xc60 Rear Fog Light

[Foringo]

I've had my xc60 for just over a week and absolutely loving it. Growls a bit at slow speed (which I quite like!) and is significantly quieter on the motorway than my A4 2.7 that I have just traded in....quality is on a par too....glad I chose this over the Q5

Apparently I'm the only customer who has ordered the classic wood centre console..but I'm glad I did as I think it looks really good and is a great match with the cream and brown leather trim.

Just wondered why Volvo have only made one of the rear fog lights functional...is it just penny pinching? I know that this is the bare legal requirement but most cars these days have two. There's probably no bulb holder in the dummy unit or connection to the loom but I'll have a look to see if it's possible to get it working without too much trouble...anybody else done anything about this?

[Paul Wildsmith]

if its like my 2010 S80, then everything is in place, except you can't get it to work with triggering the bulb failure circuit - it appears set for only one lamp and any one time.

[wimorrison]

Many years ago I was involved in a study of vehicle lighting and one of the major limoting factors in their use is (or was at least) the Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations.

Among other thing they stipulated that a single Red High Intensity loght should be fitted to the rear of a vehicle not less than 100mm from the brake light. This light was to be placed on the offside, or centre, of the vehicle.

The light was never referred to as a 'Fog Light' as it should be used in conditions of poor visibilty of the rear of the vehicle. Examples of this occuring without fog are conditions where spray is produced at the rear of the vehicle (rain, or wet road surface) or smoke. It was illegal (at that time) to use them in conditions where visibility was not reduced, namely they were not to be used as a normal running light - this is why the rear light must have a tell tale on the dash that the driver can see. It is also why most manufacturers now drive this light (abd front) using a relay which drops out when the ignition is switched off thus ensuring that at least the journey start with lights correctly set

[Foringo]

It does appear a little strange to me that Volvo go to the effort and expense of fitting twin lens but only make one active. It would be interesting to see if there's anyway around the bulb failure issue (I'm assuming that the xc60 is fitted with such a bulb failure warning as I have yet come across any reference to this in the handbook). I don't think that inappropriate use of rear fog lights is too much of an issue in the UK and they are normally used fairly sensibly..e.g. when visibility is less than 100 metres ...it's the front fog lights that are a bit more of an irritation as many people seem to use them illegally for no good reason at all in perfectly good conditions.

[Clan]

volvo always used two fog lights up until more recent times , then they deleted the left one and the light unit has a sealed bulb holder and no silvered reflectoir in the light . they then made left and right fog light units for different markets .. Two fog lights are frowned upon now as they are blinding when used inappropriatly ( which is often! ) and they mask visibility of the stop lights . One rear fog light is entirely adequate .

[GMcL]

If they are only going to fit one rear foglight I wish they'd put it in the middle.

Having the right hand side of the car illuminated when driving in Europe is dangerous and as it is not a case of simply switching the bulb from one side of the car to the other. No option to drive legal is possible without additional expense.

[Clan]

fair point but only a detail compared with the headlamps dipping the wrong way ...

[Foringo]

Originally Posted by Clan

volvo always used two fog lights up until more recent times , then they deleted the left one and the light unit has a sealed bulb holder and no silvered reflectoir in the light . they then made left and right fog light units for different markets .. Two fog lights are frowned upon now as they are blinding when used inappropriatly ( which is often! ) and they mask visibility of the stop lights . One rear fog light is entirely adequate .

Who is it that frowns on two rear fog lights?

[volvo48]

My xc90 had only one rear fog,so I had the nearside one fitted by the local Volvo dealer,the cost was,I believe about £15 three years ago. I take the view that if you lost the nearside marker bulb in fog,then at least with two fogs,you wouldn`t look like a motor cycle!

[NewVolvo]

I believe it's all down to EU laws that nowadays only one foglamp are to be allowed/used on every car sold in EU.

Not implemented on older cars (my 780 has 2 rear fogs).

Can't quite remember which side is what, but it is altered from left to right and vv on other markets in Europe.