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So I'm going to repurpose some 8" round HID KC lights I had on my truck. I just bought a cargo roof rack and some light specific mounts. Currently, I'm thinking of wiring them to the jump terminals up front as the light wiring has built in fuses and relays. Does anyone know if there's a better way?
I've got aftermarket aux lights on my F60 (not MINI brand) and I hooked up the included wiring harness to the passenger side foot well fuse panel using an Add-a-Circuit fuse adapter in a switched power slot. I've got install pics if you want 'em.
I've got aftermarket aux lights on my F60 (not MINI brand) and I hooked up the included wiring harness to the passenger side foot well fuse panel using an Add-a-Circuit fuse adapter in a switched power slot. I've got install pics if you want 'em.
If you could, that would be wonderful! Thank you!
I now have the lights mounted onto the rack, the wiring is all that remains...
How many lights? 4? You NEED to run the power through a relay. Likely a 30A relay depending on the wattage of the bulbs you have in the lamps. Yes, this run, from battery to relay, can come right from battery as you mentioned
Basically you use a 'add-a-fuse- to power your switch, which trips the relay, thus sending the power to the lights. Sorry if that was already your plan and I misread. There is no way in the world you can power those lights FROM the 'add-a-fuse'. It sounds like Steve above did that, but I dont know the specs on his lights....if it was a 10A slot, then could safely run maybe 100W worth of lighting.
Also be mindful of the wire gauge if you are running it from wherever the relay is all the way up to the rack. Can be some feet.
Last edited by iwashmycar; Dec 6, 2018 at 09:21 AM.
How many lights? 4? You NEED to run the power through a relay. Likely a 30A relay depending on the wattage of the bulbs you have in the lamps. Yes, this run, from battery to relay, can come right from battery as you mentioned
Basically you use a 'add-a-fuse- to power your switch, which trips the relay, thus sending the power to the lights. Sorry if that was already your plan and I misread. There is no way in the world you can power those lights FROM the 'add-a-fuse'. It sounds like Steve above did that, but I dont know the specs on his lights....if it was a 10A slot, then could safely run maybe 100W worth of lighting.
Also be mindful of the wire gauge if you are running it from wherever the relay is all the way up to the rack. Can be some feet.
You're absolutely correct! I should have been much more clear in my explanation with the Add-a-Circuit. That device is what you use to activate the relay that allows the wiring harness to draw power from the battery. The diagram iwashmycar attached is precisely how you'll wire up your lights and any included light installation documentation should be very similar.
The head-scratching part comes from where you actually run the wires through the firewall so you can access your interior aux light switch. The OEM MINI driving light kit wants you to run the wires through one of the MINI wiring harness junctures on the passenger side of the firewall, but I've found that it's much easier to go through a plug on the driver side.
Once you have your switch wires through the firewall plug, you'll need to wire up the power to the switch. This is where the Add-a-Circuit comes into play. You'll need to run your 'switched' power lead over to the interior fuse panel just behind the glove box. There's a panel inside the glove box that you'll remove which will give you access the fuse panel. The image below shows the strip of switched power fuse receptacles that you can use for your Add-a-Circuit.
Attach your switched power lead to the Add-a-Circuit and pop it into any one of those slots.
Finish wiring up the aux light harness and figure out a good spot for your light activation switch. I stuck mine right next to the factory switches and tucked the wiring through the steering column opening.
I have a much more detailed write up about how to install a set of aftermarket lights into your F56/F60, but they're not web link accessible at the moment. Once they are, I'll update the thread with that link.
Wow, thank you, some great stuff here... I admit I'm on the fence about the project, but this is pushing me to give it a shot...
The nice thing is, the wiring kit for my lights do have a relay. KC lighting makes quality wiring kits, and I do believe I truly only need a positive, negative and a ground (I need to verify that).
The other aspect is I'm installing the HID's and NOT the stainless steel 130w lights. The HID's are 35w a piece.
Ideally, I want to install them in a way I can remove them easily; by simply taking the rack on and off. I've attached what they look like attached to the rack. They are each 8" in diameter, and they put out A LOT of light with a range of a little over 1KM (apologies for the soft dog crate parked on top!).
