[Reinhard]

As most members would know from my frequent mention, I had an MJD Vista Aura ABS for 9 years. It had the following features that are MISSING in my brand new Tata Nexon XZ+ (top trim!)

1. Soft touch door trims & full dash board
2. Rear fog lights (2 nos)
3. Under seat storage on passenger side
4. Illuminated power window switches - 4 on driver door & 1 each on other 3 doors
5. 3 position adjustable lumbar support for front seats
6. Lockable glove box (pretty useless feature I agree!)

While the Nexon is a tremendous upgrade on all counts (most importantly the handling, power unit and transmission!), the points above have always pricked me at the back of the neck! Some of them are fixable & some aren't. Omission of the rear fog lamp is something that frustrated me a lot. Its a safety feature for god's sake. I'm absolutely certain that Tata removed it ONLY because nobody in the competition (Brezza, EcoSport, Venue, WRV, XUV300) was offering one & yet were selling more than the Nexon. The decision was certainly "Lets remove it if people don't care about it". And alas, the fact of the matter indeed is - many people don't know the purpose of it or don't know how to use it!! I have seen countless cars equipped with rear fog lights but using hazard lights on the express-way during heavy rain!!! And of course - then cutting lanes as if in an F1 race.

Nexon lost its rear fog light (single unit at center bottom of rear bumper like Zest, Tiago, Bolt et all) around January 2019. The BCM was updated & it lost the dedicated button on the console as well. I frequently travel to Mumbai, Konkan & Goa from Pune. During rains - a good rear fog light is an absolute must in these regions. Especially on fast e-ways & in ghats. So even before I booked the car, this was something I had in mind to do as a DIY.

Found the part on boodmo easily. Here it is for reference -
Link - Boodmo - Tata Nexon rear fog lamp assembly



Its the same part for multiple cars like Bolt, Zest, Nexon, Tiago...Pretty much all have lost it over refreshes sadly. Got it for around 500 INR including shipping. It reached my home in about a week from ordering. Shipment was dispatched from Jaipur. So was my Kraz edition grille insert.

Now since the car has lost its original generation rear bumper wiring harness, there is no existing socket to hook it up with. I could either run a custom wire inside the cabin via trims, into the engine bay OR I could simply prepare a shielded harness, run it secured under the car chassis externally & route it to my desired connection point in the engine bay. Energetic, lively & enthusiastic as I am - I chose the later . Also - running the wiring inside the car would mean piercing multiple firewall grommets, removing a lot of body trims. Getting proper seals, fit & rattle free behaviour afterwards isn't too easy, especially as a DIY. I don't want to ruin the magic-carpet ride experience for installing a fog lamp. So safely running a wire pair under the car is what I decided on doing.

How to power it?
I could install a separate push button somewhere on the dashboard near fuse box in cabin. That's what generally we end up doing eh? But then, there is another DIY surgery running on the car in parallel! I also installed 55W IPHCAR HID bi-xenon projector fog lights up-front on the car. The Nexon has a useless cornering light feature via the front fog lights. So I couldn't use the stock harness & button with the new fog lights. I have installed these instead on a safe & separate relay harness powering straight from battery & bypassing the BCM altogether. I use the HID fog lamps only when necessary & not as a bling device in always on mode. When front fog lights are necessary - the rear one is too! So my wiring for the rear fog lights is very easy! I just have to tap it into the relay harness for the front fog lights! Et-viola. When the front fog lights are on - the rear will work too.

The details of that DIY project are available here - Link - Nexon HID FogLights DIY (Tata Nexon DIY: HID Bi-Xenon projector foglamps installation)

Note - Easier implementation option
There is a much easier solution available too. The wires for the rear number plate illumination LEDs are housed right above the fog lamp (with the number plate between them). You can simply remove some sleeve covering those 2 wires & use T-Taps to hook up the rear fog light. The rear fog light will turn on whenever the headlamp (or position lamps) are turned on. I thought of this approach to save time quite a bit, but decided against it & went for the full solution mentioned above. This simpler approach has been used by many Tiago owners, some even on TBHP & works flawlessly.

Broadly, I'll split the project in 3 steps -

1. Remove the dummy cap & install the lamp
2. Prepare the custom wiring harness
3. Secure the wiring & hook up power

[Reinhard]

Step 1 - Remove the dummy cap & install the lamp

If you live in a city ruled by bikers (like MH12) or anywhere else in the country with poor roads, chances are that the dummy cap has already fallen off & you are running with an eye-sore of a hole in the bumper. If it is still hanging on, you are lucky like me. Its just a press fit part. So have a look under the bumper & feel by touch. You'll notice where the latches are. Gently push on the cap at the right places & it will come right out.

The fog light has simple spring action clamps on both LH and RH edge. Simply push the fog light from outside into the hole in the bumper. It will snap into place. For the pretty rudimentary build, I'll say the lamp actually fits quite snug & sturdy in the housing. I banged & kicked around it quite hard but it didn't budge afterwards. Have been on a lot of drives involving rough concrete roads & long rumble strip sections. It has held well so far.


Note -

1. To remove the cap or lamp - push from behind the bumper from any 1 side.
2. To install - push from outside the bumper into it, both sides together.

This is how it will look once installed -
Totally OEM. Can't tell if its installed afterwards or came as stock setup.

[Reinhard]

Step 2- Prepare the custom wiring harness & Test -

Now the approach is finalized, we prepare the wires, sockets, wire protection etc. What we would need -

1. 2 nos 0.75 to 1 sqmm Polycab (or similar quality) wires of about 5 meters.
2. T-tap connectors
3. 5 meters of 4mm heat-shrink sleeve
4. Heat gun
5. Solder wire + flux + iron/gun
6. Cutters & pliers

The fog light comes with a halogen 21W bulb & stock wire coupler in place. If you can find the matching partner for the connector, do buy it. I took the lazy approach & just cut away the connector & soldered the wires together for extension all the way upto the engine bay.

Stock connector removed & wires cut -



Solder the wires with plenty of solder material & flux for a clean contact. I have used shrink tubes to cover the solder joint itself locally.






The wires are going to run under the car, fully exposed to the elements. So extra protection as well as rigid tight binding of the 2 wires together is an absolute must. For that, I inserted the 2 wires into the long 4mm shrink tube & shrank it well for a tight fit across all 4+ meters.

Be careful & take pauses in this activity. Constant heating will heat up the copper wire inside, melt the existing shield and can also give a burn to fingers if wire is held in hand. Take breaks and blow cool air once shrinking is done for a patch, to cool down the tube & wires.





Once done - crimp the T-Tap connector to the open ends of the wire. These will be used to tap the wires for power & ground. While I have crimped both wires here in this image, I removed the ground wire one afterwards & simply plugged that wire into the -ve terminal nut on the battery.



I also ordered a high-output LED bulb of same socket spec from AliExp. Basically a RED version of the amber ones that I have installed for turn indicators (yeah they are awesome!). But eventually I haven't installed it. More on that later.



Test -

Now if you have a good 12V power adapter at home that can support upto 3 A current, you can test this at home. The red wire goes INTO the connector of the adapter. Black to be simply touched to the outer ring of the connector for -ve. Here are the outputs -

Halogen Test -


LED Test -


As evident - the LED output is worlds apart. The mobile camera can never handle direct light source in pictures so these aren't doing justice to what it really was. Drivers behind would personally visit and punch me if I installed the LED I think. Its ultra bright. After looking at it for a few moments, I could see nothing else for next 4-5 minutes. Its scary! I measured & the current draw for the 2 bulbs is as follows -

• Halogen - 1.68 A
• LED - 1.21 A

For a significantly lower current, the LED is giving at least 4 times more light output. However, there turned out to be a major drawback. The LED light is getting very hot in little duration. Hotter than the halogen in fact. So the life will surely not be too long. It needs to be controlled with a series resistor on the input side. That will reduce the light output & also the thermal output - while extending life! For now, due to time constraint, I put the halogen in place & installed it. Replacing the bulb takes 1 minute. So when I get the time in future, I'll replace with LED & add a covered resistor at the start of the red wire in engine bay (I think 220Ohm should do it sufficiently).

[Reinhard]

Step 3 - Secure the wiring & hook up power

What you need -

1. 45 minutes of time
2. Garage overalls or clothes that you don't mind getting totally dirty
3. A lot of zip ties
4. Good shampoo for head wash afterwards!!

Nexon's ground clearance feels like magic in this step. For any other car - a ramp or under-car pit in garage is an absolute must to do something like this. But in case of the Nexon - I simply went under the car on my apartment bulding's ground floor! From back of the car, from side of the car. I could simply slide under & work easily. No jacking up required at all.

Just ensure that the car is kept in gear & hand brake is fully applied. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of myself working under the car. Forgot to tell someone to do so for me!

The key part of this step is running the wire under the car with utmost care & safety for a long run. Some key points for this -

1. Turn the wire in loop around every possible hook / loop. That ensures the wire stays in position, doesn't slide around & limits age related sag a lot.
2. Also important is to ensure that the wire runs away from heat for a longer life. The exhaust pipe runs along the center tunnel for most time & then to the RHS of the car into the end can. Logically - run the wire along the LHS of the car.
3. With the same reason, the ABS lines, fuel lines all run on the LHS in a pre-molded tunnel. The tunnel also has locking holders for these wires. And there is an extra blank one in the set, as if for my fog light wiring!!
4. Run the wire totally around the rear LH suspension. Ensure it can never come in contact with the coil spring / shock absorber or any other moving part.
5. Tuck it into the holder along side the brake & fuel lines.
6. Use as many zip ties as you like at every angle, turn & joint to ensure the wire stays here forever. Don't hold back on the number of zip ties used. Cut the extra ends afterwards.
7. Throw a fishing line from the engine bay BEHIND the front suspension lower beams.
8. Tie the wires to this fishing line & pull up the wire into the engine bay. Ensure that the wire comes along the under-floor, directly hugging the front firewall and along the firewall. No other component - suspension/wires/axles/ducts should come between the wire and the chassis. This will ensure it is safe & doesn't get worn out by other components in standard car operation.
9. run it with zip ties along the firewall & side.
10. Hook up the ground wire (black in my case) to the LH ground bolt or the battery -ve terminal.
11. Use a T-Tap to tap the power wire into your desired power source. I tapped it into the LH front fog light wire. You can do the same too if your car has stock or aftermarket front fog lights.

Here are a few pictures I took myself with dirty hands. These are taken before I fixed the wire permanently with zip ties. Use them generously please.

Along the floor pan -



Around the LH rear suspension & from over the fuel tank's side -



Near & under the front firewall -



Wire tap into the front HID fog lamp wire -




FINAL TEST -

Here is the final test video of the rear fog light in action. (Since my front fog lights are mobile controlled, so is the rear fog light. I'm operating it while there is nobody in the car !)

Link - YouTube video of rear fog light test

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[ShivrajG]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

[
Nexon's ground clearance feels like magic in this step.

@Reinhard thats a much needed MOD for Nexon. The low beam projectors and the foglights are the worst part of otherwise awesome steed.

I own an XZ Diesel and only downside is the lighting. I am also planning to upgrade few things here and there. Would connect with you since in a few days as you are in Pune .

Regards
Shivraj

[BZ25]

Excellent DIY report sir! My cousins own a Nexon XT, will definitely recommend this thread to them.

[yesyeswe]

The day i buy a nexon i am driving over to pune to get all the upgrades done from you, excellent work

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by ShivrajG

I own an XZ Diesel and only downside is the lighting. I am also planning to upgrade few things here and there. Would connect with you since in a few days as you are in Pune.

Indeed! And yes, most welcome!

Originally Posted by BZ25

Excellent DIY report sir! My cousins own a Nexon XT, will definitely recommend this thread to them.

Thanks, glad you found it useful. Hurts when carmakers skimp on such simple things sometimes.

Originally Posted by yesyeswe

The day i buy a nexon i am driving over to pune to get all the upgrades done from you, excellent work

sure. Thanks for the kind words, glad you found the threads useful. Come over once you join the Nexon tribe.

[Maverick Avi]

While going through the owner manual of my Ford Aspire 1.2 Dragon petrol I saw this feature of rear fog lamp and wondered why there is a need for it. I still do not get it. When the visibility is so low that we need to turn on fog lamps/headlights then the rear brake lights also light up. So whats the use of these separate rear fog lights which are practically doing the same thing(keep that red light on at the rear).

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by Maverick Avi

While going through the owner manual of my Ford Aspire 1.2 Dragon petrol I saw this feature of rear fog lamp and wondered why there is a need for it. I still do not get it. When the visibility is so low that we need to turn on fog lamps/headlights then the rear brake lights also light up. So whats the use of these separate rear fog lights which are practically doing the same thing(keep that red light on at the rear).

I didn't understand your mention of brake light. Fog light is a higher wattage (21w more) bulb in a high reflection housing. It stays ON when you turn it on.

Since it is lower on the car, its more visible near the road in the eyesight of the driver behind. Tail lights are lower intensity and can well be covered in muck in rain reducing it further. That's dangerous since car behind can tail gate us if they don't see us in time.

When not much is visible in rain/fog, every extra light helps. And using hazard lights in a running car is the worst thing one should do on highways. That's where fog lights are to be used. It doesn't show us anything extra. But it ensures the car behind, sees us in time.

[Maverick Avi]

I didn't understand your mention of brake light.

Tail lights is what I meant. Thanks for the enlightenment! Will check in my Aspire today if it actually serves the purpose.

[SS80]

That's a nice and practically useful DIY. Can you share some more information about the mobile controlled lights. Is there a seperate module (plug & play) available for this.

[knaveen]

The original Nexon XZ+ (1st edition) had a functional rear fog light with the switch neatly integrated to the central console. As usual, Tata decided to delete this feature and now you get a blank for the foglight housing and another blank for the switch in the central console. I have a Nexon XZ+ and mine does not have a fog light, was contemplating this for a long time, but no easy way to add the stock rear fog lamp switch as in the 1st edition Nexon. Now, the blank plastic cap on my Nexon has fallen off somewhere and trying to source it from Tata. This is not a separate part in Boodmo!

If I don't get the blank, will have to put the actual fog light and wire it up with the front fog lamp wiring.

Off topic, I had a Nano Twist XT prior to Nexon and I got a blank for the rear fog light in that as well (Nano LX had it earlier, Tata decided to remove it in Twist XT). The saga of blank rear fog lights continue for me .

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by SS80

That's a nice and practically useful DIY. Can you share some more information about the mobile controlled lights. Is there a seperate module (plug & play) available for this.

Thanks! Glad you liked it. Yes - the module is available on Amazon.in (premium price) and on Aliexpress.com (far cheaper). I have provided the link for it here in my other thread -

Link - Product Detail Post - TBHP Thread HID Fog lights (Tata Nexon DIY: HID Bi-Xenon projector foglamps installation)
Its much easier to simply wire a switch on the dashboard though. I used the BT route just to try it out.

Originally Posted by knaveen

If I don't get the blank, will have to put the actual fog light and wire it up with the front fog lamp wiring.

Or you can simply plug in the fog light. If you don't have a real need of using it - no need to wire it either. I was driving around with just the unit placed in place & no wiring done for it for a couple of months before I could get the time to complete the installation.