[aayushnair]

Hi all,

It's been a while since I wanted to add fog lamps to my New Skoda Fabia, after having purchased the Ambiente version in 2011 and not waiting for 3 months to pickup the top end Elegance version.

Finally the day came when, I managed to:
1. Get a great deal
2. Understand that Skoda is not going to help
3. Not get charged a bomb for something that should have been there in the first place (safety first, apparently not yet in India)
4. Get the pleasure of an awesome DIY experience!

First things first, I've been wanting to do this ever since I got the car. I loved the long triangular fog lamps on the new Fabia with DRLs. I visited far too many Skoda service centers trying to procure this part, but I was always told that:
1. The part is not available
2. It costs Rs. 18K for a pair
3. After a while, they said it will void my warranty! How, I don't know.
4. The costs have dropped and its now available for Rs. 6K a pair, but the wiring and switch will cost close to Rs. 1 lakh!
I still cannot fathom what materials Skoda uses in their wiring looms!

So for a while (almost 3.5 years) I gave up my wish to add fog lamps. Then, out of nowhere, while browsing the web last week, I was going through the Skoda Fabia manual (which I had downloaded to just improve my understanding of my car. I have gone through the manual almost 3-4 times now - learning new things each time). I came to the page which shows how to replace the fog lamp bulb and as Edison once said, "let there be light." Voila! There was this instant urge to try this DIY out once again.

I went down to my car, and used the newly acquired knowledge to replace fog lamp bulbs to remove the fog lamp cover. It was a breeze and I knew I could do this.

Then came the how to install the wiring and make it work bit, as the switch I have is the standard one without the fog lamp option. So I went through wiring relay diagrams on the internet to power 2 relays (one existing for the head lights) using one switch. It's pretty simple actually and I decided to give this whole thing a shot!

I know Opera House, Mumbai has spares and accessories for most cars. I went to an authorized Skoda parts dealer (I forget the name, but it's one of the biggest shops dealing in VW and Skoda parts) and procured my fog lamps!
The only thing is that the company (Skoda) no longer manufactures the old DRL-type fog lamps. They only make the ones for the Rapid, which was OK by me. I still miss the DRLs though.

I walked into a store called General Auto Parts and picked up H8 35W pair of Osrams (fog light bulbs) and an H8 wiring harness with relays.

I was very excited to finally begin this new DIY. Let the pictures now do the talking (with some commentary of course)!

Here's the guide which makes this super easy:



..and some actual pictures.

1. Pictures of the Lamps:





To check authenticity:



..and one for size:



2. Preparations:

Here's how the car looks without fog lamps:



Remove the cover next to the fog lamps, just pull and it's out:



..and how it will look after:



Next, put your hand through the gap towards the fog lamp covers and push. Push hard and try to pull by grasping whatever you can (of the cover) from the front. It gives way very easily. Don't worry about pushing hard its made from strong ABS plastic and will not break. Remember there are no clips that actually hold this cover into place unlike the fog lamps, which have this clip as shown in the guide.



and next it will look like this:



Next, do the same for the other side and the car will now look like this:



2. Wiring first:

I already have a relay and wiring harness supporting my headlamps, so I had to think of a way of using the same switch to install the new relay to power the fogs. The problem is that when I want to switch on the fogs, I would have to switch the head lights on too. Hmm... something I wanted not to do (just out of choice).

So, I chose the other option, which was the pilot light:



Now, I didn't want to splice or cut any original wires or wiring, so I thought of a way to bypass the power from the pilot light switch inside the car (euro style - position 1). I used an extra bit of wiring and connected the leads inside the bulb with lugs to the power leads of the fog lamps (the 2 wires, blue and black, which will power the fog lamps - the ones with the thin connector):



Just the bulb connector and ground wire on the other fog lamp:



Here's a diagram for anyone wanting to connect 2 relays, please ignore any errors as I'm only showing what I have connected to what. This may not be a perfect wiring diagram:



Basically, once the pilot light is switched on, it will send the power to the relays, which in turn, will switch on the fog lamps.

3. Installation:

This is the easy part, as all we have to do is exactly in the reverse as mentioned in the manual.

So I connected the bulbs, tested to see if they work - they did.

..and here's the final product:



and some more pics of my car:





and a lot of satisfaction after that.

So now the only thing is that I cannot power on the fogs separately, and have to keep them on. I can live with this, as I don't want to add extra switches (non-OEM) inside the car.

The next thing is to purchase the OEM switch with the fog lamps and wire it to the relay, something I'm really not sure how to do. So I'm waiting for some help on this one.

Otherwise, the experience of driving with fog lamps adds a tad more towards ensuring you have some more light on the road without using your high beams, which I never use while driving (either in the city or on highways - unless absolutely necessary).

One thing I've noticed on these fog lamps is that they have this lever for manually adjusting their height and the throw of light - another awesome feature. Its simple to do too.

Once installed just switch them on to see the throw, remove the side grilles, stick your hand in and turn the lever clockwise or anti-clockwise to achieve the desired position.

Here's a pic of the back of the lamps showing the clip, which will enable it to hold on to the inside of the bumper and the knob (black color stick with the knob) which adjusts the throw of light:



and the pictures of the fog lamp covers and side-grilles out of their respective holders:



Money spent:

1. Fog lamps (pair) - Rs. 3,000
2. Osram bulbs H8 35W (pair) - Rs. 500
3. Wiring harness with relays - Rs. 350
4. Lugs - Rs. 20
5. Additional wires for connections (2 m) - Rs. 30

Total price: Rs. 3,900

Labour: You cannot afford me! LOL.
Time taken: 3 hours from start to finish.

Hope all of you found this as a value add.

Until I figure out the next task in my list of DIYs for my car from my other posts, thanks a lot for reading.

Wish you all a Very Happy & Prosperous New Year.

Aayush Nair

[Chetan_Rao]

Good job there. I've always had a soft spot for the Fabia.

What exactly did Skoda want 1 lac for, when you managed it with genuine parts for about 1/30th of that amount? Company parts costing higher than open market is understandable (I'm a long suffering Hyundai customer), but 30 times pricier?

[aayushnair]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

Good job there. I've always had a soft spot for the Fabia.

What exactly did Skoda want 1 lac for, when you managed it with genuine parts for about 1/30th of that amount? Company parts costing higher than open market is understandable (I'm a long suffering Hyundai customer), but 30 times pricier?

I feel its only a deterrent for customers, i dont actually think it costs that much. But still getting quoted that was a shock.

I have had a good experience of how in-experienced and how much they service reps lack knowledge of the products they service.

I remember, from when I had purchased the car - I wanted to activate the auto-lock door feature which is available on this variant (as per the manual and the brochure) but they refused saying it requires a new module to be installed. I didnt buy that and asked them to check VAGCOM (VWAG software) and they still couldnt find the option. Then I after persisting with the rep, gained access to the system, found the option in under 2 minutes and I drove away with the auto lock feature.

So..from that like I said, they just dont like our kind!

Cheers
Aayush.

[Rajeev1]

Originally Posted by aayushnair

I feel its only a deterrent for customers, i dont actually think it costs that much. But still getting quoted that was a shock.

I have had a good experience of how in-experienced and how much they service reps lack knowledge of the products they service.

So..from that like I said, they just dont like our kind!

Cheers
Aayush.

Aayush - thank you for posting this DIY - must say that you have done it in a very clear and crisp manner and this will surely help Fabia fans on this forum.

I own a pre facelift model Fabia (model year 2009)- do you have any idea whether we get fog lamps clusters fitting my model year? The shape for the fog lamp recesses are a little different on my car - similar to the one in picture below.

[aayushnair]

Originally Posted by Rajeev1

Aayush - thank you for posting this DIY - must say that you have done it in a very clear and crisp manner and this will surely help Fabia fans on this forum.

I own a pre facelift model Fabia (model year 2009)- do you have any idea whether we get fog lamps clusters fitting my model year? The shape for the fog lamp recesses are a little different on my car - similar to the one in picture below.

Hi Rajeev,

Thanks a lot.

I have seen the pre-face lift fogs in stock too.
AFAIK, you wouldnt need a wiring loom as they have been given on your car. So all you need to do is refer to your car manual for directions to remove the cover and fog lamps (buld replacement) and once off you'll also know if you'd need to wire the lamps.

Best of luck, the procedure shouldnt be very different if you dont have the wiring kit pre-installed.

Pre-Facelift Fabias were so much better VFM, they were given the motherload of features, and all provisions were made for accessorizing the car.

Cheers,
Aayush.

[rev_rohit]

Very valuable DIY.
I always think that DIY is always the most satisfying way of maintenance. You always save a good amount of money, gain a lot of knowledge, and above all you always get an insight into how companies make money just by making fool out of yourself!

[dj78]

Originally Posted by aayushnair

4. The costs have dropped and its now available for Rs. 6K a pair, but the wiring and switch will cost close to Rs. 1 lakh!
I still cannot fathom what materials Skoda uses in their wiring looms!

Great job Aayush. It is disheartening to know that the dealer almost quoted you a nano for the fog lamps but your DIY is equally encouraging for other tinkerers.

[Aston Singh]

Hi Aayush!

Thank you for the well explained DIY. The result is as good as factory fitted

I'm not gonna comment on the preposterous claim by Skoda for installing the fog lamps. It gives us a clear idea about what "Skoda" really is.

Anyways, I wanted to know the exact model of H8 bulbs. These are rated 35W, is that right?

I want to replace my fog lamps, H8 bulbs rated 35W and not 55W since I don't want to go with relays or ballasts. How's the performance of these bulbs?

Thanks in advance.

[sgiitk]

I will like details about the Ballasts used (Brand AC/DC), Lamp wattage and colour temperature. I hope you did not go for 4300K or higher!

[agnimidhun]

It is really nice to see you do the installation yourself. Mine came with foglamps but when one of them was blown out, the service center replaced the bulb. In that process, they spoiled the whole lamp as they allowed mud to go in (God knows from where they got mud into it in the service center). Now the lamp is all blackened and they say there is no way to clean it as new

With the image in your post, I will try to pull out the foglamps and see if I can clean them myself !

Thanks,
Midhun

[allien936]

Good DIY..I was just hoping that you should have gone for HIDs, instead of normal bulbs.It would have given better vision plus looks.

[aayushnair]

Originally Posted by allien936

Good DIY..I was just hoping that you should have gone for HIDs, instead of normal bulbs.It would have given better vision plus looks.

Hi, I thought about that too, but going with hids without projectors is really making it hard for other drivers at night.
So that upgrade when I install projector headlamps.
I currently drive on Philips xtreme vision + for the headlamps and 35w osrams for the fog lamps. overall the light on the road is good and I really haven't felt the need for hids, except for the many times where drivers on the other side of the road drive with high beams.
Anyway, maybe in another project.
Cheers,
Aayush.

[BNG-motorhead]

Originally Posted by aayushnair

Hi all,

It's been a while since I wanted to add fog lamps to my New Skoda Fabia, after having purchased the Ambiente version in 2011 and not waiting for 3 months to pickup the top end Elegance version.

...

Aayush Nair

Thanks for sharing! Yours is a TDI? I was told by the dealer that the wiring is already in place, too bad if not!

This is gonna be my next project. BTW, do you still own and maintain this car?

[aayushnair]

Originally Posted by BNG-motorhead

Thanks for sharing! Yours is a TDI? I was told by the dealer that the wiring is already in place, too bad if not!

This is gonna be my next project. BTW, do you still own and maintain this car?

Hi,

No the wiring is not part of the headlight harness coming from the headlight multi-switch on my car. Had to wire it separately and I used a relay to do so.
Yes, it's a TDI and I still have her and plan to keep it that way - touch wood! :-)

All the best with your DIY!

Cheers,
Aayush

[Reinhard]

Just stumbled upon this one (as much as 5 years late!). Nice thread, and fine detailing. Good results too & at little cost. Fun unlimited since its a DIY. So great. Thanks for sharing. Ridiculous quotation by them to do this. Great that you went the DIY way. Surely this thread will be useful for a lot of loyal Fabia (and other VAG) customers as reference. Cheers!