Faulty Rear Fog Light?

Martybabes · Apr 2, 2012

Hello y'all!
Anybody ever had problems fixing a faulty rear fog light before?
I've checked the bulbs and the fuses and they're all Ok.
Front fogs work fine.
Anybody know which side the blessed thing is meant to illuminate on too? I'm assuming it's the driver's side??
Marty

smgcowfoldparts · Apr 4, 2012

Rear fog light is offside only.

cheers

Martybabes · Apr 4, 2012

Cheers for that advice which has enlightened me!
Great news: I managed to fix the fog light all by myself!
There's a wee clip inside the tow-bar electric hook-up point which should spring out when you disengage a trailer. Unfortunately my poor van was thinking she was towing a trailer so the clip was stuck down and had disabled the rear fog-light!
A wee flick with a screwdriver and problem sorted!
Phew!

CaliB · Sep 7, 2015

I have the same problem, but unsure how to resolve. I use the towbar pretty regularly and not sure if that has anything to do with it or not.
Can you please advise how you fixed it in a little more detail?
Thanks!

AlanC · Sep 7, 2015

Assuming you have the correct VW wiring fitted then there is a small tab that protrudes between two of the pins on the socket. When you connect the plug, this tab is pushed in and the power is switched away from the rear fog light on the van to the fog light on the trailer.

If you lift the cover to the trailer socket you should see this plunger protruding close to the bottom of the socket I think. If it is stuck in, then the power to the van light is disconnected. A small screwdriver should enable you to flick it out and reconnect the van fog light.

This applies to 2009-2011 vans, but I cannot comment on other years as they may use another system. Worth looking for though.

Alan

andyinluton · Sep 8, 2015

I guess this means that leaving my 13pin - 7pin trailer adapter plugged in permanently should mean my rear foglight doesn't work. I have never checked. Although if something is actually plugged into the adapter the rear parking sensor are disabled & a message comes up on the radio, this doesn't happen with just the adapter in,

CaliB · Sep 8, 2015

Worked a treat Alan! Just had to figure out what I was looking for first and then it was simple, thanks!!

AlanC · Sep 8, 2015

andyinluton said:
I guess this means that leaving my 13pin - 7pin trailer adapter plugged in permanently should mean my rear foglight doesn't work. I have never checked. Although if something is actually plugged into the adapter the rear parking sensor are disabled & a message comes up on the radio, this doesn't happen with just the adapter in,

Yes, I suspect the switching is dependent on the resistance of the the wiring for the computer to sense if the trailer is connected.

Not so the fog light on the van because it is a mechanical switch.

Alan

AlanC · Sep 8, 2015

CaliB said:
Worked a treat Alan! Just had to figure out what I was looking for first and then it was simple, thanks!!

My pleasure

Alan

DavidApp · Nov 4, 2015

smgcowfoldparts said:
Rear fog light is offside only.

If only I had read this sooner

it wasn't until I compared the wiring on each side that I noticed there was no wiring in pin 5. The Sportline cluster has rear fogs on both sides yet only the offside works.

AlanC · Nov 4, 2015

DavidApp said:
If only I had read this sooner it wasn't until I compared the wiring on each side that I noticed there was no wiring in pin 5. The Sportline cluster has rear fogs on both sides yet only the offside works.

That applies to all of the UK T5 range rear lights. I even have a bulb in the nearside (I didn't put it in), but no wiring to it.

I assume the reverse is true for LHD vans.

Alan

mattblack · Nov 27, 2015

Thanks for your advice on this. My van failed MOT on this. It's a shame they cracked my rear light cover checking the bulb first! Chances of them admitting to it??? Any advice welcome before I put it in for re-test on Monday, I imagine they're not cheap...

snowy55 · Nov 27, 2015

Are reversing lights part of the MOT?

snowy55 · Nov 27, 2015

snowy55 said:
Are reversing lights part of the MOT?

Sorry just seen you are talking about the fog light doh!!

Philhenf · Sep 25, 2018

So I just want to say a big thank you to Alan C as you just saved me a grand and a whole world of pain. I have a 62 low mileage Cali - still on its original tyres. It was at the dealers to replace two big ticket items (front swivel seat and passenger Airbag). Whilst in they did an MoT and it failed on the rear fog not working. I was told they had tried everything and the only solution was to take out the kitchen to investigate the wiring....ten hours minimum labour plus VAT. So you trust the dealer right to be the expert and to do the right thing by their valued customer, right? I did ten minutes research and spotted this and then asked the head technician whether they had ruled out a stuck micro switch on the tow bar electrics? They went and checked and hey presto working fog light!! My confidence in the quality of the dealership was already low and this has further eroded it. I won't name and shame the dealer just yet, but if this post was not there I might well have gone through the pain and cost of a kitchen strip out and a thousand pound bill for no reason.....a total shocker. I'm not saying they deliberately set out to rip me off....but I don't think it is unreasonable of me to expect a certain level of expertise and knowledge for such a premier brand. So thanks again AlanC.

WelshGas · Sep 25, 2018

Philhenf said:
So I just want to say a big thank you to Alan C as you just saved me a grand and a whole world of pain. I have a 62 low mileage Cali - still on its original tyres. It was at the dealers to replace two big ticket items (front swivel seat and passenger Airbag). Whilst in they did an MoT and it failed on the rear fog not working. I was told they had tried everything and the only solution was to take out the kitchen to investigate the wiring....ten hours minimum labour plus VAT. So you trust the dealer right to be the expert and to do the right thing by their valued customer, right? I did ten minutes research and spotted this and then asked the head technician whether they had ruled out a stuck micro switch on the tow bar electrics? They went and checked and hey presto working fog light!! My confidence in the quality of the dealership was already low and this has further eroded it. I won't name and shame the dealer just yet, but if this post was not there I might well have gone through the pain and cost of a kitchen strip out and a thousand pound bill for no reason.....a total shocker. I'm not saying they deliberately set out to rip me off....but I don't think it is unreasonable of me to expect a certain level of expertise and knowledge for such a premier brand. So thanks again AlanC.

Personally I think you should name and shame.
The California is built on the same production line as the Transporter van but without the roof and Habitation equipment which is fitted at a 2nd factory. So the Dealership should be FULLY conversant with the Base Vehicle after some 10 yrs of the T5/6 Transporter Range, as very little has changed.

KGCali · Jun 17, 2019

WelshGas said:
Personally I think you should name and shame.
The California is built on the same production line as the Transporter van but without the roof and Habitation equipment which is fitted at a 2nd factory. So the Dealership should be FULLY conversant with the Base Vehicle after some 10 yrs of the T5/6 Transporter Range, as very little has changed.

VW just did a 30 point check on my Cali and all that showed up was wipers blades, which were fine once I cleaned them and the rear fog light not working. I said I would fix these myself and after 10 minutes on the web I checked the towbar socket and sure enough the microswitch was stuck in so a spray with WD40 and a wiggle with a small screwdriver and out it popped and the fog light is working. Here's a picture of the microswitch...at nearly 6 o'clock position.