This is a step-by-step guide on fitting the Corsa A rear light cluster (Euro cluster) to a Nova so that it either has a) twin reverse (harder option) or b) twin fog lights (easier option). Either choice you only need one Euro cluster to do the job, but you may have to buy additional lights to make it UK road legal.

So what does it involve? We'll you'll need to remove some boot trim to get at the Vauxhall wire loom at the rear of the light clusters and cut some wires. You'll also need to feed some extra cable in to finish the job. Both options will be explained here in this guide. So just a brief outlook on each option so you'll know what's involved.

Option A - Twin Reverse:

The hardest option of the two, mainly because it requires you to put in a fog lamp at the rear, you'll need this to pass the MOT. The most obvious place is to mount it in the rear bumper, so some cutting is involved. Plus you'll need to feed some extra wires from the bumper to the light clusters. You'll need to buy the offside (drivers side) Euro cluster only, fit a fog lamp (Astra ones are most common) and do quite a bit of wiring to make it work. The before and after pictures show a Nova GTE modified to have twin reverse and a single fog lamp mounted in the rear bumper.

Option B - Twin Fog:

The easiest option. With this you just swap the nearside (passenger side) cluster with a Euro cluster. No extra lamps are required, it is road legal to have a car without a reverse light. Some small wiring work is involved.

So what about the MOT?

The UK MOT rules are a bit strange when you actually read them, but this is how it turns out when concerning this modification. Your car will NOT fail the MOT if it has NO reverse lamp. However, if there is one, and it doesn't work (i.e. blown bulb) then they MAY fail you for it. It is not actually part of the MOT test, it's up to the discretion of the MOT tester.

But you WILL NEED a working fog lamp at the rear of the car. This is the main reason why option B is the easiest to do, as no extra fitting is required. But I would prefer to let people know that I'm reversing, or there could be a few car parking nightmares ahead.

One other important point I should make, this guide was carried out on a 1989 Nova GTE, and Vauxhall sometimes changed the colours of wires on different models/years. So consult a Haynes book to find the right wires to cut (or you'll make a mistake like me - you'll find out later). Also the Nova light cluster on the left looks dark because they have been 'tinted' with black strips. Otherwise their the same brightness as the Euro parts.

Just before you start, make sure you note the following:

• You need to have enough bullet plugs and sockets. I had 20 red plugs/sockets with 10 blue plugs/sockets. This was just the right amount as I had plenty left over.
• Make sure you KNOW what colour/type wire to cut, otherwise you've got to do some repairing (like I did - D'OH).
• You can never have enough wire, just make sure you've got amply supply to do the job.
• When removing the Nova cluster (either side), try and retain the sponge that goes round it. Fit the new Euro cluster over this which should keep the gap even compared to the otherside.
• With the way I used the bullet connectors, I can in the future put back the original cluster and plug up the wire loom as it was before. You don't have to follow the wire diagram that is shown, but it might be beneficial in the future (i.e. the Euro cluster gets damaged and you can plug back the original cluster).
• Also you may have to get another matching bulb, this is because if you go for twin reverse, one of the bulbs is still a high wattage fog bulb, so it would appear that the Euro Cluster reverse side is VERY bright.
• Remember for this mod you need to fix some fog lamp(s) somewhere, so be prepared to cut up your rear bumper.

OK, got all the above? Then follow the steps below (remember to click on the pics for a bigger view):

First is preparation, so make up the Y adapter as shown, just 2 wires and 3 bullet connectors. This will feed the reverse signal onto the Euro cluster.

Follow the circuit diagram and cut the Fog lamp wire (Black wire with Blue tracer). Connect a plug bullet at the multi-plug end and a socket bullet at the GM loom end.

Not finished just yet.....

Once you've done the above steps, you've just converted your Nova to have twin reverse lamps and have fog lights. You should ideally change the offside fog bulb (where the Euro cluster is now) with a lower wattage reverse lamp bulb. This is because is still has the fog bulb in a reverse lamp cluster. So when you switch on the reverse, the offside fog looks very bright. Remember that both reverse lights might look dull anyway because there are two bulbs in series now. In otherwords where before there used to a 12v drop across the one bulb, there is now only a 6v drop across both bulbs. So naturally they will not appear so bright. But other than that, job well done :)

Just before you start, make sure you note the following:

• You need to have enough bullet plugs and sockets. I had 20 red plugs/sockets with 10 blue plugs/sockets. This was just the right amount as I had plenty left over.
• You can never have enough wire, just make sure you've got amply supply to do the job.
• When removing the Nova cluster (either side), try and retain the sponge that goes round it. Fit the new Euro cluster over this which should keep the gap even compared to the otherside.
• With the way I used the bullet connectors, I can in the future put back the original cluster and plug up the wire loom as it was before. You don't have to follow the wire diagram that is shown, but it might be beneficial in the future (i.e. the Euro cluster gets damaged and you can plug back the original cluster).
• Also you may have to get another matching bulb, this is because if you go for twin fog, one of the bulbs is still a low wattage reverse bulb, so it would appear that the Euro Cluster fog side is VERY dull.

OK, got all the above? Then follow the steps below (remember to click on the pics for a bigger view):

First is preparation, so make up the Y adapter as shown, just 2 wires and 3 bullet connectors. This will feed the fog signal onto the Euro cluster.

Follow the circuit diagram and cut the fog lamp wire (Black wire with Blue tracer). Connect a plug bullet at the multi-plug end and a socket bullet at the GM loom end.

Now connect the Y adapter to the bullet plugs. This will feed the Fog signal to the Euro cluster's fog light bulb.

Not finished just yet.....

Once you've done the above steps, you've just converted your Nova to have twin fog lamps, but no reverse. You should ideally change the nearside reversing bulb (where the Euro cluster is now) with a higher wattage fog lamp bulb. This is because is still has the normal bulb in a fog lamp cluster. So when you switch on the fogs, the nearside fog looks very dull. Remember that both fogs might look dull anyway because there are two bulbs in series now. In otherwords where before there used to a 12v drop across the one bulb, there is now only a 6v drop across both bulbs. So naturally they will not appear so bright. But other than that, job well done :)