If you are like me and did not purchase a new toggle switch panel for your older MINI and had your rear fogs enabled, here is how to modify the PCB to have the toggle switch illuminated.

This assumes you have previously installed the toggle switch with a lens, had the dealer enable rear fogs in the computer and now you would like the switch to light like the front fog switch does.

I won't go into a lot of detail here, because if you work with electrical components you'll know what to do with them. If not... you'll want a friend or someone you know who solders and know electronics.

You will need 2 surface mount components, a 1K Ohm resistor and a LED color of your choice. Both components get soldered onto the pads at locations shown in the pics. There is nothing else to do. The computer mod already applys +12v to one side of the resistor location. The LED in place completes the circuit to ground. The LED polarity mark is hard to see in the photo but it connects to the GND pad.

The photos attached show the locations to solder the resistor and LED. I was fortunate to have spare parts where I work to be able to add these components, otherwise, you might have to order from some place like DigiKey.com.

Good Luck.
As always... modifying your MINI could void your warranty.

 

Thanks for the for the LED foglight write up. I just did my free switch install. Took me about 15 minutes to do. The longest part was drilling out the hole to mount the switch. I found that one of my socket wrenches has a grooved handle like a file. That just happens to be the right size for the switch to fit through. I picked up a set of used switches for FREE from the dealer. I unsoldered one of the top row LEDs and the resistor to use to power the rear foglight led. I removed the rest of the compononents from the extra board.
I am wondering if I use one of the transistors and a resistor can I add another water fall led below the switches?

 

Yes.
See my weblog write-up and the detailed photo sequence in my Gallery

 

The waterfall lights are only on '05 and up mini's correct? i'm thinking about getting a new toggle pannel to activate the rear fogs, if I order the '05 toggle pannel for the rear fogs will it have the waterfall lights and will it work in my '04?

TJ

 

If by waterfall lights you mean the lighting of the cupholder area by two leds from the toggle switch panel, then no, they do exist in earlier years.
My '03 has the waterfall lights.

 

The '05 MINIs have "waterfall lights" which come down from the roof area - where the clock is on pre'05s.
But as said, ALL MINIs have the (very dim) lights shining below the toggle switch panel ... although the p/n changed for '05; I always wondered if that meant they are NOT there on '05 and later MINIs (replaced by the ones from the roof) ... can't check on GBMINI since I changed the switch panel for my older one with chrome rings!