my MINI did not come factory with the lights in the grill i was curious if anyone has done this and what they did as far as wiring them?

 

Do you want the MINI brand lights, or something aftermarket like Hella, PIAA, etc?

I went with an aftermarket kit and wired it myself. I had to run the wires from the lights to the battery, and from the battery to the switch inside the car. If you buy an aftermarket set up that isn't MINIs, you can save a pretty good chunk of change doing the work yourself, but most likely it won't come out as "professional" looking as the OEM MINI kit (up for debate). I bought a little 55watt 4" pair of pilot lights at AutoZone which came with mounting brackets and all of the required wiring for $40. IMO it came out pretty clean. The jury is still out on its durability over the long haul but no complaints so far. If you go to the R56 Hatch Talk forum and click on the custom blackout driving lights thread I have a few pics up. Planning in doing a write up soon on the entire install process.

 

I was actually to get a set of factory MINI lights with brackets for a great deal i think. $75.00 they are used but the covers had never been off of them. The lady had them purely for looks. The only thing im missing is the wiring harness. Ive searched around an it seem everything i find comes in a kit. once i get the wires i have no doubt i can make it look good just gotta find a non-cheeseball switch to

 

That's an awesome deal! I would definitely pick those up if you haven't already. You might be able to order the wiring harness from your local dealer seeing as its the OEM kit, just need to find the part #. The MINI lights actually come with a really nice switch with trim pieces that match the MINIs interior (as far as I know).

So wait...are you getting JUST the lights or are you getting the lights, brackets, wiring kit, switch? If Its just the lights by themselves I dont know if $75 is a good deal....depends on how much it would cost to replaces everything else...

 

Im getting lights and the brackets no harness or switch. I know the lights alone are quite pricey then add brackets sold seperately its gets higher. I called my local dealer and they could really find anything and i dont have a part number to go by for the switch Im sure this is going to be a challenge but thats what makes it fun right?

 

Yeah those brackets alone are pretty pricey. I'd say go for it! I am not that familiar with the MINI brand lights, so someone else with some experience will have to chime in, but you shouldn't have any problems wiring them or finding a switch as long as you don't mind a more basic setup. Your local auto parts store should sell your basic positive/negative wires as well as a relay wire to run from the battery to your switch.

I really did enjoy installing my lights and doing the work myself. It gives you such a feeling of accomplishment when you get everything set up the way you like it. Good luck with your project!

 

Have you checked realoem.com for the part number?

 

Thanks alot for your help though ill figure something out for sure !

 

Just did i think i might be on to something now! exspensive though whew! looks like $90.00 for the wires and $60.00 for the button.

Butthanks im glad i have a site to finally refer to now

 

http://www.motoringfile.com/howto/Dr...Lights_902.pdf

Involved, but not too bad.

 

that actually helped alot its really not a superior set up more connector and realys than you might do yourself but other than that pretty plain now i gots a lot to think about

 

Will this wiring harness work on a 2nd Gen also? I hope so because the 2nd Gen lights and wiring harness are only sold together.

 

Oops, just noticed this is a 1st Gen area. So you may not know an answer to my question. Sorry.