I want to install foglights on my 850, preferably volvo ones. My big question is... do i have to wire the lights all the way to the fuse, or is there already a plug-in somewhere(ie. the empty pulgs near the headlights.)since many 850's came with foglights on them from the dealer.
Chris
Michigan City,IN

The factory foglight kit comes with an instruction sheet which is pretty good. Since I wanted the fogs but not the spoiler (they were bundled together as an option), I installed the fogs myself. As stated below, the car is pre-wired, and the nasty part is geting at the relay panel under the dash which is behind the corrugated metal knee bolster. Also, plugging in the relay requires fingers like ET's or at least Marfanoid ones like John Kerry's. On the SVC70, the front bumper does NOT need to come off. If you look under the car there are probably a couple of loose wires with connectors dangling in the vicinity of the fog light mounts.

I've relaced the DS fog light twice after it was hit by rocks and I've never needed to remove the bumper, maybe the 850 is different.

-BTC

'98 V70 T5 5-speed, 167k mi, front IPD stabilizer bar, rear factory HD bar, Bilstein HD, Volvo strut tower brace and skidplate, e-codes, V-1, Lidatek, XC grill, Mobil-1 since new, Michelin X-Ice.

Why? Because it's still cheaper than 4 BMW wheels and snow tires.

Chris--I installed fog lights on my 97 GLT wagon shortly after I got it. I would like to say piece of cake, but it wasn't. Nothing complicated, just nasty. The car is prewired for foglights. The connectors for them sit in clips each side of the bumper wells. The wiring is also there behind the dash for the switch on the instrument panel. It goes in the first switch space to the left of the steering wheel. Pull out the small plastic cover and fish around and you will find it. Go for the OEM fog lights. It will come with the dash switch and the little one-inch cube relay that makes it all work. I got mine from Volvo Houston, 1-800-468-0041, cheapest source I've found for parts.

Remove the front bumper. There are two sets of screws that hold it in place--a set on top that you have to take the bottom headlight wiper moldings off to access (they pop off with finger pressure), and a set beneath. The broad heads of one set are silver looking, the other black. DON'T mix the screws up like I did. One is a little bit longer than the other and they are not interchangeable. There are also two 10 mm bolts that hold the sides of the bumper on too the frame, and after you take those loose the bumper slides right off. Once the bumper is off you will see the plastic outlines for cutting out the foglights. They are on the inside, a little raised oval line. You'd think you could just grab an orbital jigsaw and saw it out, but you can't. You can get part of it that way, but it takes a utility knife with a strong blade to get the rest. Be careful. Once you get it cut out installing the lights is no problem, nor hooking up the leads. Incidentally, if the bottom of your bumper is all scarred up from driving over curbs, now is a nice time to get it repainted. The bumper comes apart, the gray top from the painted bottom. You will see the ends of the clips sticking through the slots on the inside that hold the two pieces together. If you take a hammer and lightly hit the ends of the clips, driving them back through the narrow slots, it will come right apart, and then you can take it down to a paint shop, or sand and spray it yourself.

But to the nasty part--getting that little relay cube under the dash shoved into the relay board. Remove the bolster, lie on your back and look up at the rat's nest of wiring under the dash. Far back against the firewall you will see a lot of relays stuck into a relay board, all shoulder to shoulder. In the far upper left hand corner you will see an empty slot. This is where the one goes that controls your fog lights. No way in hell can you get your hand up there with the little one-inch cube relay and fumble/press it into that empty slot. There's a five-inch square board with a pile of wires coming out of it that is in the way. It is held in place by two ten millimeter bolts. You will see it when you look up. With an open-end wrench you can turn the bolts about an eighth of a turn each time. You don't have to remove them. Just loosen them well. The board is slotted. Move it up and down, sideways and back, and it will suddenly come loose and you can shove it off to the side so you have enough arm and hand room to mess with that little cube relay. Despite releasing the wiring board and shoving it out of the way, I had to remove the two longer relays just to the right of the empty slot so I could see it for one, and have enough room to finger in the small cube. Once you get that little relay cube in it's no problem to re-insert the two longer relays. It's almost impossible though to do it with them being in the way, visually as well as physically.

As an interesting side note, once I got the relay installed, my foglights still wouldn't work. The relay has a "C" or "S" or some such letter painted on the side (can't remember which), and is also found in the relay tray under the fuse box. I switched it for one under the fuse box and the lights came on, and there was no problem with the one I changed out. Probably wasn't seated right originally, so make sure you push it in well the first time. And, make sure your headlights are on low when you try your fog lights. They won't come on, on high. It's a nice afternoon's job, not complicated, and you'll know your car a lot better when you're done. Dick