My '03 Justa has the rear fog lights already on the car. They are at the top of the tail lights and need to be turned on at the dealer, I think [when the car comes it, they are left as dummy lights and are not activated]. Then, another toggle will be added or you may have to get a new panel with the toggle already there.
Can't add a toggle, new panel is required. The fun part is getting one that matches all your existing options. They came in 4,5 and 6 toggle versions depending on options. Car is pre-wired for the rear fog, unless is from 7/2004 - 11/2004, then OutMotoring has a kit to add the required wiring. After install it will need to be programed.
I found a lot of toggle switch panels of the correct, 5 switch configuration on various sites in the U.K. (I'm guessing that they will work on U.S. spec cars). Could have the re-programming done at the same time as the recall work.
^This. I did this mod in a 2006 US-spec GP to add a functional rear fog light. Your 2006 is prewired for the rear fog light. It's tucked up behind the bumper.
The tricky part is getting the right switch panel. There are many variations (with/without DSC, with/without front fog, etc.).
I have 2 '06 MCSes. Neither has the wires tucked behind the bumper. I asked the dealer about that and was told that I would have to pay some big bucks for them to run some wires and then get a new panel for each car if I "really" wanted to do that. Consequently, I still have 2 '06 MCSes without rear fog lights.:mad2:
That's odd. My '06 R52 had the wiring, and I did the rear fog retrofit. According to the official retrofit instructions, everything after 11/2004 production should have the wiring. If you had caught it while still under warranty, I think it should have been covered.
I wonder if all R52's have it, but maybe only some R53's do for some strange reason. All R52's have the PDC standard, and the plug is wired into the branch that supports the PDC sensors... so I can see them putting it on all R52 harnesses.
It's beginning to sound like getting the toggle switch panel might be the easy bit! I have found many on U.K. sites with the config that I need; 5 switches w/o the DSC. When I feel up to poking around the Coop, I will check for the wires, fogs in the tail lights, etc. I am currently recovering from a heart attack, having had 2 stents inserted. :fingerscrossed:
Sorry, I was told by Waylen that the wiring was not there [before he moved his operation to Atlanta] and the dealer later confirmed this...on BOTH cars. It's no big deal to me...just another thing I'll never have to worry about breaking down or getting recalled. :cornut:
I found it more helpful to bridge the upper fog light bulbs to the brake lights
for added presence. Also changed those bulbs to multi LED ones so there
isn't a significant additional current load on the BC1 and brake wiring.
Ditto on my '03...bridged the lights so I could get 2 more brake lights. One can NEVER be too visible to traffic coming up from behind, especially when driving a MIN!
Ditto on my '03 R50...bridged the lights so I could get 2 more brake lights. One can NEVER be too visible to traffic coming up from behind, especially when driving a MINI!
I bridged to the built-in but unused fog lights in both tail lights within a week after I got my MINI (and I may have been the first to do so in the US) back in the first half of 2002. It's been nearly 14 years now with zero issues, so it seems the additional load on the brake wiring is no concern. Since that top area of the tail lights is never lit until the brakes are applied, it provides an effective high-contrast notification that the brakes are on - much better than the simple increase in brightness of the normal brake lights at night.
I used stock 1156 incandescent bulbs as the fog light reflector housing was designed to reflect and focus the light from those bulbs. I understand all the many benefits of LEDs, but I still don't think there is any aftermarket 1157 or 1156 LED that can match the brightness combined with the 360 degree spread of even light of a good old fashioned incandescent automotive bulb.
Phillips makes both an 1156 & 1157 LED bulb that should work for you. I had the 1157 LED bulbs in my MINI. There are a lot of junk LED bulbs out there, but Phillips seems to be making a higher quality product.
Crashton, thanks for letting me know about the Phillips LED bulb replacements. I know there are a whole lot of no-name LED bulbs automotive out there in varying degrees of quality and design (nearly all of them seem to be awful and not as bright as the incandescent ones they are designed to replace). But none of the big names in automotive lighting (Hella, Wagner, Bosch, Sylvania, GE, etc.) were stepping up to make a OEM-quality replacement automotive LED bulb - until Phillips did.
I just purchased a pair of Phillips 1157 red LEDs for the taillights of my classic Mini and they are fantastic. I've got them in the running/brake lights and they are much brighter and the light fills the reflector housing much better than the incandescent bulbs they replaced. Very important to me to help that little car be seen better in traffic. I'm just waiting for Phillips to make an 1156 amber LED so I can update the turn-signal bulbs.
Glad to help BruceK. If you put LEDs in the turn signals you will get a very fast flash. You'll need to wire in a resistor to get them to blink correctly.
Yeah, but I think I would install an electronic signal flasher unit set up for LEDs (replacing the Mini's thermal one), rather than install in-line resistors, and that should sort out the flash rate issue with using LEDs.
The sticking point right now is that Phillips does not offer an 1156 amber LED yet - they just have white and red ones approved for road use. I called them and was told the 1156 amber LED is in development, so I'll just wait. Unless of course, another OEM-quality supplier offers one first. I'll stay away from lousy no-name ones on eBay.
If memory serves me right, I found my fog wire tucked up behind the bumper, zip tied to a support piece. As stated above, the correct six switch panel and an activation was all I needed to get it to go.
I had the best luck on ebay.co.uk finding the toggle panel combo I needed -- ended up with this one. And look, they've relisted it for £5 less than I paid. I think that's like five quid?
I got the fog light wiring kit from ECS for $15. I had to stare at the wiring diagrams in the Bentley manual for half an hour to figure out finally which pin to stick it into in the BCM. Then do all kind of searching on the web to figure out whether I wanted the black, blue, or "natural" connector (it's "natural" which is white). Then to actually find the pin, I took a picture with my phone and zoomed in to read the microscopic pin numbers and find the empty hole to stick the new pin into. I didn't completely take apart all the body panels on the right side -- just loosened part of the back seat panel and snaked it through, and then under the carpets up to the BCM. There's a ground you bolt onto above the right rear wheel. The rear bumper cover has to come off, then route the wire alongside the existing wheel arch light wires, up through a grommet into the cubby hole on the right rear, to the ground bus, and onwards to the BCM.
It's a lot of fussing around. I can see why they charge a lot to do it. I imagine doing two cars, the second will go quick, since you'd get the hang of it.
No effort or expense is too great for the sake of having a bright red light on the back of your car that you can switch on, assuring that you will never die from getting rear ended in the fog.
