Just wanted to know if anyone noticed this in their MINI. I was nitpicking at the interior of my MINI and noticed that the ring around the cigarette lighter does not illuminate. Does anyone find this odd? Is there something wrong with my power socket? For those who smoke, does it illuminate to let you know when it's "ready?"

Granted the cigarette lighter is still visible at night because the ambient light under the switch toggle bank floods the area, why would they put an orange/amber ring around the cigarette lighter and not add some kind of lighting to it. Weird?!

Okay, I'm getting off my soap box...

p.s. I also checked the power socket in the boot and it doesn't illuminate either!

 

The one on my 2006 MCS doesn't light. My friends 2003 did if I remember right. It bugged me at fist, but now I've grown used to it. Does seem silly for it to be dark though. Oh well.

 

Yes, mine lights up.....and welcome to NAM!

 

yep

 

yep

 

never looked lol

 

I have an '03 and it is certainly lit up when the lights are on. Although I have no idea if it lets up to say its hot or anything. I don't even think about something on fire in my MINI.

 

I've asked this very same question over on MINI2: http://www.mini2.com/forum/interior-...-light-up.html
It seems that the ring lights up in older cars but the feature was eliminated sometime during 2005.

 

My 05/05 build doesn't light up. I took a look at it when I removed the console and there is no light in the cigarette lighter assembly.

Steve

 

My 02/05 build does light up. Looks like we're narrowing down the date where the change was made. This would be easy to retrofit if you got the version that doesn't illuminate.

Rawhyde

 

Mines an 11/05 build.

No light.

 

 

Thanks for responding everyone. I'm a newbie so please be patient as I discover the "little" things about my MINI. I'm so excited!

...and oh, thanks "gokartride" for welcoming me to the group.

 

Mielnicki........that is brilliant!!! Question answered....I never knew this, nor had I seen it discussed until now!

 

As a lighter user, I like my early model light-up ring. It did blow once and I pulled that thing out and inspected it. Sometimes all of the use causes the housing to come loose and wires to become disconnected. So, you might have one that just needs repaired.

PS, while fiddling under there with that I accidently discovered the other fuse box on the left side of the drivers foot well. Of course, that's where I found the blown fuse.

 

Which fuse? The pictograms do nothing for me...

 

Yeah, those are like Egyptian Hieroglyphics. I went outside and pulled the cover on interior fuse box.

In the second row (the middle group) the cigarette lighter is the fifth from the bottom. The pictogram is a cigarette, hot end to the left, with a small black smoke rising up from it.

The next one up may be the accessory power outlet in the boot area, but I'm not sure of that.

In case you don't have replacement fuses, those oriented vertically along the left side are spares, one each rating.

Hope that helps.

 

Whoa; don't know how I missed that one!
Thanks Mark!
My phone charger thanks you, as well.

 

mine lights up

 

I have a 2 month-old '06, and mine lights up!

 

Mine doesn't light up... and I just found out today that my 12V socket doesn't even work... blah!!!!!!!!!!