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OK - so I unscrewed the fog lamp access panel to change out my JCW Aero Kit fog lamp bulbs and it's not real obvious as to how the bulb connectors detach from the fog lamp housing. Tried twisting them and they don't move. I certainly don't want to force things. Seems like they work different from the fog lamp bulb removal instructions in the owners manual. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
OK - so I unscrewed the fog lamp access panel to change out my JCW Aero Kit fog lamp bulbs and it's not real obvious as to how the bulb connectors detach from the fog lamp housing. Tried twisting them and they don't move. I certainly don't want to force things. Seems like they work different from the fog lamp bulb removal instructions in the owners manual. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Can you take a pic of the back of it? We do bmw's all the time but I can never remember which one is which. If you can take a pic, perhaps I or someone could tell you how it disconnects.
Mark
PS. Welcome to the forum....
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You know you're a racer if...When you refer to everything in life unmodified as "stock" or “factory.” OSCAR’S REBUILD
Will try to take post some close-up pix ASAP. Thx for the tech info sheet. Still wonder why Mini wouldn't want to allow bulb removal from the rear rather than removing the whole fender liner and lamp assenbly. Hmmm.
I replaced my fog lamp bulbs in my '07 MCS with JCW Aero and did not need to remove the entire lamp housing.
In the diagram above, the top #1 is the parking light bulb access (w5w bulb). You shouldn't need to do anything there unless you plan on changing those too.
As you can see in the picture above, the wire plug connector attaches to the bulb socket at a 90 degree angle. If I remember correctly, you squeeze(?) the two sides and pull down on the wire connector (as opposed to pulling out) to disconnect it. You can then twist the bulb socket to unlock it. I think it only has a 1/4 turn to unlock. It should then pull straight back out and then you can remove the socket and bulb from the lamp housing.
Be sure not to touch the new bulb with your bare fingers as your replace it, the oils left behind will cause premature failure of the bulb.
Replacement is the opposite. There is only one correct way to align and insert the bulb socket back into the housing, so be sure that all of the tabs fit snugly after locking in place.
If you're looking for replacement bulb to match factory Xenons, I highly recommend the Hoen H8 bulbs. Their Xenon-match w5w bulbs are also a good match and really round out the package nicely.
I've got a write-up I've been meaning to post that shows the bulb changes that I made, but there are a couple of others in the Mods forum too.
