Rear fog light mod l*------*l

Just done the modification to have both rear fog lights on my car (instead of just the driver's side). Before I start, credit goes to GT4 for telling me how to do it. All in took about an hour to do and £2.79 for some single core wire from Maplin. First remove the 2 rear light units (no need to disconnect) and let them hang on the sides of the rear bumper like so Then on each side, cut some of the sheath off the grey wire running to the fog light (outer one) like so (ignore the black single core hooped over it) Thread the single core wire through one of the holes behind where the light unit sits and then thread across the back of the car under the bonnet lock and through one of the holes at the other side Then cut the single core wire to length ensuring you've left the same amount of slack at the wiring harness. Solder each end to where the grey fog light wire has the sheath cut back like so and tape up with insulation tape Then pop the light units back in - job done. Off and on shots IMHO much better with both fog lights on rather than just the one side and safer as well on a foggy night incase one bulb pops. :thumbs:

Looks good. What did that bulb do before you wired it into the other fog?

Nothing, Bosch put bulbs in both light units and then Porsche decide which one to switch on (depending on LHD/RHD). Normally only the drivers side fog lights up, not both.

Oh, I see!

Oh what a weird decision by porsche. This is on the list of jobs to do then.

:salut: Many thanks Alex, but just to clarify, I never suggested hanging the lamps like so many tyres on a tug Ideally you'd run the new wire through the rubber grommets too (mitigated fraying and earthing on the exposed sheet metal). I did mention that in last month's thread: Re: the handed lights. Firstly, most countries legacy MOT or equivalent only require one bulb (the offside, to indicate the extent of the vehicle into the road), although two is usually completely legal worldwide. The situation is perfectly sensible: the lamps do not know what side the steering wheel is on and the parts bin is shared LHD/RHD. All bulbs are already present, as they are fitted by the lamp manufacturer (Bosch) prior to delivery to the factory. The loom, however, is handed (and every penny saved is a penny earned!)

Nice walk through, thanks. Definitely one on the list of jobs to do. Few minor observations though... I'd run the wires through the grommets as already mentioned, don't need a fire going on, and I'd also ditch the insulation tape for some heat shrink. Also my soldering never seems to stick so it would likely to be crimp connectors instead. This also needs to go in the faq otherwise it'll be lost in a few weeks.

Planned to run them through the grommets but it looked like a right ballache. one because of the grommet and two, because of access behind the grommet. Where I did run through wasn't a sharp edge and was also painted to no chance of shorting even if the wire sheath did wear away, but I can't see that happening as it's static. Used black insulation tape as that's what the rest of the harness has on it so it matched. Also, how do you get the shrink round the grey wire?

Anyone done this on a 997.1 ? From a quick look, there are three wires going to the o/s fog light. Brown Grey / Blue Grey / Yellow

Nice job and a decent write up! :thumb:

Cheers Paul :thumb:

Great write up :thumbs:

Nice write up Alex but I do think the single fog light is much safer, the chances of that bulb blowing when you only use it once every two years are slim. I hate with a passion people who use them in the wrong situation and also when both are on, others seem to think they are brake lights and this can cause traffic jams or worse someone further back in the braking chain not noticing and running into the rear of someone else. Like a gun, use them responsibly. istols:

I always do. I get proper rattled by people not using them when necessary and driving round with them on when not necessary. I hate just having one, it's like having one reversing light (another mistake by car manufacturers).

great write up alex, well done with that mod, do you happen to know if it was all models or RHD only that had only one side fog light? i ask because i have the LED lights fitted to the 996 and both of them illuminate, could be because they are aftermarket, and the fogs on my 997-2 turbo have both also, but there LED as standard. i agree that it looks far better with both, when i see a car with only the offside lit up, i think a bulb has blown, i wonder why porsche has done this on some cars, as the wiring must be there for LHD cars.