Has anyone added Fog lights to a regular Gen 1 Mini that came without them ?
Into the stock locations ?
Is the wiring there but unused ?

 

i did

nope, you need to get a entirely new harness... tat's why i went with an aftermarket PIAA 004X on my car, there's light spread behind the bumper to the rad grille, but it looks alright... eventually i am planning to put some tubing there so at least all the lights point forward

 

I've added the factory lights to the factory locations after the fact on a fellow NAMers car, we used the factory wiring harness you have to add for it.

I've added aftermarket driving lights and have plans to make a seperate bracket and will likely use a separate harness although I believe the factory one could be used, I dont see the advantage being as great with the cost of the switch bank and programming.

 

I am asking because I see the OEM fogs for sale on eBay for about $80 a pair. Not worried about the wiring harness, I will just power them from the battery through a relay........no programming required.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...MEWA:IT&ih=001

I was wondering if the fog light mounts are in the MINI that these screw up to.

 

My MINI didn't come with fogs, and I installed the OEM retrofit kit. The car does not come prewired for front fogs, and it is a fairly involved project to install the harnesses. See the instructions here: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...t_Retrofit.pdf

Here's a thread on the topic: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=33918

 

Yes, if those are exactly like OEM fitment, they should just screw onto mounting points already on the car.

 

Hey, Thanks so much for the link that helps a bunch !

I will skip the factory harness. I want the fogs on with the lows all the time anyway so I will just use a relay......have done it many times.

 

Thanks for the info, nice to know the mount points are already there

 

The factory fogs are pretty useless, imo.

 

On a side note (or thread hijack at the case may be), can you wire a second set of fogs into the same circuit and switch as the factory ones without to much hacking on the wiring (ie to avoid warranty issues)?

 

Yes.
Use a relay and connect the trigger lead to the hot lead on the factory fogs. If you don't use a switch and leave the circuit hot, the factory fogs will trigger the aftermarket fogs also. You could also add a switch and leave it on, as long as the trigger for the relay is the factory fogs is used the aftermarkets will come on with them.
I ended up tapping into the side marker light for the trigger and then using a switch on the console where the mirror adjustment switch is.

 

Hella for me

 

Yes those look and work great
But the Mini is my wife's DD and she doesn't want any "big lights" as she puts it.
I am just looking at a clean way to get more light on the road for her DD.

Thanks,

 

For what this is worth. I have the factory installed fogs on my MCS. I bought them, because I thought they'd do something, like help me see. To my eyes they don't help much & retrofitting a set seems like a whole lot of work for very little gain.

Just my .02 here.

dale those Hella's look great. Very nice install.

 

Looks likea pretty simple install......four screws per light into existing mounts. I will skip the factory harness. I want the fogs on with the lows all the time anyway so I will just use a relay......have done it many times.

 

my mini with new lamps

 

If you haven't done the install how would you know?

I did it with a fellow MINIac in half an afternoon and his car was at the dealer for 30 min getting programmed (while they fixed a warranty issue for him anyways) and another 10min when we had to tighten up a connection after programming. So thats a mere 40min of additional time beyond the install of aftermarket fogs. The OP isn't doing the factory wiring which was the bulk of the install hassle, and will likely save time and effort and even possibly $$ not having to add their own mounts as a result.

As far as gain it could be anything from looks to wanting some fog help but remaining OEM to simply having some light in a different beam pattern.

You should have a very simple install then as the mounts will be there for you. Remove the plastic gromits and pull the wheel well and wheelsfor easiest acess. I suspect I would bemaybe one to two hours (including time making your wiring) for a compent DIYer which you sound like.

 

Wow!!! You are my hero....

 

So, the final verdict on this is what? I was looking at the OEM fogs on EBay too. If you don't wire them to the factory switch, then the wiring is just like an aftermarket lights, right?

I can just put them through to a switch, right?

 

Yes you could install them & run your own harness for them.

Don't worry if I'm wrong about that someone will tell me.

Even if I ain't wrong.

 

Were did you get those covers?

 

Here' where I bought mine......

http://www.rallylights.com/hella/500.asp

 

Yes, or wire them through a relay triggered by say your side marker lights....depends on how often you want them on

 

OK, so factory fogs aren't all that great. I still want to upgrade the lighting but love the clean look of the factory switches. How hard are they to come by? Any idea on pricing? Can you wire the switch up with crimp connectors?

 

Here's my version, PIAA Ion 540's. They throw a lot of light and I really like them. I wired them with the PIAA harness, etc. and placed the switch next to the OEM driving lights switch on the left knee bolster. As you can see I removed the OEMs ('coz they sucked).



And turned on......