If anyone has the above mentioned lights, would you mind posting a picture of your install? I'm thinking of installing a set of one, and would like to see what different lights look like. Thanks.

 

I don't have a picture or the lights yet, but I like the 500s because they are large and round and remind me of the Lucas Flamethrowers mounted on the older Minis.

Those will be the lights that I install. 2 driving lights and 2 amber fogs.

I know that there some people out there in MINI land that have them because I have seen pictures and seen them in real life.

JOHO

 

I have the Hella 500's mounted on my 02 MC and my new R56. here are a few images to give you an idea. BTW: I bought them at my local Autozone for $64.99 a pair. They need some special mounting mods, or you can get a light bar setup.

 

Here are the Hella's on my R56

 

no offence to those that posted above... but imo the hella 500's are far too big to mount any where but in the front lower grill. Mounting them up high brakes up the lines of the car too much.

http://outmotoring.com/mini_cooper_d..._brackets.html

these are the way I am going to mount my 500's and it's teh best and only way I have seen so far.

 

They may look great, but higher mounting points = more range (form following function). Lower would be better with foglights in thick fog, as it'd reduce glare.

My favorite mounts are these, as they're midway between and can probably be fabbed up at reasonable cost (our local West Marine has L brackets that'd work for ~$14... which is probably 4x too expensive but they're also heavily galvanized):
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=90038


(not my car - but thanks to Aeromax for the idea and the pic from his thread - hey - isn't that you, starter of this thread?)

I'm going that route when I get the lights... someday...

 

100% correct. Most folks care more about looks than function when it comes to driving lights.

 

Im still trying to connect my Hella 500 fogs and i kinda hit a wall when i was about to connect the switch without connecting the lights to the high beams.

does anyone have any experience hooking up these lights?

 

I am not sure how you are setting up your lights but I just followed the wiring diagram that came with my Hella's and they work like a charm. I have two sets with seperate switchs so each set can be turned on or off. When they are turned on they will come on with the high beams.

 

i followed the wiring diagram and when it came time to connect the yellow wire to the switch, i didnt know to which of the 3 metal connections i was supposed to connect it to, and then there was a green wire that was supposed to go from the switch to the high beams but i have no clue as to how to do that?

 

I just installed a pair of Hella 550s using the OutMotoring bracket ($46) a couple of weeks ago, I will take a photo when I get home. I mounted them in the upper grill just above the bumper and I think they look pretty good, like the blue cooper in post#3. As for function, I upgraded the bulbs to 100W and they throw a lot of light. Don't know if I will keep them or not, put them on for the Midnight on the Dragon run next week. As big as they are they do not stick out all that much and are off to the side enough not to inhibit airflow as everyone warns about, especially if you were to put them in the lower grill. Just my two cents, it is a personal thing and no real wrong way to go. I will say mine are not real practical, I use them with my high beams when nobody is in front of me-coming or going, as marked, definately for off-road use only and are bright as hell. I live in the country with more wildlife using the roads than cars so it can come in handy at times. Many posts on how to do install, very, very easy.

 

I used a electrical test lamp to find out which wire was hot when the high beams were on. I then used the supplied plastic tap to attach into the high beam wire. I will have to take a look later and try to give you more info if you think you need it.

 

Yeah I blew a fuse in the hella wiring harness because I couldn't figure out the 3 prong switch.

ISXE-MINI, does the lighted switch from hella light up when say your high beams are on? I think maybe I got a bad switch as it doesn't light up. (and i am using a ground wire too)

-Jay

 

My husband and some friends just put these Hella 500 driving and fogs on my '02. I don't have any pics of the install tho'....

 

Yes the switch should light up when the circuit is switched on and the high beams are on. If you think you have a bad switch you can get a similar switch and a replacement fuse at any Autozone. The wires coming out of the relay going to the swith should be yellow, green, and blue. The top contact should be yellow. the middle contact should be green, and the wire bottom contact of the switch should be blue which is the ground. My ground wire was routed back with the other wires into the engine compartment and solidly grounded on the hood. The wiring follows their diagram. Hope this helps. BTW:Jay, remember my installation is on a MC and the battery is in the engine compartment like the diagram from Hella, and my lights are driving lights and not fogs

 

So i got a question.......what if i dont want to hook the lights to the high beams, can i just leave the middle contact alone?

 

I am not sure if that will work as I think you would still need power from your lights (either high or low beam) to run through the relay. If you don't want them to work when the high beams are on you may have to tap into the low beam wire instead. This would mean they would be on whenever your lights were turned on and your switch was in the on position. The wiring would be the same except you would be tapped into the low beam line instead of the high beam line. With this set up your switch would control when you wanted the lights on. The actual light in the switch would come on when it was switch to the on position. This would be a typical set up for fogs instead of driving lights. I am not an electrical expert, but I hope this helps.

 

Thanks for your help , im going to try doing that with the low beam or with just the parking lights

 

I've always run mine using the parking lights. Running them without any other lights can result in a brain fart whereby YOU can see (using your headlights or driving lights) but your instruments aren't on, and the folks around you can't see you. Just check out GM's early attempts at "safety" with Daytime Running Lamps that did the same thing...

Use your circuit tester though and make sure you tap the right wire. Also good to weatherproof your connections (I actually take a tiny bit of insulation off, run the tap wire into the tapped wire, solder, tape, and shrink wrap or ziptie to keep the tape from unraveling, but then again I want the connection to last 10 years... several of them have - and then some! Removal is easy - clip the wire, tape, and shrink tube or ziptie.

 

Im guessing the green wire coming from the switch is the one that goes connected to the brown wire going to the parking light, is that correct?

 

Does the big round chrome part that the lights are mounted on come with the Hella 500 light kit?

 

No, that's a separate mini-specific mounting kit, don't know who sells 'em though, I used a light bar that's found on eBay, made by reddrockets:

 

I just got a pair of Hella 500 and dont really understand how to wire them. The instructions arent very good at all.

 

Can anyone tell me how to wore the hella 500 ?

 

http://www.mossmotoring.com/how-to-w...ingfog-lights/



this is the basic setup ... I'd add the following notes/comments

lug 30 of the relay is typically run directly to the battery, or a full power source ... this is the entire reason of running the relay, keeping full power away from the switch

I typically use a 2 pole switch so the 'ground' wire from the switch is eliminated. You just have a 12v power side and then output to relay lug 86 (this standard relay will have the lugs labeled ... they cost a few dollars at any parts store). Preferred source for the 12v power side of your switch is from a fused and SWITCHED circuit in the fuse box ... the cig' lighter works. This way the lights will only be ON if ignition is on. AND you already have a fuse on the line so adding one is not necessary. You can use an 'add a circuit' aka a fuse tap
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/b...ontent=5170038

all the parts you need only amount to a few dollars. most parts stores will have a packaged kit

http://www.4wd.com/Jeep-Lighting-Jee...FYc2gQodoocKdQ