Hello all. I'm going to the 4x light bar on the front of my R53. I will be wiring them to 2 toggle switches as I will have (center) driving lights, and (outer) amber fog lights. I don't want to mount the switches on the knee panel. (I see quite a few installations to the left of the steering wheel down low.) I'd like them to be accessible to my right hand (as all other functions are). I've considered mounting them in the dash, under the speedo. Really no good place in the center stack... Just looking for ideas and maybe some pictures of what others have done.

Thanks!
Tony

 

I am going to be doing a driving light install myself in the not too distant future (I am going to be mounting a pair of Hella 500s to the hood, like the factory option). I was thinking about mounting my switch up next to the left side air vent. Do you have heated seats? If not mounting the switches down by the mirror adjustment switch might be a good idea.

 

Aah! Good call on the heated seat location. It will be 2 switches, so 1 either side. I've looked under that little panel, and there's a bunch of plastic bracing or webbing under there. I think I'd want to get a wrecking yard switch panel to do it on. I may make a mess of it. Location wise, a really good idea! Thanks!

 

You also may be able to get switches which would be simlar to the heated seat switches.

 

Per Squirrel724's suggestion, I am installing the switches in the heated seat switch locations. I found some push button switches that fit nearly perfectly in that spot! They are snug, but I need to affix them a little better in their bores. (Hot glue? Epoxy? ... something.) They have removable pigtails that will make wiring a little easier. I am installing 2x Hella 500 amber fog lights (outside positions on a 4 position bar) and 2x Hella 500 black magic lights on the inside positions of the bar. I think it will come out really cool. The switches themselves are 16mm dia. One will light up yellow when fogs are activated and the other will light up blue (consistent with the indicator color for brights). Thanks for the idea Squirrel724!

 

Looks good! I installed a pair of Hella 500s on factory hood brackets. At the same time I also installed the storage tray from a 2005 or 2006 Cooper in front of the cupholders. I ended up mounting my switch into that tray and wiring the lights so that both the switch and my high beams need to be on for the lights to be on. What I do is when I take the covers off the lights I flip the switch on and then the lights turn on and off with my high beams. That way I don't have to remember to switch the lights off in addition to the high beams.

 

Looks Great! I like the idea of wiring my driving lights to come on only with the high beams. That's likely how I will go for the driving lights. I think I'll leave the fogs on their own circuit. I want them to be able to come on either on their own or with low beams. High beams (white) in fog / snow / heavy rain don't do great things for visibility.

 

That's perfect, that's how the OEM driving lights come on. Press the button to enable them, and then they come on only with high beams.

NevadaMini, can you please show us some more install pics as you progress, and/or the finished product? Would really like to see.

 

Absolutely happy to do so! I just found out I'm getting laid off from my job, so I'm going to have to put a freeze on the project until I know a little more about my financial future. (I'm sure it will be fine). I have the lights and all the solenoids and wiring. I need to draw it all out to make sense of the wiring, but that should not be tough. I just need to buy the light bar. I have my teeth set on a VIP bar both for positioning and ease of installation. It's $200 though. As soon as I get the installation going, I'll do my best to take plenty of photos and post here.

-Tony

 

Absolutely happy to do so! I just found off I'm getting laid off from my job, so I'm going to have to put a freeze on the project until I know a little more about my financial future. (I'm sure it will be fine). I have the lights and all the solenoids and wiring. I need to draw it all out to make sense of the wiring, but that should not be tough. I just need to buy the light bar. I have my teeth set on a VIP bar both for positioning and ease of installation. It's $200 though. As soon as I get the installation going, I'll do my best to take plenty of photos and post here.

-Tony