this is a real quick question and hopefully i didnt post in the wrong forum. does anyone know how to get the lighter socket out? i wanted to replace the bulb so the luminous ring would light up when i have my lights on. can't figure out if i have remove the downtubes and lift the center console or if the lighter socket will just pop out.

dumb i know but, i'm trying to fix up all the little things in my MINI.

 

When I pulled my interior out..I noticed that the socket was attached to the console. Maybe you can get it out without pulling it.

 

I added the light to my lighter socket (I have an '06 and they stopped including the light sometime in '05). I did it by taking off the center console because I wasn't sure whether it could be popped out with the console still in place. I'm still not completely sure. Certainly the lighter socket was simply popped in during manufacture/assembly. I didn't examine it closely enough but I thought might be risky to simply pry it up from the top without also pushing from the other side.

 

thanks. i have a 2003 and i'm just assuming here that the bulb went out. and yes, i have considered trying to pry it out. but, like yourself, was afraid to mess it up. i did order an extra orange ring, black filler plug and the bulbs from pelican so i could replace the the orange ring if it cracked. BUT, the socket part is on long backorder and i would hate to mess up the console. was trying to see if there were any release tabs in the socket i could depress to remove it but, there doesn't seem to be.

on a semi side note- anyone know WHERE to get an OEM lighter for that thing? yes i am a smoker. i know, i know...

hopefully someone will come along who knows, otherwise looks like i'll be pulling the console when i have the time. now that i think about it any other lighter socket i have yanked had a nut behind it to secure it in. of course any other lighter i have yanked to repair is part of a removable ahstray in the dash.

 

If I remember in my 2002 the lighter is pretty loose from the rest of the console and pulls out a bit when trying to unplug things from it. From behind it was only attached to the wire clip if I am remembering correctly.
The lighter itself should be $13.84 from the dealer according to realoem.

 

And here is how the center console goes together

 

duh. i've looked at that diagram a hundred times and never noticed the actual cigarette lighter element! thanks.

well i know how to get the console out and i'm thinking about ordering new downtubes fairly soon from pelican to replace my scratched ones. or repaint my existing ones if pelican cannot get the tubes (says they can but, i've had some stuff recently that cannot be had or is on serious back order from germany). soooo i'll add the element to my pelican project list and do it all in one shot i guess.

 

My cigarette lighter is stuck in the down position. If I try to pull up on it, the entire lighter assembly comes out about halfway, but the heating element stays locked in the down position.

Anybody know how to get it out of there, before I break everything?

 

NAPA carries a lighted replacement lighter. You need to change the plug. It tightens from the back.

 

Mine came out the other day so I took it to the dealer & they said all they did to put it back was to spread the 2 metal pieces further apart. Maybe this helps?

 

When the car is off, pull it out until it stops. Then you can hold the bottom part while pulling on the lighter and it should come loose.

Have you tried sticking something in between the stuck part to try and pry it back up? That might work also.

 

I just went thru this myself, and I thought I would add to this thread.

The way this all goes together is that part 1 and part 2 does insert from the top side of the shift console, but part 5 has to be added from underneath the shift console. Once part 5 has been added, you can no longer remove parts 1 and 2 from the top side. So, basically, one has to remove the shift console in order to replace a burnt out light bulb.

When you remove the shift console, and examine the lighter assembly from underneath, there is a single wire running to a light bulb socket. Please note that the light bulb socket is not shown in the diagram. However, the bulb plugs into the socket, and the socket plugs into part 5. To remove the socket from part 5, just pull.

After inserting the new bulb into the socket, and you go to plug the socket back into part 5, make sure that you face the ground connection on part 5 toward the lighter assembly. If not, the new bulb will not work because it does not have any ground connection.

As to the bulb, it is a general MINI and BMW part number 63217167000. I have also found you can get it a local auto supply store as a Sylvania part number 2721-LL. Now, the Sylvania package describes the bulb as a "6.5v 9.8W". However, the bulb inside the package itself is marked as "12v 1.2W" and that is exactly the bulb you need. I have no idea why there is such a discrepancy, but there is.

After you are done, the orange ring around the lighter should once again glow when you have your lights on.