W116 fog light install

[Kenbenz]

My 76 280s didn't come with factory fog lights in the front. The bumper is pre drilled and the light know pulls out and locks to engage them. I got a couple off ebay to install but can't seem to find the wires for post factory installation... where can I find these wires to connect to?

[daantjie]

Good form would be a brief intro or at least a "hi fellas" before one starts to ask for help.  We are a nice and helpful bunch of guys (and gals(?)) and will go out of our way to help a fellow 116'er, just a bit of decorum

[Kenbenz]

Good advice!sorry, I was on benzworld for a while, not a lot of w116 folks there! I've been restoring my w116 280s now for about 3 years! It hasn't been easy being I'm not a mechanic by trade, I'm more of a hobby mechanic, but I've come to love the older Benz, especially the w116 models! I go by Ken! Hoping to finally get a few answers on here to help get the old Benz rolling like a champ! Thanks

[daantjie]

Hopefully one of our more electrically inclined members will chime in.  On my car at least I checked the fuse box and fuse #9 is for fog lights so that might be a good start.
You might have to wire in a complete new harness from the switch.  To my knowledge the switch is generic across all models thus you might have your work cut out for you if you want to use the main light switch to switch the fogs on and off , or I guess you could use an aftermarket setup with a separately wired switch?

[raueda1]

This is a generic question, but would apply to OP's situation (and many others). 
Does anybody know if the wiring harness for a given model is the same regardless of installed options? 

I've studied the W116 schematics pretty carefully.  They are mostly the same, however there are some minor changes from different model years and between models.  This was the case for the recent question about antenna wiring.  I've also noticed that the schematics seem to show all the options, e.g., sunroof.  So does it follow that a car without a sunroof is still wired for it, minus the switch and motor?  If so that would suggest that the foglight wiring is indeed there someplace, just gotta find it.

Anyway, the schematic seems to indicate that the foglight connector is part of the headlight socket, specifically terminal E. I have no idea what that socket(s) looks like.  But if you can get a close look at it maybe you'll find a terminal E and run your wire to that.  Seems to be the same on both sides.  I recently had a US parts car with fog lights.  I never had reason to trace the wires but they did seem to go upwards in the general direction of the headlights.  Hope this helps?   

[UTn_boy]

All W116 cars came from the factory with front fog lamp wiring. None of the front fog amps on any W116 were a post factory installation. European versions had the fog lamps integrated into the headlight assemblies, and U.S. models had the fog lamps mounted to the bottom of the front bumper.  .  Since you're talking about the bumper having holes for them, and the fact that you have a 1976 280S, I'm going to assume that you have a U.S. model.......because you have a U.S. bumper and the 280S was only offered in the U.S. for 1975 and 1976.  On U.S. cars the wiring comes through the plastic grill below and behind the front bumper. 

If you happen to have a European version that has been federalized with U.S. headlights and bumpers, then the fog lamp wiring will still be hiding somewhere behind the headlights in the headlight wire harness.