It doesn't look like it's going to get to happen this year, but I wanted to put a Christmas wreath on the front of both our MINIs (1 is 2006, the other 2008). And I have some lights to use that are wired up to run on a 12-15V circuit. The problem is where to plug them in. I'd like to keep the wiring under the bonnet. And I want it to be on a switched circuit so they don't draw the battery down. Anyone have a location I can get switched power under the bonnet?

I've looked at the engine fuse box on my 2008 and there are several open spots, but I suspect they are probably always on circuits. Anyway, this has now become a long term project as it's not going to happen until 2009 for the lights portion of the project.

 

if they are LED lights then you could probably just connect to the parking light circuit and the when the lights are on the wreath is on.

If they are regular bulbs then that may overload the circuit.

 

you could always just wire straight to the battery and place an in-line switch behind the wreath.
If you dont mind a bit more work and exspense, you could use a relay switch and tap into the headlight. So, when you turned on the headlight it would trip the relay and turn on the wreath using power from the battery terminal.