(As many of you know I can't figure out how to imbed the photos. But the complete .pdf is at the bottom and I compressed it to make it easy to download! Sorry!)

Hey NAM,

I mentioned in my introduction on Howard that there was a minor goof up at the factory (again NO fault of Rasmussen MINI.) It was intended to come with the clear rear signals not the yellow. Plus in Oregon we are unable to get rear fog lamps. No reason to get cranky, just pick up the phone to the parts dept, wait anxiously for the delivery, grab some tools and a camera and head to the garage. (BTW: I will try to improve on the ‘after’ photos later this week. They didn’t turn out as dramatic here as they are in person. Sorry!)

Before getting started I wanted to mention that I feel this mod is both aesthetically pleasing, but inexpensive all things considered. Unlike adding leather or MSFW after delivery, this is pretty cheap. The foglamps were $60 total for the pair (doesn’t include switch but I have something else planned) and the complete tail lamp set was only $220. Since the line item for the tail lamps is $100+, and $100+ for the fog lamps this seemed like a bargain. Plus I get to keep the yellow lens taillamps as a bonus. (Never know when you need a set, or sell them to a fellow NAM member, who knows!) For me I want the entire car to be nothing externally other than silver, chrome, black and red. No yellow for me! Plus the foglamps below the bumper add a proper splash of color.

On to the project. First the foglamps:

This is a two minute job. Simply lay on the ground, reach up and using a hand on the out side of the bumper and using a flat head screw driver, remove the plastic delete plates on both sides. Then simply press in the foglamp as an assembly from the outside. This requires a more than fair amount of effort to get it to snap in. If you are lucky enough to have the factory wiring present in the car, it will be taped to the under carriage. Simply plug it into each lamp and proceed to installing the new switch panel in the center stack. (Since I am not doing that, I won’t be depicting that here. Good luck!) I am going to show the wiring involved for my special mod on another day. More on that later.

Now on to the taillamps!

These are pretty easy but more involved vs. the foglamps.

You first need to remove the taillamp bezel. (This seemed counter intuitive to me. I spent a bunch of time inside the car, trying to feel around for fasteners. If I had been using my bean I would have looked at the new taillamp in greater details first! Stupid me!)

To get it off, I used a 90 deg pick. Working from the taillamp side not the body side turn the sharp side of the pick under the bezel. Then gently push toward the body side. I started at the top on one side and tried the middle on the other side. Definitely start from the top. The center has too much tension unless the top portion is released.

Now here is how it looks when it is removed.

Then simply loosen and remove the three torx head screws that secure the lamp. Then working from in here with your hand:

release the plastic retaining tab. These are located at the top and bottom and they are HUGE so you can’t miss them.

Once the lamp is free from the body, simply disconnect the wire harness from the top of the lamp.

Installation is the reverse of the removal. Easy, easy.

One little flair I did was to again make EVERYTHING red or clear, I removed the yellow bulb that was supplied with the clear lens taillamp and replaced it with the clear bulb that came with the original yellow lensed taillamp. (Did you follow that? As I re-read it seems less than clear! Get it clear! HAHAHAHAHAH!) Anyway, this way you get NO yellow or amber traces in the lens when you look into it. Now I in no way represent that this is legal or illegal in your state, or even my state. But I love the way it looks!

I didn’t have time to do it today, but I am going to now tie the turn signal into the rear fog lamps. I originally intended to make it an additional running lamp, but it turned out to be FAR too bright and would certainly have invoked a ticket! I will show how to wire this up soon.

Thanks again! Happy Motoring!

 

If I followed correctly, your rear turn signals light up white? How about using stealth (silvered) bulbs that light up orange when lit but don't look orange when unlit? That is the usual way to eliminate orange behind clear lenses. Also you might consider tying the fogs to the brakes rather than the turn signals. This type of mod has been done for the '05-'06 rear fog and the color would be correct.

 

rkw: That is correct! I didn't have any of the bulbs around the house, but I might try to find some this week. That is an excellent idea. I thought about adding the fogs to the brake circuit, but I am more exctied for some reason to tie them to the signals. Who knows. I will let everyone know when I am done what and how it worked out. Thanks again!

 

BUMP! Someone today called me and couldn't find it!

 

So from reading this, you're saying that the OEM tali light signal is yellow.. and in order for it to be red/clear you just have to find a bulb that is clear??

 

Thanks for asking! I would be happy to help, but I MUST be missing something.

Can you re-state what you are trying to do, the setup you have and then I can help to get you the info you need!

Thanks!

 

I read your DIY, and it said something about about switching the amber out to make it red/clear?


basically my question is, how did you make it red/clear?

 

Oh K. On the taillamps. When you switch to the clear turn signal version they include an amber bulb. I switched mine to regular clear bulbs. So they blinked clear as well.

Hope that helps!

 

Oh, so all youre saying is that you just switched the amber turn signal to a clear one and BAM its red/clear?

 

You can buy new taillamps for about $60 ea from the dealer. Just replace them and use the clear bulb and you have red/clear.

Hope that helps!

 

Where can I get the clear bulb? and which bulb is it?

 

Its the stock bulb behind the amber lens. Nothing special.

 

Used these instructions to remove my tail lights and they worked great. Thanks for putting this together!

 

NP! Glad that worked out for you. Have a GREAT weekend!

Adam
ALTA Performance