I purchased the complete OEM halogen driving light kit for my 2019 Countryman with LED headlights. The lights, the harness, the button for the dash, and the extra module needed to work with the LED headlights.
What I do not like is that they only work with the high beams. I live in the 4th largest city in the USA so I never need my high beams. But we get some insane rain/hurricanes/floods and I just want to make sure that I'm seen by others. This is the same reason I use my fog lights. So that said, there HAS to be a way to wire these up to work at any time. Seems to me like you would just need to tap into an ignition controlled power source rather than all the craziness that seems to be involved with the MINI harness and high beams module.

The wiring harness starts at the lights, runs towards the windshield and connects to a couple of grounds, then into the passenger kick panel area where it plugs into various body control module connections.
Has anyone wired these things up to work the way I want instead? I'd even purchase a different/simpler harness if that's what it took.

I already have the lights mounted but after looking at the instructions I decided I would just have MINI do it at some point. But I'm in no rush since I'd never have them on anyway, the way they are supposed to be wired up!!!

Any guidance would be appreciated.

 

What you want to do is probably illegal in Tx so I doubt your MINI dealer would be willing to do it. If you're willing (and able) to DIY it, it's certainly possible. One way would be to get power from your cigarette lighter and run it thru your driving light switch to a relay (purchased at any auto parts store) . The relay (when triggered) would allow you to get your power from the underhood fuse box (large red wire in the back of the fuse box) thru an inline fuse on to your driving lights. I suggest a relay because I doubt that the cig lighter circuit could handle the amperage required by the lights. This method would allow you to turn on your driving lights anytime the ignition is on. You can aim the driving lights down slightly to avoid blinding oncoming traffic.Draw a wiring diagram first so you can visualize how this would work. Good luck.

 

Ya, even if it was legal, i highly doubt the dealership would do anything other than what MINI instructs due to liability issues.

 

I am also going to play the "don't do it" card. The OEM driving lights are designed with a pencil beam for additional high beam lighting. Running them with fog lights or low beam headlights would certainly not be kind to other drivers on the road. If you want to run them independent, please get fog beam lights.

All that being said, you can certainly do whatever you want. All it would take on your part for installation is to understand the wiring diagram and see where the relay trigger is coming from. Find a new location for the relay trigger, wire it to your switch, and you have instant control over the lights.

 

+1

 

OK then... show me some fog lights that mount just like rally lights.

 

Dennis

Please don't do it, mainly out of respect for other drivers.
and
it will fail annual inspection in most states
along with tinted windows it will attract unwanted attention from.....

There is a very much simpler way of wiring driving lights that will give you complete & legal control.
Any auto electrician can do for a lot less $$$ than a MINI dealer will charge.
Sell the OEM harness to pay for it.

By the way, your OEM fog lights should only work with low beam headlights, so you won't be achieving what you think you are anyway.

PS I hope your rear lights are not tinted because that entirely defeats your high-visibility goal.

 

Wut? I'm not understanding this part. What is the simpler way?

And yes, I know the fog lights only work with low beams. My high beams are never on. For the exact same reasons of blinding other drivers.

As to the "other drivers" comments, I don't think anyone is listening.
They would ONLY be used in hurricane like conditions, which we have a lot of here. Terrible visibility situations in which I want to be as visible as possible. And the lights are on brackets that allow me to basically point them to the floor. They would be not be directed in anyone's eyes.
I get it. I understand the issue and your concerns. And I have no intention of using them in any way that would be dangerous or offensive to other drivers.

Now the beam pattern mentioned earlier is a good point. 15 degree is less than ideal for what I'm looking for. So if there is a different light with a wider pattern, I'm all ears.

 

As someone previously mentioned, you just need to replace the "hi-beams only switched hot" to a "constant hot" that powers the driving/fog light relay. Then anytime you press the button, they will come on.

 

I considered that but I wanted to make sure they only came on when the ignition was on; otherwise you run the risk of forgetting to turn them off and draining your battery. If the OP wants to run fog lights instead of his oem driving lights there of plenty of aftermarket fog lights he can buy to replace the driving lights. The oem fog lights (in the same housing as the front parking lights) are pretty bright and can be wired to run anytime the low beams are on.

 

Yes, switched power.

And to be clear, I would want a foglight-like beam pattern. Mounted in the same place on the same/similar brackets as the driving lights.
I already have the standard oem fog lights and they already work (with their own button) when the standard headlights are on.

 

double post

 

Here you go

 

Cravenspeed.com. Going to buy them and install next week. Look at the pdf instructions. They are a lot "safer" than jacked-up pickups with LED headlights and light bars.

 

If you want the rally light look for visibility to other drivers, get these:
https://store.ijdmtoy.com/products/l...884bf36e&_ss=r

 

I believe OP says he's already mounted the lights but has not done the wiring .... I'll skip the 'should you' discussion. The OE kit has always been overly complicated IMO having installed my first set of these on an early GEN1 WAY back .... the complications are to be 50 state legal however

I'd even purchase a different/simpler harness if that's what it took. This would be the easiest way ....

You can get a simple wiring kit at most any parts store for around $15 and simply put in an on off switch.

The basic goal is:



you could buy all the parts at Radio Shack (if you can find one) for under $10 . . . there are many variations to this simple diagram but in general DO use a relay (the box with numbers in the diagram) how you run the power into the switch is your basic control ... This diagram lets the lights be on 'any time'. get the power to terminal 86 from a 'switched' line to prevent having the lights left on with ignition off ('legal' installs get this power from a 'high beam power or signal' which means the lights ONLY come on when high beams are on)

if you have questions feel free to PM ... I've installed many sets both OE kits (GEN1) and generic . . .

 

I agree, Cap'n!

Hella do a complete wiring loom, relay & switch for about $15. A fuse & crimp connectors are the only other items needed.

I'd make one change to the schematic - connect the black wire on the right to a switched 12V circuit - the cigar lighter is a good place.
OR connect it to the high beam wire behind the bulb for total legality.

The benefit is you do not involve the car electronics/computers at all.
Install should take about one hour.

 

Thanks all!
Still need to decide if I should keep the OEM lights or sell and get something different.
I don't care for the multiple led look of the ijdmtoy example posted above. Otherwise that would have been a good option.
I also don't want them to be too big. The OEMs are the perfect size. The Hella's look too big.
PIAA's 540 seems to be the best option so far... might be able to fit them to the brackets I already have installed.

 

PIAA leds mounted on CravenSpeed Aux brackets. Uses the PIAA stand alone wiring harness and can be switched on independent of the MINIs headlights.

I've installed some of those Hella 500 lights and to be honest.. they're not of very good quality and the light output is mediocre at best. If they are just for looks, then they're just fine.

 

Steve, what model are those?

 

They're PIAA LP550 led white driving beam kit (item #: 05572). I added the yellow film.

 

Is there a comparison somewhere that shows the difference in output of the PIAA vs. MINI OEM halogen DL's?

 

I haven't come across any comparisons like that in my research.

 

Found this out, the PIAA LP550 come in two beam/power choices. It appears that one is SAE approved (street legal) for oncoming traffic and another that is night "driving beam" bright. Same price, different wattages. I remember finding that the SAE one is around 7W LED. Useless.
The ijdmtoy ones are 9 LEDs @3 W =27 watts each. Could not find the MINI oem wattage and would guess around the S/JCW driving lights on the lower front fender-not much. So if one could get the Cravenspeed kit with the actual "driving beam" (high) for the 399.00, it would be the way to go. The switch and relay numbers are the same for both PIAA's.

 

The bulbs are quite likely the same, 55W H1 or 2 or 3, so the light output will be similar.
But it's the reflector & lens design that determines how that light gets used & where that light goes - ie, how much actual use it is.
I'd put Cibie, PIAA & Hella top of my list, MINI/Wipac would be some distance behind.