Does anyone know how to take apart the handle so you can access the license plate light? I need to get to the wiring. There are 4 screws that hold the plastic piece there but I'm afraid to yank on it too hard because I don't want to break anything.

I've also looked on the inside and taken out the screws that hold the big plastic piece to the boot but there are some strange clips that are holding that on there as well.

I'm in a time crunch for MITM so any suggestions or diagrams would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

I have but I don't think I have any photos. I do remember it being mostly straightforward. Removing the screws should let you pull the handle off pretty easily. The inside plastic may have clips that you just pull on. I ran a wire for my rear plate-mounted lidar tranceiver through everything and a small hole I drilled next to the plate light.

 

look in the DIY for the rear back-up camera install details. The camera goes where you want to work so all the details are in there....

Matt

 

I remember it being very easy, though I had to remove the inside liner for the boot door to entirely remove the boot handle.

 

Thanks for the replies everyone. I checked out the DIY at motoringfile and it tells me that I need to remove a lot of stuff but it doesn't tell me how hehe. Removing the stuff is part of the prep work then it goes directly into installing the camera.

jw: Is the outside handle attached to the boot by just those 4 screws? How does that boot handle come off? Pull up, down, straight out? Is it sealed to the boot with some sealant?

agro: I just need to access the wiring for the license plate light so I can splice it and attach the led wires from the license plate frame. Would I need to get at the boot handle from the inside still? How does that boot handle come off? Pull up, down, straight out? Is it sealed to the boot with some sealant?

Thanks for the help.

 

It's been about 1 1/2 years since I swapped out my boot handle. I'll bring my Haynes manual to MITM if you want.
From memory, the only reason I needed to get inside the boot door was to be able to unplug the wiring for the handle switch, though I may be mistaken.
It was not actually SEALED to the boot lid, but there was some foam stuff protecting the paint. That has a sticky side and was attached to the handle.

 

Was the foam replaceable? I know I'm going to screw it up somehow so I'm just trying to plan on things I need to replace hehe. What would you suggest for replacement foam?

That would be great if you can bring the manual in case I chicken out and decide to break the handle in front of others instead of alone in the garage where no one can sympathize with me or laugh at me hehe.

 

I assume you can buy it from a dealer, I just was careful when I took it off (only tore it in 1 place) and re-used it. I only removed it from the handle because I was sending the handle away to be painted. I'll throw the manuel in the car tonight.

 

Let's pray to the MINI gods and keep your fingers crossed. I'll try to be gentle and hope SPOON doesn't fight too much. He might think it's barbaric to take him apart like this but it's for his own good hehe.

 

Took off the boot handle and put it back on. I have no clue which colored wire is which hehe. I was kind of disappointed in the foam thing. It didn't stick to the car at all. It's just there. I guess there was just a bit of dirt or condensation holding the foam on there so it seemed like it was stuck on there or something. Not sure if that's normal but oh well. I'm not complaining.

Anyone know what the different colored wires are? There are two grey with a yellow stripe, a brown with a red stripe and a grey with a brown stripe.

I might just wait til MITM anyway but it would be nice to know just in case. I doubt I'll have time to put this together before.

Thanks all.

 

Sorry. I'm colour-blind. They're all grey to me.

 

hehe. no worries.

 

I got back from MITM yesterday. Didn't see you there, though the Haynes manual was in the boot of the car for the whole trip.

 

Sorry about that. I finally realized who you were at Saturday night's dinner when Jonathan introduced you but I figure it was too late to try and do anything by that point in time. Again, sorry for the inconvenience. I think I'm just going to return the license plate frame and forget about it. It seems like there are way too many wires in there for me to mess with. With my luck I would mess it up somehow.

 

Yes, If I remember right it has a foam gasket. It's held in place by the tightened boot handle.