Workshop Basics

Fit a fog lamp to your classic.

Is a fog light a useful thing to have? You’ll think so next time you’re feeling your way along a dual carriageway in dismal visibility. Wide roads inspire confidence in incompetent drivers and classic tail lights are often almost invisible until the following car’s right on top of them. A fog light, therefore, is a wise investment of a few pounds and an afternoon’s work. Fitting one couldn’t be simpler – in fact you’ll probably take longer deciding how and where to mount the switch and telltale.

It should be possible to find a new-old stock lamp or period-style reproduction item that won’t look too out-of-place. An autojumble or online search should yield a period switch. Regulations state that the lamp should be in the centre or the offside of the body and that there should be a telltale light displayed on the dashboard.

A rear fog lamp is compulsory on cars first used on or after April 1, 1980. This isn’t the case in all parts of Europe, though, so you may need to fit one to an imported classic before its first MOT. In this case, it’s worth checking multi-lamp rear clusters to see if there’s an unused fog lamp in there already… though of course it’ll be no good if it’s on the nearside only.

If you’re lucky – as we were – you’ll find a spare switch aperture in the dash and the holes for the lamp pre-drilled in the bumper. We were able to run the wires through an existing grommet in the rear valance and tap the supply into the dipped beam fuse. We did the job without drilling, molesting wires or making irreversible changes.

You might find the wiring’s already there. Many cars used a standard loom regardless of trim specification or country of sale. Wire that’s rated at 5 amps will be plenty for the task. Use a single length from front to rear – don’t be tempted to join up shorter lengths of scrap wire. A pair of rear fog lamps can be fitted using the same 5A wire and 5A fuse as a single one.