There have been mods available that will make a 05/06 rear fog operate as either an extra brake light or an extra backup light. Now I have modded my 2006 MCC to do it all with a single light assembly in the bumper. The same fog light is performing all the functions in these photos:

Off


Backup


Brakes


Rear Fog (running lights also turned on; necessary to turn on the rear fog)


The idea behind the mod is really very simple. My bumper light has both a red lamp (for brake and rear fog) and a white lamp (for backup). I used a clear (2004 backup) lens assembly and hooked it up to the backup lights in the taillights. This makes it operate as a third backup light. Then I added a red lamp to the enclosure and connected it to the factory rear fog harness, and I applied mini-roll's mod that makes the factory harness operate as both a rear fog and extra brake light. The end result is a single enclosure that lights up both red and white, and performs all the functions: brakes, backup, and rear fog.

Here is what I did. Hardcore DIYers can assemble all the components separately, but I used mini-rolls' kits from MyMiniParts to make the project easier.

My 2006 MCC came without the rear fog option, so it had only the rubber plug in the bumper, but it was prewired for a rear fog light. I started with mini-rolls' 2005 Backup Light Kit: http://www.minspeed.net/MMBUL.htm


This kit includes a clear lens assembly for the bumper, and a jumper wire. The instructions describe how to connect the jumper to make the factory rear fog harness function as either an additional backup or brake light. I installed the jumper for a brake light.

I also purchased mini-rolls' Brake/Backup Light Harness Kit: http://www.minspeed.net/BBLH.htm


This is simply a two-wire harness with connector, to run from a taillight to the fog light fixture. I quick-spliced the wires to the backup light in the taillight. The connector will be plugged into the bulb of the clear lens assembly. After installing both kits, the result is that there two wire harnesses going to the rear fog location. One harness (the new added harness) is to connect to a white lamp (backup), and the other harness (the factory rear fog harness) is to connect to a red lamp (brake and rear fog).

Next is to add a red lamp to the clear lens enclosure. I discovered a flat LED lamp that is compatible with a 1156 bulb (the type used in the rear fog):
http://www.superbrightleds.com/other_bulbs.htm. Scroll down to the item "12VDC 1156/T10 PCB LED Lamp". I purchased the 1156 Red lamp for $10. The lamp is a 36-LED array that looks white but lights up red. Here is the light assembly and LED lamp:




I cut a square hole of about 38 mm into the top (the flat side) of the enclosure.

I made the hole just large enough that all of the LEDs fit through, but the edges of the circuit board overhang the sides of the hole.

I don't have pictures for the next few steps. The LED lamp needs to be connected to the factory rear fog harness, but it should be unpluggable for service (such as removing the rear bumper). On the factory rear fog harness, use quick-splice connectors to get an extra set of wires coming off of it, for connecting to the LED. On the LED lamp, cut off the 1156 bulb plug, and extend the wires so you have more length to work with. Then attach connectors to the wires (I used tongue shaped "quick disconnect" connectors) that allow you to plug and unplug the LED from the factory harness.

The final step is to glue the LED circuit board to the hole in the light assembly, and protect its back with something such as vinyl tape. My final result looks a bit messy, but the back of the LED lamp is sealed and protected.


This setup produces good light from the red LED lamp, though not anywhere nearly as bright as the OEM rear fog. LED light is very directional, and its light should be directly aimed at the viewer for greatest intensity. Although this lamp has 36 LED elements, they are all pointing down and all of its light coming out is reflected, not direct. With the brake lights activated and viewed from straight back, it is similar brightness to the 3rd brake light over the tailgate (which is also LED).

I think I have taken the project as far as I want to, but there are some possibilities for a brighter red light. However, the goal should not be to match the brightness of the OEM rear fog, which would be glaringly bright as an additional brake light. Mounting the LED lamp at the bottom surface of the light enclosure might make it appear brighter because some of the light might possibly be directly viewed. I mounted mine on top because it is a flat surface (a little easier to work with), and there seemed to be less potential for any clearance problems when sliding the light assembly in and out of the bumper. It may be possible to mount LED lamps on both top and bottom for a whopping total of 72 LED elements, which should produce a very bright red light. However, adding the LED lamps effectively makes the light assembly thicker in size. With LED lamps mounted on both top and bottom, I'm not sure whether it would would have clearance to slide in and out of the hole in the bumper (but it should be easy to trim the inner flange of the hole that is visible in the photo).

This was one of my earliest mods on my MCC, and at the time I had minimal experience working on the car. The project simply started out as an idea with uncertain outcome, and I'm thrilled (and I must admit a bit surprised) that it actually worked so well.

Edit: This was originally posted in 2006. Most of the links went dead many years ago. This project can be done better and more easily with newer LED products now available.

 

Very, nice work !! Great thinking, I had never seen that 1156 led board.. great idea !!

 

Outstanding!! How much would you say that this project cost, minus your labor?

 

RKW - Nice job.. good to see the usage of the kits like this. You have taken it to the next level. I have both lights and swap them them out when I want the change. I like it.

 

Thanks for the compliment, mini-rolls!

My costs were about $60:
Red LED lamp, $15 shipped
MyMiniParts kits, $25 + $14 + shipping
"quick disconnect" connectors, $3

The mod can be done fully DIY without the kits by purchasing a 2004 backup light from the dealer, additional connectors, and a diode. I figure this would drop the total cost to about $35 to $40. So you could save up to $25 if you are a hardcore DIYer or want to do it for the least cost. You would save some money but it's not a great amount. I think the cost of the kits are worth it for the convenience and quality of the parts.

 

That is just SLICK!!!

Great mod! Original thinking!

Rawhyde

 

Great mod indeed. Congrats!

I also did a lil something different. Its been working out for 3 weeks with no problem so I'll be posting soon.

 

Correct me if I'm mistaken, but this mod does not provide any rear fog light ability. So, if someone already has the rear fog, they would lose that ability in order to gain the reverse and brake lights.

Even if it retains fog light function, I would expect that the LED lights are not as bright as the OEM rear fog, so it would be less effective as a fog light anyway.

Not putting the mod down, it's very cool... especially for those who don't have the rear fog light in the first place!

 

The red lamp in my mod is wired to light up if either the brake or rear fog is activated. This is the same as mini-roll's mod which has been available for some time, except that in my case the red lamp is replaced with LED.

The LED's are certainly not as bright as the very bright factory rear fog. It is similar brightness to the third brake light on my cabrio. But as I noted, there are possibilities to make it brighter with different LED configuration.

 

OOOOOO thats clever! Very nice!

 

real nice

 

That's awsome mod!

 

Nice mod,original thinking.

 

You also mentioned in the first post, that you were having the dealer acivate your rear fog. Have you done that? Did it work? How do you activate it? Did you have to get a new toggle switch section put in for the rear fog toggle? ( assuming that is how you are activating it). I ask because I REALLY like this mode and want to add it to my '05 MC.

 

No, I haven't done it yet. I won't make a special trip to the dealer just for this; I will have the rear fog activated when I bring in the car for regular service or warranty repair. I already purchased a new toggle panel and installed it myself, but the dealer must activate the rear fog function in the computer before it will start working.

 

A couple of questions. I installed the red light for use as a 4th brake light on my 2005 MCS. How did you run your light up to the brake light? Can you show a pic of this? The other is that the switch panel is $60 bucks. Did you find a cheaper one or pay the dealer price? The dealer quoted me .5 hr for the software to turn the switch on. Thats 50-$60 also $120 for a fog light is a little steep . Any cheaper solutions ? Won't the circuit backfeed to your brake lights with the fog light illuminated? Just questions no answers .

Jessminis

 

This is what my kit does, it has a diode buit into the wire to not allow backflow of electical power from the rear foglight (when it is enabled and turned on) to the brake lights. If you have the plug at the lower light you just need the jumper assembly to enable it as a brake light.

 

If your car didn't come with rear fogs from the factory, the retrofit is not a small expense. My toggle switch panel from Classic MINI was $120 (MSRP $150). I heard that the panel used to cost half that amount, and the price jumped up 4 to 5 months ago. Dealer programming will take only 5 minutes, but they typically charge a minimum unit of half hour. For myself, the total might come close to $200 to retrofit the rear fog function.

However if you don't want to spend that much, my mega mod does not require the rear fog function. Even if your car does not have the switch panel and dealer programming, my mod would still provide you with an extra brake and backup light, and the total cost would be about $60 (or less if you don't use the pre-packaged kits).

The kit I listed provides the necessary parts and instructions for brake light hookup. There are no additional requirements.

 

Great Idea - Great Write-up - Great work !!

 

When I first reported on my mod, I had created and installed it but my rear fog still wasn't activated yet. My mod performed the brake and backup light functions correctly but I couldn't confirm that the rear fog would also work. I finally had enough reasons to take my car to the dealer, and my rear fog is now activated (I already installed the full toggle panel). I'm happy to report that my mod does handle the rear fog feature correctly, and I can finally confirm that my mod fully works and performs all its functions.

However, imagine what it was like when I was trying to explain this to the Service Advisor... "I want you to activate the rear fog, but nevermind that you see a clear light fixture installed, it's actually going to light up red...". At first he wasn't sure that they wanted to deal with a modded component, but it was okay in the end.

Here are new photos (I also updated the initial post at start of the thread). These were taken without flash within a span of a few minutes and with the same exposure setting, so you can compare relative brightnesses.

Off


Backup


Brakes


Rear Fog (running lights also turned on; necessary to turn on the rear fog)

 

Cool mod

 

Nice work

 

Very glad to hear the mod works in all three modes! I plan to do the same for my cooper also. Thanks for the update

 

That looks great! I am debating doing this too. I want the clear fog light since i am trying to remove all the red from my car. I have a factory fog light now, so I guess it would not be as bright, but I would have the gained functionality.

 

If your primary goal is to remove red and you don't care as much about the added function, the easiest thing to do is get an '04 backup light from the dealer ($10-$12) and replace the clear bulb with a red one. You can get a silvered bulb that lights up red, so it won't show through the clear lens.