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.
I am not sure but I think you have to have some programing done when you put the toggle panel in. I might not have that correct maybe someone els here will know.
I have a 2005 MCS built in July 2004. I spec'd the car with rear fog lights and because of some silly politics involved, I have the rear foglight, the switch panel that looks like it's already programmed (because the lights on the toggle switch come on in proper sequence) but no wire between the switch and the rear foglight. So it doesn't work. Dealer wants to charge me 2 hours labor and the price of the wire to set it up. Hence, a nonworking foglight. The MINIs built after Oct 2004 are supposed have the wiring in place, though not necessarily the switch panel nor the foglight unit. So yes, you need the proper toggle switch panel, and the rear foglight. The rear foglight unit itself is about $20, I think.
Honestly, I have the rear fog light and I can say I used it one time to see if it worked. It's one of those things you never use EVER.
If you find yourself in a hard driving rain or fog then yes you will use it. But please don't be one of those guys who drives around using it all the time blinding those behind you. Justa my .02.
I challenge you to follow a car with one on. It will annoy the the heck out of you Dave. Especially if it is on an F56.
It's not about needing a rear fog light. I haven't needed the car first aid kits I carry around, ever. Nor most of the tools, or the warning triangle or the flares. Needed a spare tire, once. Fifteen years ago. Never needed jumper cables, but I've jumped a few other cars, not that I had to. The only thing you really need is a cell phone. Unless the zombie apocalypse happens, then you can pull out all that gear you pack around and say I told you so. Look, I have spare fuses, bulbs, zip ties, duct tape, three flashlights and a multi-tool. What did you bring? Yeah, that's gonna happen. No, the need is to fill that gap. Something has to go there. In the switch panel. Must fill every slot. Must. And it must DO something. That's why. You either know you must have this rear fog light, or you know you don't. There's no convincing anybody either way.
Got my toggle panel, in the correct configuration, from the U.K. for $31 shipped. Now I just need the time to fit the bloody thing!!!!! I only get 2 weekends off per month,and for the last 2 1/2 weeks I've been working away from home. Haven't even seen the bloody car, let alone had time to work on it.
Follow an F56 :lol::lol::lol::lol: That's what the passing lane is for. :ihih::ihih: I have followed an R53 with the stupid light on before it was not bad at all.
I have a '98 Volvo with rear fog lights, I have never used them in the many years I've had it, even in thick fog. Mostly because I forget that I have them.
Just to clarify.........Gen 1 pre-face lift had a single back up light and rear fogs were in the tail light assembly. Post face lift they were swapped.
I remember someone saying they hooked the fog lights up to work with the brakes light. A job that is on my to do list
A long time ago, I put a short jumper in the back of the light assembly on each side and changed the upper (fog) bulbs to the brightest LEDs I could find (still not quite as bright as stock incandescents) to keep the current draw reasonable for the BC1. It makes a nice improvement to brake light visibility and is not objectional to people driving behind the car. I have checked this out with my wife driving the MINI in front of me. This is much, much more useful than their original rear fog light function. Decreased chance of getting rear-ended is well worth the minor trouble to do it.
IMHO the best option is to swap the running lights and the unused fog lights. That way you have the brake lights independent of the running lights.