s70 replacement headlight assembly question

kumulipo · Post by **kumulipo** » 02 Jul 2018, 11:37

I have a 1999 n/a S70 that needs to see down the road at night. I've replaced the original headlight nacelles with better ones from the wrecking yard, but they still suffer from a degraded reflector. I tried a TYC replacement, but it just wouldn't throw a decent beam pattern, so I returned it. Was this one defective or is that the norm? I shudder to price a pair from the Volvo dealer. Any suggestions? Thanks.

MDK · Post by **MDK** » 02 Jul 2018, 15:12

MDK here. Something you may not be aware of. Those year cars and wagons come prewired for fog lights. All you have to do is find an xc70 pull the headlight module from under the hood... it's under where the fuses are. Pull the fog lights themselves... you'll need the switch in the dashboard that turns them on and lastly the jumper relay that's under the dashboard under the steering wheel. It may seem like a lot but once your done it really helps at night. I've done this many times. Oh yeah... don't forget to get the grill covers for the fog lights....MDK rolling on

Post by **BEJinFbk** » 03 Jul 2018, 01:40

IMHO, the fog lights in these cars are essentially pointless.
They only work with lowbeams and have no reach to speak of.

Two popular headlight upgrades for distance are buckets with
reflectors that are still shiny and E-code lenses, or even better,
the “jewel” type headlights from 2003 and 2004 C series P80’s.

Spend a little time searching the forum for previous posts
on the topic to nail down specifics. Both options also benefit
greatly with higher output lamps.

Another favorite is getting a set of jewels and modifying
them with HID projectors. Again, there are plenty of
write ups here on this site, SwedeSpeed and VolvoSpeed.

Fear Not - You are not alone in this quest!

Post by **abscate** » 03 Jul 2018, 08:27

IMHO, the fog lights in these cars are essentially pointless.

Strongly disagree. They let oncoming traffic know a d*head is passing.

Post by **BEJinFbk** » 03 Jul 2018, 18:24

abscate wrote: ↑03 Jul 2018, 08:27
IMHO, the fog lights in these cars are essentially pointless.
Strongly disagree. They let oncoming traffic know a d*head is passing.

I think about the only time that I use the fog lights,
( front and rear ), is when there’s a lot of snow getting
kicked up, or in that awesome “ice” fog we. get around
here, so yeah -Good for being seen!

Personally, I cheaped out. I was lucky enough to have
nice shiny reflectors, but I’ve always been an E-code
guy, so I swapped to that pattern, added SilverStars
and now I just lust over OEM jewels...

blkbeauty · Post by **blkbeauty** » 03 Jul 2018, 21:35

I purchased DEPO Jewel headlight assemblies for 2003-2004 C70 from Amazon. Direct fit, all glass, wonderful!

Post by **BEJinFbk** » 04 Jul 2018, 15:22

blkbeauty wrote: ↑03 Jul 2018, 21:35 I purchased DEPO Jewel headlight assemblies for 2003-2004 C70 from Amazon. Direct fit, all glass, wonderful!

I'm curious about how they're holding up for you.
How long have you had them?
Anything special for lamps?

And to the OP - Whatever you do,
don't skimp on lens protection.
3M Xpel is worth every penny!

Post by **RickHaleParker** » 04 Jul 2018, 18:14

IMHO, the fog lights in these cars are essentially pointless.

The point of Fog lights is to illuminate the road. So that you can see where the road is and avoid running off the road.

They only work with lowbeams and have no reach to speak of.

Fog lights are so the driver can see the road not see down the road. It does make sense that they only work with Low beams. High beams should never be turned on in Fog because Fog is reflective. If High beams are turned on in fog, light off the fog reflects back at the driver, reducing the driver's ability to see.

Post by **BEJinFbk** » 05 Jul 2018, 01:23

RickHaleParker wrote: ↑04 Jul 2018, 18:14 IMHO, the fog lights in these cars are essentially pointless.

The point of Fog lights is to illuminate the road. So that you can see where the road is and avoid running off the road.

They only work with lowbeams and have no reach to speak of.

Fog lights are so the driver can see the road not see down the road. It does make sense that they only work with Low beams. High beams should never be turned on in Fog because Fog is reflective. If High beams are turned on in fog, light off the fog reflects back at the driver, reducing the driver's ability to see.

My response was to MDK, who suggested fogs for increased long
distance lighting. I believe that I was making the same essential
points about fog lights that you are above, with more of an aim to
move it along and provide some solutions to the OP’s original issue.

I agree that fog lights are not designed to be used as driving lights
and concur that it’s practical and quite convenient that most OEM
fogs only operate in low beam mode.

My opinion that the fog lights in these cars are essentially pointless
stands, and can be easily supported with short drive through the soup
with decent, correctly aimed after-market units. The fogs provided by
Volvo for the cars under discussion ( again, just my opinion ) are simply
not adequate for their appointed task.

However, as expressed by myself and others, they’re still helpful for
making yourself a little more evident to other drivers when the
weather reduces visibility. As long as they aren’t texting...

MDK · Post by **MDK** » 05 Jul 2018, 04:45

MDK here... I just thought it was cool that this particular manufacturer had the presence of mind to pre-wire these cars for fog lights. I went to the junk yard and found a wagon that someone had put brand new factory headlights in before junking it. I bought them for 20$ a piece instead of 249$ a side. So..., you know..... rolling on