gap between us. How can a wider gap between the railing car, and my car, put me at risk?

If the trailing driver does not misinterpret the fog lights to be brake lights, s/he won't slow. Again, since I'm not slowing, the gap between us is unchanged. How does that put me at risk?

In sum, the "worst case" scenario, is that the trailing driver misreads my fog lights as brake lights, and so slows. Since I'm not slowing, the gap between my car and the trailing car gets wider. That's a good thing.

It is also the case, that I had two foglights on my 1985GL Wagon, direct-imported from Sweden. I never got rear-ended.

I am in 100% agreement with you, that many drive while their minds are elsewhere. That is lethally dangerous. In that situation, having more and brighter tail lights (so long as they're not blindingly bright) is a good thing.

Yours faithfully,

spook

Dear Spook,

I have to bring up that you again use the term "should".

>"that driver should apply his/her brakes."

My argument is that one bright fog light at the rear is as visible as two bright fog lights at the rear. Following that logic, if two bright fog lights at the rear are more easily misinterpreted as brake lights than one bright fog light at the rear...you are at a disadvantage.

I guess I am speaking from experience. My experience is that if I am following a person who has two fog lights on, AND KNOWING THAT THEY ARE FOG LIGHTS, I still find myself subconsciously identifying them as brake lights. If it is the case that an experienced driver who is intimately aware that some cars have rear fog lights can fall into this trap, what are the chances that the everyday driver will fall into the same trap. I would argue that it would be a significant increase. If that tendency can be curtailed by ONE rear fog light, then I argue that one fog light is ALWAYS preferable to two rear fog lights.

Remaining Respectfully Yours,
Ian

Dear Ian,

Good a.m. and hope you're well. If one light were as good as two, then large trucks (18-wheelers [USA], articulated lorries [UK]) would not have a variety of lights, not only at the back, but also along the sides. The operators do this, so that their vehicle's size and length will be obvious even to far-away drivers.

If the trailing driver knows the upper lights are fog lights, s/he'll know that I'm not applying my brakes, and so keep the "normal" following distance, whatever that might be. This does not increase the risk to me.

If the trailing driver thinks the upper lights are brake lights, s/he'll think I'm slowing, and so decelerate. As I'm not braking, the gap between our cars will widen. How can that be bad for me? It could be bad for the other driver, if s/he slams on the brakes. That could happen, if the trailing driver has be inattentive. Someone, who has been inattentive while driving, imperils all around them.

I do not understand the "trap" into which you have fallen, or into which you fear someone else might fall.

The worst thing, obviously, is no to have no working lights at the back of one's car. Unless the lights are blindingly bright - a problem with mis-aimed and/or too-intense headlights - it is not obvious to me, how extra lights at the back, can in any way be a safety hazard.

Yours faithfully,

spook

Your car should only have the rear fog light on the driver's side. Sometime in the 90's rear fogs were switched from two bulbs (one on each side) to one bulb on the driver's side. That makes it a little harder to confuse rear fogs for brake lights.
You can probably add the passenger side bulb holder and add the wiring (if it is not present), but I should defer to the 900 series experts on the specifics. It is a fairly easy process of adding a bulb and holder and plugging in an existing wire on all the 240's, 850/70 series cars, Lancias, and MBZ's that I have worked on.
If your state has a serious safety inspection and laws against having two rear fogs then adding the other bulb may create a problem.
--
1981 242 GLT-Turbo
1967.5 122S Automatic
2000 V70R AWD (shared)
Seattle, WA
www.psvcoa.org

Congrats on the new wagon! My 94 940 has the lights on both sides. Should be fine?
--
Gary Gilliam Sumerduck VA, '94 940 na Regina 160k '86 240 190k

Well, THX to all! So I take it the reason is because people confuse the fog lights with brake lights...I have to agree with Spooks logic - & trust me - I've been rear-ended - bad! That's how I lost my '90 740 wagon & after seeing the damage there - I will never use the 3rd seat again! Luckily my newer '94 didn't come with it, so it won't even tempt me against my better judgement.
But, I was thrilled to finally have rear (& front) fogs, & then completely bummed & curious as to why anyone would only make one of them work!? At any rate, the wiring is there, and I have parts from my even older '86 wagon (now spare parts)to use in the taillamps. I am a firm believer in the more lights the better.
It was a good tip about checking with state laws - but, I don't think there is a regulation about it in IL - we don't have inspections here (yet...)