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I've got a 940 w/o integrated foglights with some awful looking plastic headlights.
I've got a pair of brand new e-codes and I realized that these are meant to replace the headlights from a model with foglights.
I recall folks posting that you can switch over the front-end from these two set-ups, so I'm wondering just what I need to do this conversion.
Aside from wiring, I know that I need the smaller front grill, but are there other bits and parts that are needed?
Most importantly, *can* I install these e-codes in this car?
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repairmanjack I have some questions for you, would you email me ??
gandt_49620@yahoo.com
thank you
Gene
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I completed installation of the e-codes today including wiring and blubs.
I was surprised that I got zero feedback from the Brickboard or MVS regarding my query on proper headlight bulbs. I figured it out - mostly.
The smaller lamps take H3s, the big high/low combo lamps take H7s. I'm not sure what the proper wattage is for the fog and high beams. The parts store out of H3s, so I only got two 100w bulbs, which are in my high-beam lamps right now. Thinking these should be 55w...
Anyway...
I snapped a few pics along the way to share will post them later. here's a quick procedure. Aside from sourcing the correct air guides, air-guide brackets, grill, and wiring pigtails, the real challenge was cutting and re-soldering all the wires.
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PARTS LIST
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From FCP or similar sources
1) E-Code Headlight Assemblies (Left and Right)
2) Euro-Spec Turn Signal assemblies (Left and Right with bulb holders)
From a donor 960 or 940 w/fogs
1) Grill - you might be able to rework your original, but don't if you don't have to.
2) Headlight trim pieces (left and right) - aftermarket trim pieces don't fit well and have extra holes for headlamp wipers
3) Air guides (left and right)
4) Air guide bracket (left and right)
5) 10mm head headlight securing bolts (these longer than 940 w/o fog bolts)
6) Air guide upper panel (you can re-use the original non-fog upper panel if needed.
7) turn signal pig-tail plugs (x2) - you need two *extra* plugs besides the originals...
8) 4-prong female square block connectors (x2) found up by the driver's side strut tower
From an autoparts source
1) H7 three-prong headlight bulbs (x2)
2) H3 high-beam bulb (x2)
3) H3 fog-light bulb (x2)
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INSTALLATION
---------------------------------------
REMOVE
1) corner lamps
2) grill
3) top air guide
4) side air guides (T25 Torx x2 per side)
5) headlamp assemblies (held in by x4 10mm bolts (x2 inside, x2 behind corner lamps)
MODIFY
Headlamps
1) Cut headlamp wires, exposing x3 wires per side (ground, high, low)
2) Cut foglight hot wire (spare fog harness should be tucked behind bumper)
3) Strip all four wires approx 1cm from ends
4) determine high/low beam wires and splice to appropriate pigatail wires on salvaged 4-prong block plugs
Corner Lamps
Start with stock plug with three wires. Split this into two plug sets. Idea here is to take x1 3-wire plug and split it into x2 2-wire plugs. To do this you have to splice the ground wire.
1) carefully open signal plug to expose x3 wires with female plug ends
2) cut/open black ground wire, splice in a secondary ground wire and plug of equal length - you need one ground per plug on the euro-style corner lamps.
3) solder and insulate as necessary
4) pair the side-marker light wire with one ground wire, and signal light wire with other ground wire. Route one set of wires to Euro corner light plug and other set of wires Euro signal light plug.
5) fit female wires/plugs into plug holders as appropriate.
INSTALL
1) 940/960 (w/fog) air guide brackets and L/R guides
2) H7 and H3 bulbs into e-code headlamps
3) Euro headlight assemblies left and right (x2 10mm bolts on fenders, x2 LONG 10mm bolts through air-guides into inside corner of headlamps
4) headlight trim strips
5) Spliced wiring plugs to back of headlamp assemblies.
6) "split" corner light plugs into new E-code corner light assemblies.
7) replacement grill w/ securing tabs
8) top air guide.
You're done. I have some pics and can do a better write up in the future.
The key here is getting the proper air-guides and air-guide brackets from a donor car along with the proper plug/pigtails.
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This is excellent; Thanks!
"I was surprised that I got zero feedback from the Brickboard or MVS regarding my query on proper headlight bulbs. I figured it out - mostly."
I did not see your request or I'd have sent what are in mine. As you seem still not sure, I'll try to get to that tomorrow.
Edit; I did not see until now, the post right under this one. Sometimes new posts to an older thread don't show as new at the top of the thread, so I never took another look. Nice pic though!
I am surprised that the lights came without bulbs; I did not know that, and had thought they came complete.
What's your sense of the result? Are you pleased with them?
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I coupled the question with my last progress report, things get lost on the BB, so no worries. MVS completely blew me off.
Anyway, I am still unsure about the arrangement of the bulbs. Big lens is obviously the high/low beam. The small top lens.. is the fog (?) slightly larger bottom lens is the high-beam (?)
55w for high beam? 100w for Fog? not really sure. Parts store had ZERO H3s and only two 100w H4s so I went with two h4s and bent up the third (side) tab. It fit fine like that.
Right now my highbeams are running 100w which seems a little "high" how should these be set up? I'd like to correct this tonight.
Overall... I am *very* pleased. I coupled the modification with new black bumper paint and a car wash and wax. Aside from the dents in the hood, the car almost looks new! Especially coupled with four replacement door panels, a matching OEM cup holder, and recently new rear signal assemblies... Gotta get used to the diagonal lower-left to upper-right light pattern.
I removed the two bumper-mounted fogs as one is shattered and the other looked lonely. I re-routed those fog wires to the new lights. I can't see the holes, but the overall look is pretty nice. I finished up in the dark and My wife has the car now, but I'll archive some new photos soon.
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I'll try to see what's in mine tonight.
Stern should have the bulbs, but there is another place I have bookmarked at home that I'll try to post also.
You're the guy with the broken fog that I'm looking for a lens for, right?
I thought that pic was really good; it looks great, and I'm glad to hear the lights work well for you. Yes, the pattern that lights the roadsigns takes a short time to get used to, but it makes sense and works well so going back is the really odd thing.
I think pics on garaget.org will show some of those lit up, with a clearer view of what is what, but the high is high and the low is fog.
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Daniel Stern offers good stuff, but he was highly critical of my choice with these lenses and wanted me to buy a harness kit. His bulbs were over $22 ea. Daniel's right, of course, his advice is valuable and his stuff is *top* notch, but I've burned enough dough already, so I made the command decision to stick with the affordable stuff for now.
I'll buy *real* e-codes headlights, corner lenses, harness, and pricey bulbs if this works out well. At 240k and a tired engine, I need to decide whether this car is worth the extra dough right now. Even now, it was close to a $400 project. However the extremely poor condition of the original headlights easily justified the expense and effort to make the conversion.
I stopped at a better stocked parts place on the way home and found the proper H3 type bulbs. They only sell two types: 55w and 100w. I'm assuming that 55s are high beams and that 100W are fogs.
Thinking that the lower lenses were for the high beams and only having a set of 100W bulbs, I installed those in the lower positions yesterday. I just stuck the new 55w bulbs in the upper positions and switch the wires. It all lights up quite bright. Very impressive.
Daniel warns that these will look good at first, but will rapidly wear and look poor. But for now, they look pretty dang good.
One not-fun bit. Trying to install new bulbs in the extremely cramped little space behind the new assembly...
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Mine have 55w in high and fog, and 60/70 in the dual.
I was looking for a site that sells bulbs at good prices but don't see my bookmark; will keep looking.
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55w highbeams? okay, then it seems like a normal-enough setup.
I'm hoping that the projection pattern of e-code foglights is "nicer" than my old under-bumper fogs for oncoming drivers *and* can handle 100W output w/o melting.
Not running them right now, but will check after they've been on for a while.
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I can't wait to see some pics!
I write without any authority, not having a 7/900. But I would have assumed the high beams would be in the upper chamber and the fogs in the lower chamber. The fogs need a very flat and low trejectory and the high beams go upwards.
Be careful about wattage, too much can melt things with the heat the lamps give off.
Klaus
--
Did you do your Random Act of Kindness today?
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Being a parent on Halloween means that I didn't get any new photos taken. here's an in-progress photo that communicates some of the improvement.
You can see where I sprayed the faded grey bumper with the IPD bumper black paint, and where I stopped up by the license plate...
The slight damage to the PS fender is much more visible in this shot and of course you can see that my trim pieces are the wrong color for this car.
Will follow up with a nicer photo of the final job tomorrow. I've got a small vial of the volvo touch up red, but I'm thinking that maybe I should just go with black for the trim...
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Folks who report that this is pretty straightforward are correct. Once you take out the grill and corner lights, you have pretty easy access to the four bolts that hold the whole headlight assembly in.
Today, I removed the original headlights, grill, and supporting structures and test installed the e-codes. It looks very nice - about 100x better than the frosted plastic blocks that non-fog 900-series have.
In doing the mechanical conversion I learned a few things:
1) The 940 no-fig grill is *not* a direct-fit for the 940/960 Fog grill. Things are off by a centimeter or two. Best to get the correct 960 grill if you have the chance. I'm not sure how people have made this work, but the proper grill is a perfect fit.
2) There are four 960 parts you absolutely need for this conversion to be successful.
- The two angle-brackets that hold the air guides to the headlight assembly.
- The two air-guides that funnel air into the evaporator and radiator. These also hold the front grill.
The non-fog versions of these parts are quite different.
3) Like the grill, it will be *nice* to have the proper headlight trim strips and the proper upper air guide... thing... Not sure what it's called, but there's a plastic bit that bridges the top of the grill back to the top radiator support. You can re-use the original, but the fit is not quite right. I need to snag the one off the donor car.
Finally - the critical question.
What bulbs do the e-code headlights take? There is a separate high-beam, low beam, and fog light bulb. 3-per side, so six in total.
Now that I have the proper pig-tail connectors, not having the bulbs is why I just reinstalled the original headlights.
Daniel Stern indicated that I needed "Osram 70/65w" bulbs, but I've no idea what part numbers I need for the three type I need.
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I spent some time part-hunting at a couple junkyards today and was able to find a couple 960s with the nose-foglights. I got comfortable with how these are put together and feel ready to start the conversion as soon as I have the rest of the parts (I'm still waiting for euro-spec corner lights to arrive from Europe).
Here are my initial observations.
1) The grill and headlight supporting structures appear to be identical on the 940 and 960.
2) 960 grills are the same size as 940, but a 940 grill is cut-back along the sides. It's the same width and the shape is very close, but is not quite perfect. Mods might be needed if you want to re-use the original grill. For sure, you can't stick a 960 grill on a base 940 w/o fogs, but you *might* be able to stick a 940 grill on a 960 w/ fogs.
A pre-1989 740/760 Grill is a waste of money. Let me know if you need one :(
3) Wiring is going to be a challenge. The E-Code plugs are *very* different from either the 940 or 960 harnesses. I will likely re-wire the e-code attachments as Ryan suggested. I saw nothing useful in the any of the 960s that would make this conversion easier.
My 940 already has stock wiring and relays for hella bumper foglights, so I may just re-route the bumper fogs to service the new nose-foglights. One of my bumper fogs is smashed and it looks poor anyway. I think most folks won't have this option.
4) The stock 960 headlight trim strips are a perfect fit for the e-code headlights.
5) The FCP aftermarket trim strips for e-codes are a poor fit for the e-code headlights. I'm planning to return mine. One fits so poorly it actually warps out when installed. *very* disappointing for $20 ea.
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1) The grill and headlight supporting structures appear to be identical on the 940 and 960.
I believe if the headlights are the same, everything else is also. I have parts from 960's on my 940.
960 grills...
I had a 960 grille on my car, fit fine.
A pre-1989 740/760 Grill is a waste of money. Let me know if you need one
If it's an eggcrate and decent, they go for 30-50 on TB
Wiring is going to be a challenge. The E-Code plugs are *very* different
The plugs are the same as used in the rsr relay, and some models' fan relay. If you cut the wires you can splice them to your car, or you can get the innards, the cylindrical part, and rebuild the plugs with new wire. Also;
http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=218193
My 940 already has stock wiring and relays for hella bumper foglights
I think all 7/9 cars have the wires, tidily bundled under the headlights.
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I went back this am to raid the car for the power front seat and rear door panels. Poking around under the hood I located a pair of plugs up against the the 960's DS strut tower. These appear to be perfect fit for the E-Codes. I'll have to re-wire them as you suggest. The turn signals also had the odd L-shape plug, so I grabbed those too.
Interesting that you got the grill to fit. The 960 grill hits the headlight trim on mine. I could probably squeeze it in, if I really wanted to.
Unfortunately the pre-1989 760 grill is the ugly chrome type - not an eggcrate. I'm actually pretty sure that the grill isn't even for a 760 and the seller didn't know what he was talking about. It is noticeably wider than the 900-series grills. I should have been more cautious, but it was only $20.
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There is a short treatise on turbobricks that talks about wiring the ecodes and the general installation instructions.
http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=218193&highlight=ecode
As others have mentioned since you have a non fog car you need parts from a donor 940 with fogs. The parts at the junk yard are not all that expensive and the job took me a few hours to do on my 1992 740 which is substantially the same as your car. I got the wiring and connectors for the lights by cutting out and combining several radio suppression relay wiring looms from junkyard cars.
If you already have the headlights I would go ahead with the conversion since the light pattern and overall vision are so much better with the ecodes that I cannot imagine running without them.
Mike
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Mike, thanks for weighing in. As of today's box deliveries, I have the two headlights, trim strips, the slightly wider front grill that an e-code front end uses. I ordered new e-code corner lights for the project, so I can't start the project until these arrive.
The wiring looks to be a bit more challenging with the odd-looking four- and three-prong plugs. 940s and 960s are not all that common in the junkyards these days, but I plan to get everything ready before I start.
Today I tested the new grill and trim pieces on the car. It looks like I have to unbolt some things to get the new grill in place...
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Not sure how doable this is, but you might consider drilling an extra hole or two in the headlamp housings, and rewiring the headlamp, as well as bypassing the funky connectors.
I did something similar with my non-fogs E-codes. Rather than scrounge for weird connectors, I just rewired the headlamps. Used heavier gauge wire, too. :-)
-Ryan
--
Athens, Ohio
1987 245 DL 324k, Dog-hauler
1990 245 DL 142k M47, E-codes, GT Sways/Braces, Dracos, A-cam
1990 744GLE 189K 16-valve
1991 745 GL 304k
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Okay, Daniel Stern says these things are junk - lifetime guarantee or not.
What say the bricksters?
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If your headlights are DJ auto, they don't compare well to Volvo, but they should be a lot better than the plastic junk our cars came with.
--
john
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I'm almost positive the ScanTech are DJ's. I believe Daniel Stern's comment was about the 240 ones, which don't quite fit right, have little clips that break on the adjusters, and may not come with a trim piece that is needed to make them look right. Could be wrong though.
Many say the 7/9 ones are a lot better.
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They do look pretty good, but the wiring and parts-list complexity required to convert my car over to fit these, is making the project prohibitively expensive.
I'd have to do the corner lights and get new trim, which ups the cost more than another $100.00 before I get the lighting harness.
It'll be far cheaper to snag a good used headlight for the passenger side. The car's got 240K - plenty of life left, but not exactly a pristine garage queen.
I think I'll put the dough towards some overloads for the rear end and lend some more support to IPD.
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Well, I have that headlight, the plastic one (which is in good condition with a clear lens; you can clean and polish these and get decent light out of them).
I also have a set of the headlights with fogs and turns and trim that the ecodes replace. I have a grille also.
On a very small scale I deal in a few used parts for these cars, as I've had 5 and have 3 now.
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Jerry, I'd be interested in some parts to complete this make-over.
I've got a 760 grill (with fogs) and the two lower-light trim strips on the way here, but I think that there may be some other swap-parts needed to complete the transformation... is there some sort of bolt-on structure that belongs around the smaller grill?
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the stamped metal parts that bolt to the radiator crossmember have the correct spacing for the grille tabs. IIRC, that's all you need at this point.
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Ah cool. Will post back once the new grill arrives.
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When you get this job done, you might consider writing it up with photos for the FAQ. Email anything you have to me at stephenringlee /\ hotmail dot com.
--
See the 700/900 "FAQ" at the menu bar top screen left side.
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Will strongly consider it, Steve. It's been years since I last contributed to the FAQ, and I'm surprised that nobody has written such an article yet.
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Few have changed from with-fog headlight to ecode, far fewer still have changed from non-fog to ecode. I have heard of 3.
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John - I've collected about all the parts for this conversion (just need one trim strip), short of the actual lights. Yours is the first time I've heard of an air seal as well as the brackets, etc. Is that seal part of the hood or part of the US "headlights with fogs" setup? - Thanks
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I just realized that what you term an "air seal" may be what I'm referring to as a "Trim Strip", the plastic piece, usually painted the same as the car, that goes between the bottom of the lights and the bumper...
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I have a bunch of those trim pieces in various colors. Grey, dark green, maybe white, maybe some others. If you want send me a note;
bikeguy () fastmail.fm
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Thanks. I may yet have the one I need (right side), but those parts are 350 miles away... If I don't have it, I'll send you a note!
--
1995 945
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Nice John, I made the same grille! Your hood lines up better than I had thought it might with the grille edge. The lower part of the headlight comes out at more of an angle so it covers a bit more of the bumper, but that doesn't seem to matter in your pic either.
How did you do the turns/markers, separate bulbs or just leave the stock bulb in one?
Other donor cars include 89-90 760, and some early 960 with that same headlight/foglight arrangement. Also 91 940SE.
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You'll need to get the e-code corner lights, which have the parking lights and turn signals in them.
--
john
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I have those, I was wondering if you used both areas, clear and amber, and if so how you wired them up, or just used the original dual filament bulb in the amber section.
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I wired both lamps to work in their individual sockets.
--
john
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Where did you find the e-codes? I need a set!
thanks
Phil
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There are some for sale on TB, that are original Volvo. They're in the $150-200 range plus ship. As John says, you have to get compatible turns, or I have heard that there is a way to adapt the foglight style turn so it will fit.
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I got them from FCP... They are scan-tech, made in Taiwan.
I hear that they are fakes and not as good as actual e-codes, but I figured I'd give it a try anyway. FCP has a lifetime guarantee on parts, so if they suck, I'll probably just return/exchange them
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Dear Repairmanjack,
Hope you're well. FCP Groton's life-time guarantee applies only to a part that has been installed by an ASE certified mechanic, unless you pay a 10% surcharge. If you hold that qualification, then all's well. If not, the guarantee does not apply, unless you pay the surcharge. Please see below.
Hope this helps.
Yours faithfully,
Spook
-----------------------------------------------
FCP Groton FREE Limited Lifetime Warranty
NOTE: Valid on products purchased after November 1, 2009
All of our products carry a 1 Year Manufacturer's Warranty. In addition, FCP Groton also provides a Limited Lifetime Warranty for our automotive products regardless of the manufacturer's warranty. Should this product fail to be in good working order during the warranty period, FCP Groton will refund the price of the product given that the below guidelines have been met and provided that the product has not been subjected to abuse, misuse, accident, disaster or non-FCP Groton authorized modification or repair. FCP Groton's lifetime warranty does not transfer with the change of vehicle ownership. FCP Groton will not warranty products for cosmetic reasons (rust, color fade, etc).
FREE Limited Lifetime Warranty Qualifications
1. Product must be purchased from FCP Groton.
2. Product must be registered on warranty.fcpgroton.com within 30 days of installation.
3. Product must be installed by an ASE certified technician. If the product is not installed by an ASE certified technician, FCP Groton does not provide a FREE limited lifetime warranty. FCP Groton does however provide the option of purchasing a limited lifetime warranty for non ASE certified individuals who plan to install the product themselves. The cost to purchase a limited lifetime warranty is 10% of the cost of the product. To purchase a limited lifetime warranty, please email warranty@fcpgroton.com
4. Product cannot be modified
Warranty Claims
If you believe that the product purchased from FCP Groton is defective or is failing to be in good working order, the following requirements must be met to obtain your warranty. If you fail to follow any these steps, FCP will reject the warranty.
1. Replacement product must be first purchased from FCP Groton at the current cost. Standard shipping rates apply.
2. Defective product must be sent back to FCP Groton for inspection. FCP Groton does not pay for or reimburse for shipping.
3. Original invoice, replacement invoice, and garage invoice (or if you are a professional installer, a copy of your ASE certification) must ALL be included in the shipment. FCP Groton does not provide copies of these.
4. Our technicians will test the defective products and verify the warranty. Once they have verified that this product will be covered under warranty, FCP Groton will reimburse you for the purchase price of the replacement product if it has been sent back within 30 days. Warrantied items sent back after 30 days are subject to customer credit only.
NOTE: Our warranty does not cover any labor or other costs for removal, installation, damage resulting from delay or loss of use in service or repair, or for incidental or consequential damages. If the returned product is deemed to be in good working order, FCP Groton will return this product by ground shipment service
New Registr
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Useful information Spook.
I'm strongly considering returning these. I did not expect to have to rebuild the front end of the car and buy a new wiring harness and relays just to install these lights.
...curious about your handle... are/were you an actual "spook"??
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hello
i dont know what you are talking about in this post.
its a pretty easy swap. you dont need to add relays. you just need a couple easily found parts.
DJ auto 9 series e codes are just fine as i have oem and dj auto ecodes on my 940. actually i get better lighting from the DJs. thats just me.
you just need the piece of plastic above the radiator.
making mountain out of molehill. i can take a look at my car and help on better info if you wish.
good luck
Mike
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