Front fog light fitting guide for the 850

[Justin]

This will save you alot of headaches hopefully......

Fitting Guide Volvo 850 Front Fog Lamps

Tools needed

• Torx head screwdriver
• Relay / Fuse plan
• A small degree of patience

Parts needed

Fog lamps – from Volvo these are approx £ 260 a set. From a breakers yard e.g. Volparts in Preston Lancs – 01772709221 = £60 a set.

Lower bumper skirt – Part number 822660121 (Euro Car Parts) you probably won’t need this as the standard 850 bumper is pre marked on the backside for fog holes to be cut. If you do want one, these are available from Euro Car Parts unpainted for £ 79.99 plus VAT or from Volvo themselves. You might want to upgrade to the R type lower bumper from Volvo, these are expensive though at about £170 unpainted. The option I took though which has to be the best is to get a bumper complete with fogs, brackets etc from a breakers (I paid £50) and get it painted to match (£100)

Lamp brackets – order these from Volvo or get them from a breakers yard. It is important that they are the right type as the bumper fits over these and the fogs pop out of the holes. You can always make some if you have one to copy, it wouldn’t be hard but at probably £10 to £20 from a breakers its worth just buying some.

Rubber seals for the holes – unless you get a complete bumper you will need these…2 round shaped water seals that fit around the fog holes cut in the lower bumper. I would advise that these are fitted as water will not then wash onto the lamps, connections and brackets, etc when driving.

Front Fog switch – Part number – 9128536
The switch back is yellow and costs £18.65 + VAT …the end of the loom is yellow. The switch locates on the left of the headlamp switch; if you have a headlamp adjustment switch there it will be the one next to that.

Relay - part number 9494424
This is a 5 pin relay and costs £14.60 plus VAT. Get a new one, as if it’s a dud, you will get to the end and “no lamps”.

Jumper Plug 213 – Part number 9148992
This is a tall relay shaped part with a green base. There are 2 types, one is Jap spec and one isn’t, you need the UK one. Tell the Volvo parts guy it’s the one which does not have J before the part number on their system.

How to fit your bits

The lower section of your bumper is removable, You will need to take the bumper off to fit the fog lamp mounting brackets and cut the fog holes if need be.

The bumper is a 3 piece section, an alloy bumper which is not visible with the bumper fitted, the top plastic section above the number plate, and the lower painted plastic skirt.

The lamp brackets have 3 torx head screws. Mount the brackets on the alloy bumper bar and the lamps onto the brackets. You can tell the correct sides to fit them as the lamp lenses are angled to be flush with the flow of the bumper. Check that the bulbs and wiring are in good order before fitting the fogs. Clean out the rear covers of the lamps. Change the bulbs if needed before fitting, if not they are more difficult to change once put back together.

If you need to cut the holes in the lower part of the bumper use a drill with a cutting bit and cut out from behind following the pre marked circle. Fit the rubber seals round the holes once you’ve smoothed the outer edges off. Refit the outer bumper the way you took it off.

The fogs connect to the pre wired loom, the plugs you will find pinned up inside the outer edges of the underside plastic engine cover. Plug the fogs in.

Check the 15 amp fuse is in place Number 18, in your standard fuse box (base of windscreen, driver’s side)

The relay and jumper plug are in the relay box up under the drivers side foot well inside the car, the cover is held in with 3 torx head screws. Remove the cover and look up to the right corner. Behind a mass of wiring you will see a relay board. You can tell it’s the relay board as it is white and will have relays in it : )

The relay you have bought fits into the top left hand socket in position 201. Mine was hidden from view by the large purple double relay which operates the interior lights and probably some other things. Take this out fit your relay. The top left hand socket is where it goes. (It will only fit one way).

The green based jumper plug is easier (the tall relay). It’s the bottom left hand socket 213 which is colour coded green to match. Once fitted, leave the foot well cover off for the time being.

All that is left to do is fit the dash switch….pop out the blanking cover next to the headlamp switch, If you have a headlamp adjuster switch there is the one next to that. You should see a yellow plug connector behind there, if you can’t see it have a reach around cos it’s in there. The switch plug is a precise fit so can’t be fitted into any other connector in error. Pop the switch back into the dash and bobs your uncle.

Your fogs should light up with the ignition on and the lamps on side lights. If they only work with main headlamps on then you have been given the jap spec jumper plug.

Troubleshooting

• Fog Lamps don’t come on. - Check the main parts of the circuit with a multi meter.

Is there power to the relay?

To do this ignition off, remove the relay, connect black earth lead to a suitable earth, and the red lead to pin 30 position (look on the back of the relay to where this should plug in) there should be a current with the ignition on headlamps / sidelights on and fog switch turned on. If there is no current, then check the fuse under the bonnet. If the fuse is ok then suspect a wiring fault between the 2 points.

If there is power to the relay and the switch yet no fogs either the relay or the jumper plug is faulty.

If all these are fine then check the connectors at the fogs. If no current is present then suspect a wiring fault in the loom.

Bet your bottom dollar the relay or jumper plug will be the root of any problems you may have.