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IdahoDoug Samba Member
Joined: June 12, 2010 Posts: 10234 Location: N. Idaho
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Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 10:55 am Post subject: Put rear fog lamp in US taillights? |
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Anyone successfully add a rear foglamp assembly into a US taillamp? I always have rear fogs on my vehicles and the Vanagon will get one. If I can avoid mounting an external one, I'd love to. I'm sure the european taillights have the factory rear fogs integrated, so wondering if anyone's used one as a model and found a way to add it to US models?
Thanks in advance,
DougM _________________ 1987 2WD Wolfsburg Vanagon Weekender "Mango", two fully locked 80 Series LandCruisers. 2017 Subaru Outback boxer. 1990 Audi 90 Quattro 20V with rear locking differential, 1990 burgundy parts Vanagon. 1984 Porsche 944, 1988 Toyota Supra 5 speed targa, 2002 BMW 325iX, 1982 Toyota Sunrader |
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riceye Samba Member
Joined: March 09, 2006 Posts: 1658 Location: Caledonia, WI
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Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 11:17 am Post subject: |
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I dug up this old thread for you:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=185350&highlight=tail+light _________________ '87 Westy Weekender - daily driver on salt-free roads
There's gonna be some changes made.
“I find that things usually go well right up until the moment they don't.” - Ahwahnee
"Quality isn't method. It's the goal toward which the method is aimed." - Socrates, later quoted by R.M. Pirsig |
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syncrodoka Samba Member
Joined: December 27, 2005 Posts: 11997 Location: Santa Cruz, CA
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Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 11:51 am Post subject: |
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The tail light mod isn't effective.
You can put a bulb back there and wire it but the light output is minimal. The unused section lacks any focusing reflector for the light bulb so the area is dim. In addition to that the plastic lens isn't designed to let light through effectively as it is the only tail light section that is actually a reflector and not intended to let light through.
If you want a rear fog light one your best options is a stand alone unit. If you mount it to the sheetmetal to the left of the licence plate it would be out of the way and not look like a add on as much.
The Euro tail light versions do have a section for the rear fog but there are some differences that make them unable to bolted straight onto a NA spec van I have been told. I have never held one in my hand to confirm this though. |
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Timwhy Samba Member
Joined: January 01, 2009 Posts: 3990 Location: Maine
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syncrodoka Samba Member
Joined: December 27, 2005 Posts: 11997 Location: Santa Cruz, CA
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Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 12:15 pm Post subject: |
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Pretty sure that 1621 has got a fog lamp mounted on the rear of his Westy!
Looks very nice, too! |
Groupie. Post up some pictures, certainly you have some. |
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Timwhy Samba Member
Joined: January 01, 2009 Posts: 3990 Location: Maine
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syncrodoka Samba Member
Joined: December 27, 2005 Posts: 11997 Location: Santa Cruz, CA
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Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 12:30 pm Post subject: |
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That is pretty funny.
Stalker |
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the caveman Samba Member
Joined: August 09, 2004 Posts: 885 Location: island state of Montreal
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Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 12:54 pm Post subject: |
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As my Transporter came from germany it had one rear fog light which was on the L/S. The vehicles in the UK [RHD] had them on the R/S. So i got a Hella tail light socket from someone in the UK. I had to cut the back of where the bulb went into to lens, and run a wire from left to right but now i have fogs on both sides. They are twice as bright as the stock running tail lights so whenever it's real bad out or on a highway at night i switch those on also to make me more noticable. |
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syncrodoka Samba Member
Joined: December 27, 2005 Posts: 11997 Location: Santa Cruz, CA
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Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 1:03 pm Post subject: |
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I forgot that IdahoDoug has a EU delivered syncro. The tail light housings might be much better for a rear fog mod, possibly be already wired for it? |
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a914622 Samba Member
Joined: July 29, 2004 Posts: 835 Location: Westend of HWY2 , Wash
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Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 1:49 pm Post subject: |
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My 87 had a gray wire that is part of the rear tail light plug in the black box (upper left front of engine bay).
I used that wire to run a speed sensor for the subaru conversion. BUT I was told that the indended use was a drivers side 21w bulb between the running light and the brake light.
I did the mod like in the post above. Added extra 10w running lights. I would like to think the mod is a good one. I have seen a lot of vanagons running around with one side out and a whimppy 5w on one side.
good luck
jcl _________________ 87 gl powerd buy 2.5subaru
75 914 getting 2.2t subaru scratch that SVX subaru |
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Vango Conversions Samba Member
Joined: October 04, 2010 Posts: 1054 Location: Seattle, WA
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Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 1:59 pm Post subject: |
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Are the rear fogs supposed to be red to prevent blinding drivers behind you? I'm pretty sure it's illegal to have clear lights on the back of vehicles in the US except reverse lights of course. |
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Timwhy Samba Member
Joined: January 01, 2009 Posts: 3990 Location: Maine
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Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 2:08 pm Post subject: |
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Vango Conversions wrote: |
Are the rear fogs supposed to be red to prevent blinding drivers behind you? I'm pretty sure it's illegal to have clear lights on the back of vehicles in the US except reverse lights of course. |
It's not the white section but rather the postion under it. I read somewhere
that the lenses in Europe are different as well from ours. That postion for the fog lamp
has a different reflective arrangement?
_________________ '15 Audi A3 Quattro
'09 VW Tiguan (dead)
'87 VW Westy
'91 Tin Top
'90 Cabby
What the Westy wants the Westy GETS
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_search.php?search_author=Timwhy&show_results=summary
http://www.youtube.com/user/TIMWHY2?feature=mhee |
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syncrodoka Samba Member
Joined: December 27, 2005 Posts: 11997 Location: Santa Cruz, CA
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Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 2:10 pm Post subject: |
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Quote: |
Are the rear fogs supposed to be red to prevent blinding drivers behind you? |
Yes, they are just to make your car more visible in bad conditions.
The 1621 pic. above shows a yellow fog light for backing up or rear lighting for camping only really.
I did the mod posted above long ago to add more rear brake lights and the improvement is minimal as shown here- even though this example is tied into the running lights you can see the difference.
The rear fog indicator is supposed to be much brighter than the running lights to be more effective for people seeing the vehicle in heavy fog. |
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VisPacem Samba Member
Joined: July 15, 2007 Posts: 1143 Location: Las Vegas
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Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 8:12 pm Post subject: Re: Put rear fog lamp in US taillights? |
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IdahoDoug wrote: |
Anyone successfully add a rear foglamp assembly into a US taillamp? I always have rear fogs on my vehicles and the Vanagon will get one. If I can avoid mounting an external one, I'd love to. I'm sure the european taillights have the factory rear fogs integrated, so wondering if anyone's used one as a model and found a way to add it to US models?
Thanks in advance,
DougM |
2x55W halogen
Simple, efficient.
You could cut the sheet metal and get an "integrated " look. I did not want the extra work. I am considering replacing or trying some LEDs when and if I can find the right type in red.
They are controlled by a switch ON with front fog lights/OFF/ON with brake lights. _________________ LG aka VisPacemPB, *The* party Pooper
No Regrets (Nothing to do with Vanagons) |
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78BayDriver Samba Member
Joined: September 27, 2007 Posts: 247
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Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 8:31 pm Post subject: |
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I did a mod that I had to think twice about. What I did was dremel out the plastic between the dead no bulb section, and the other. It bleeds over and look really nice. Figured I would share.
Michael _________________ 1987 Vanagon GL 2.1 Flat Stanley (present)
1991 Golf GTi Forest Green
1981 Vanagon L 1.6 Diesel
1978 BayWindow Bus
1974 Bus
1990 Jetta
1979 Dasher Wagon
1972 Beetle |
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1621 Samba Member
Joined: May 15, 2006 Posts: 2174
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Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 8:49 pm Post subject: |
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Ooh, I have groupies!
The light in the picture is simply a back-up light, not intended for use as a rear fog. It just happens to be originally intended as a fog light. I've since replaced the yellow lens with a clear and it serves it's purpose well.
I also did the taillight mod to the unused section, but like Syncrodoka pointed out, the lack of a reflector and the design of the lens limits the amount of visible light. While nice, certainly not an effective rear fog light.
Stephan (The 1.8T originator) has an external rear fog on his Syncro. I would think it would get bashed up if you're really into offroading, but might give you some ideas.
_________________ '85 Westy |
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carterzest Samba Member
Joined: January 22, 2008 Posts: 3842 Location: Eagle, ID/Sun Valley, ID
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Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 8:52 pm Post subject: |
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1621 wrote: |
Ooh, I have groupies!
The light in the picture is simply a back-up light, not intended for use as a rear fog. It just happens to be originally intended as a fog light. I've since replaced the yellow lens with a clear and it serves it's purpose well.
I also did the taillight mod to the unused section, but like Syncrodoka pointed out, the lack of a reflector and the design of the lens limits the amount of visible light. While nice, certainly not an effective rear fog light.
Stephan (The 1.8T originator) has an external rear fog on his Syncro. I would think it would get bashed up if you're really into offroading, but might give you some ideas.
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Who is the stalker now _________________ Happiness=Portland, Oregon in the rearview mirror! |
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madspaniard Samba Member
Joined: August 18, 2008 Posts: 3795 Location: Alameda, CA
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Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 10:28 pm Post subject: |
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I have euro spec clear taillights from Germany in my van. I didn't pay much attention to the lens and reflector when I installed them. I did notice during installation that the two lower sections from the corner were communicated as opposed to the US version, meaning light from the brake section by the corner flowed in to the center section. I used a small roll of aluminum foil to size to separate these two section. Reason: these are clear taillights so I wanted to make sure the brake red light didn't get too diffused between the two sections, I wanted a real bright red light.
I did notice other differfences in the back of the taillight but I cannot remember now, same with wiring, can't remember. I will be pulling them out soon to do 3rd brake light so I will take pics. _________________ 1991 Westy auto w/ Peloquin TBD
"The only difference between me and a madman is that I'm not mad” - Salvador Dali |
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a914622 Samba Member
Joined: July 29, 2004 Posts: 835 Location: Westend of HWY2 , Wash
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Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 11:37 pm Post subject: |
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I like the extra light out side. Reminds me of the 86-87 porsche 911.
Maybe the third brake like could be wired in to light up half when the fogs are on and full when the brakes are on?
_________________ 87 gl powerd buy 2.5subaru
75 914 getting 2.2t subaru scratch that SVX subaru |
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BenT Syncro Samba Member
Joined: January 07, 2005 Posts: 1085 Location: San Francisco
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Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2011 6:22 am Post subject: |
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Have foglights on one taillight in my Syncro 16 Doka. IIRC there was an additional reflector on the lens. I'll have to check next time I'm by my Syncro. Not sure about the right side because it is not the original unit. It even has a totally different harness connector. |
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