Interior/Exterior :: Hella FF 200 (Comet 200 Chrome) Driving Light Install
 

I've been looking at these lights for awhile now (see link back on 01-04-2005) and stumbled across these lights the other day at a price that I thought couldn't be beat, so I snatched them up. They arrived today via FedEx and I jumped right on them and completed the install in about 3 hours.

http://www.hella.com/produktion/Hell..._Front_3_C.jpg

Although the box and website says for MINI Cooper, not the S, inside the box was an amendment saying they will work fine on all models of MINI, too include the S. Just to be sure, I "mocked" one up completely before doing any drilling and checked over all the hardware to insure it was going to work like I wanted it to. It did. :thumbsup:

I decided to replace some of the hardware that was supplied with the kit, primarily because it would have looked like crap! Hella sent some great stainless screws and bolts, but they were way too long and used tinnerman nuts to secure the bracket. Although that is an improvement over the rivets used on the OEM kit, they would have stuck through from the bottom of the grille and been very noticeable. I headed to Home Depot and picked up 4 cap screws (socket style 4mm x 12mm) and some cap nuts to mount the bracket. I also picked up a few 1/4" x 3/4" stainless cap screws and nylock locknuts to mount the light to the bracket. I filed down an "Allen wrench" to reach between the slats of the grille and hold the socket heads of the screws.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...b-DSCF0181.jpg

The brackets are very heavy duty and mount with the 2 cap screws and a clamp type fixture on the other end. The metric screws happen to be black which is an added bonus, since they almost disappear!

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ap-screw-1.jpg

By shortening the light mount bolt, I don't have to worry about damage to the upper bumper cover. The nylon insert locknuts will insure that they don't go anywhere.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...b-P1010004.jpg

I had a few feet of wire loom/wrap left over from the numerous airbag light-seatbelt repairs and it came in handy. I removed the hood soundproofing and used the wrap to hide and protect the wires.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...b-DSCF0199.jpg

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...b-DSCF0193.jpg

Here is the finished product.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...b-DSCF0196.jpg

As some of you might now, this system doesn't come with a switch. The relay is tied into the high beam wire and the driving lights come on whenever the high beams are on. Since they are almost "always on" I opted for the grille style cover so I don't have to remove them to use the lights. It can very easily be modified to incorporate a switch like the OEM system, but I like them this way. They are very stable at any RPM above idle and really light up the night, which around here is needed!

Nice product!

VERY NICE POST

Excellent Pics and how to.

They look GREAT

BTW, the mounting piece that goes to the bracket is meant to be painted ... if you want.

You notice how they are oval and not round like the PIAAs?

BTW, you do realize you could have went for the gold and got the same FF200s in xenon? Would have cost a few pennies more but imagine those babies in Xenon! https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...s/NAMsmile.gif

Nice job! Yep, these are the same rally lights that Moss sells. I cracked one of my lights a few months back, and bought a replacement off ebay. Got 2 lights for less than the cost of a single replacement. But it also turned out that the housing wasn't chrome like it was in the picture and what the seller said it was. They are easy enough to disassemble though, should the lens ever break.

As for Xenons--they don't come in Chrome--or this tear dropped shape as far as I know.

Yep, they do. See http://www.hella.com/produktion/Hell...F200_Xenon.jsp

For pricing see http://www.rallylights.com/hella/ff200.asp

But, its not clear they are chrome. You can get chrome fogs.

However, the standard FF200 come in that grey plastic which is meant to be painted although if its up on the grille, not sure what color you might want it,

Thanks!

Yup, I noticed they are oval (5 & 5/8" x 5") I like them much more then the PIAAs. Not that those are bad, or any other driving light for that matter, I just didn't want a large "Dinner Plate" light out there! :lol:

I got these for $169 from eBay and even if I had the $700+ for the xenons I think I could find better ways to spend it, like an ECU mod. :thumbsup:

Here are a few more shots from today, better lighting & no rain :roll:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...b-DSCF0206.jpg

In this one you can see the unpainted plastic edge of the lens section, which matches nicely with the mount base. I know you mentioned they can be painted, but mine are what looks like a cast aluminum that was a very thick finish already applied.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...b-DSCF0209.jpg

Good job. Well just remember that if you ever get a cracked lens, just buy the grey housing FF200's for $79 for 2 from eBay---remove the lens and swap them. No need to spend $170 again should you need to replace them. :thumbsup:

They look great! :thumbsup:

I will! Speaking of swapping the lens, did you notice how much force is necessary to pop those babies off??:eek: Even with the supplied tool, I was pleasantly surprised at just how secure these were.

I agree and thanks

Yes!!! When I first saw that I had gotten the grey housing---I was pissed!!! But I was determined to swap the lenses even though I couldn't find anything that said it would be compatible or difficult to do. :lol:

You will love yours. I put a remote switch on mine since I don't have the cold weather package.

http://www.littlemini.us/technical/r...ghts/index.asp

http://www.littlemini.us/technical/r...s/DSCN8478.jpg
http://www.littlemini.us/technical/r...s/DSCN8480.jpg

Update w/ Aerogrille installed
 

Just thought I'd show you guys what these looks like with the aerogrille. It took a little cutting to get the mounts to slide through. Since the hood flange was already drilled for the other grille all I did was set the aerogrille in and make some reference marks for my cuts. I used a coping saw which allowed me to insert the blade through the "webs" of the grille. It went rather fast.

Here they are without the covers:

http://www.m2c2.org/gallery2/albums/...6-lights-1.jpg

And with the split covers (I think the covers work well with the aerogrille):

http://www.m2c2.org/gallery2/albums/...6-lights-2.jpg


Next on the list is a CF intercooler intake cover!

I just picked up one of the Moss kits. They do include a switch. It's supposed to go back by the E-brake handle, and vampire taps the light ring on the cigarette lighter. I'm thinking of retrofitting it to the high beam wire. How do I find the high beam wire, just unplug a headlight and go at it with a multimeter?

This is a halogen car, not HID lights.

Did I say it seems like quite a contortion to run the wire all the way back to the E-brake console? :lol:

they look great! makes me want to do a set myself

I'll have to check the instructions for mine to be sure, but I think it was the yellow w/green. I know you said you had the halogen and not the HID, but I figured it might be a head start for you :smile: Multimeter and some long leads might be your best bet :lol: :wink:

Thanks! I love the look and the light!

just a side question, although i am probably not gonna do driving light, i wonder would the piaa light mount work on the hella lights? i think myminiparts sells the piaa mounts separately or with the piaa kit... i was thinkin i get the mounts, and get the hella kit

My mounts came with the Hella lights. I haven't look close at a PIAA mount, so I don't know if there is a difference. There is very little difference between mine and the OEM mounts on our other car, other then color :wink:

I believe the Hella mount might be a tad bit thicker then the OEM, but I'm not sure.

Madonna fits here... :grin:


https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...b-DSCF0209.jpg

I am installing a pair of these Hella FF200 driving lights also. I have everything nicely done with one problem. I have tried searching for the solution.

How do I run the wires from the underside of the bonnet (hood) to the wiring block mounted in that cavity in the rear of the engine bay?

I have tried multiple ways but the always gets crimped when shutting the bonnet. The wires are too short to follow the factory wires that loop down into the fender cavity.

Anyone have a nice way of running these wires? Could you post a pic?
Thanks in advance.

It should work. The Hellas just have one big stud coming off the bottom, and if the PIAAs are mounted the same way it's an easy swap. Not sure if the plugs are compatible, but there's always the wire cutters to change that.

I ran into a bunch of trouble with this myself. Not the least of it was my UNIChip kept popping up just high enough to keep the bonnet from shutting all the way. I had to put some hook/hook tape from Radio Shack on it to keep it down. I had to play with this installation a LONG time, over 6 hours, and the bonnet was actually worse than the interior wiring.

The wiring is long enough, but you have to tie wrap the wiring to the big ground strap to keep it from getting pinched. Also the routing instructions are a bit deceptive.

Here is how I did it, not to say the only way mind you :smile: :

The leads that came with my set of Hella's were long enough to run under the hood sound proofing and down the passenger side, but I couldn't secure them to the hood hinge. I had a bunch of OEM wireloom from the numerous airbag seatbelt repairs, so I put it to use and wire tied them at the top and bottom of the run.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...wireloom-2.jpg

They fold back into the area by the windshielf washer hoses when the hood is closed but when it is open they pull straight.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...b-wireloom.jpg

The brown, green and light blue wires all pass through that grommet. As you can see I picked up ground for the lights just behind the relay and mounted the relay on a unused stud.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...relay1-med.jpg

The relay power and ground wires run behind the plastic shield by the ABS modual and across to the drivers side scuttle.

Where I drilled an hole and tapped into the fuse block:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ight-power.jpg


I continued running the ground wire out a corresponding grommet on the driver's side to a ground post located there.

Let me know if you need any larger/clearer pictures and I'll get them up for you.

Good Luck, you'll love the outcome! :thumbsup:

Looks great. :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: I have always been a big fan of the Hella lights, of course I like Piaa too, oh decisions decisions.

Smokey4, thanks for the quick response and the great pics. I followed what you have done and it all worked out. My wires sort of coil up on their own over the ABS cavity area/wiper fluid tubing area.

I was unsure of how to wrap the wires and make it look nice. I didn't have easy access to that air bag loom. That stuff looks great. I tried that 3/8" black plastic split tubing stuff from home depot. I did not like how it looked.

I ended up wrapping the wires with black electric tape, starting from the back of the driving light and working down to the relay block. Looks pretty good.

I ran the wires through the grill using the small opening that is to the outside (right of the right light, left of the left) of the light, same grill slot of the light bracket.

One other thing, I did not have to take off the sound proofing completely. I just removed the front bottons and the ones down the passenger edge. I was able to reach in and zip tie without a full removal.

I hope this helps the next person doing this project. Check out the attached pics. I still need to do some night time adjusting of the aim.
Thanks again Smokey4.

Hi Guys,
I've looked at a couple of options for driving lights on the MCS. Seems the Hella kit is the way to go. couple of questions...

1. Can someone please post a link to an auction on Ebay for the complete kit for an
'04MCS?

2. Can this kit be wired so the lights come on with the brights instead of by an auxiliary switch?

Thanks in advance!

Paul.

Yes, what you do is take the wire that would go to the cigarette lighter ring (at least on the Moss Mini kit) and splice a piece into it. You then tap this into a high beam wire, so the high beams will actuate the relay.

This is what I did. :grin:

Here you go Paul: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=8012111375 This link is for the buyer I used, but the auction has ended. You can get contact info from the link or just watch for a new auction. Shipping and customer service were very good. He does charge extra for the covers, but he's still way under what other folks sell the lights for.

The kit is marketed for the Cooper, not the S, but mine had a flyer (from hella) in it saying that it was now for all models. The instructions that came with mine also covered both models.

I wired mine per the instructions and no additional "work" was needed to make them come on with anything other then the brights. You will be tapping the highbeam power lead for the relay to sense when to light the lights.

Also, there should be no difference between model years when it comes to mounting these lights. My car is an 02, but I have a 04 chrome grille, a 04 DS grille and the aerokit grille all drilled to accept these lights.

BTW, I really love these lights, can you tell??

how big are these compared to PIAA or oEM?

Smokey,
thanks for the info! I really appreciate it. I emailed the Ebay seller you got your FF200 kit from- they are no longer available at that price! I am going to get some HID bulbs for our MCS tomorrow- see how that goes, then look out for a deal on an FF200 kit.

Thanks again,

Paul.

Cant speak for sure towards the PIAA, but I think they are a 6" light.

The OEM are a 5" round light, 3" deep. The Hella's are an oval 5.5" x 5" high and believe it or not they are only 2.5" deep. Looking at both sets next to each other the OEM appear shallower, but the curved glass adds to it's size.

Your welcome, and I think your plan is a good one. The seller seems to float one of these sets out on eBay every couple 3 months. Let me know which brand you end up with on the HIDs, might be interested in a set for my son's cooper.

With the assistance of my father, a mechanic, I installed the Hella driving lights on my '06 MCSC this past weekend.

First of all, I love the lights. They have a visual heft to them that I think looks great on the car -- the "bullet shape" back of the Hellas have a retro feel. The brackets seem to protrude the lights from the car more than the OEM lights, which may bother some (not me). And the Hellas seem to turn night to day (I haven't compared them to other lights).

However, there were some obstacles in the install that I'll mention here in case anyone else goes for the Hellas. This is not meant to be exhaustive; just highlighting a couple of trouble spots. It assumes you're somewhat familiar with the install.

MOUNTING BRACKETS TO GRILL: The hardware changes recommended by smokey4 are a must. We first tried installing a bracket with the supplied screws and clip-on washers, but they did not work well. Different from smokey4, we had to install the bolts pointing upward (couldn't get them between the grill slats) and topped them with cap nuts (a 1/2" bolt would have worked better than 3/4").

Using a shorter bolt to mount the light to the bracket, as smokey4 recommended, is also a good idea.

WIRING: The terminal on the power wire would not fit over the post on the fuse box. We cut it off the terminal and replaced it with a larger one.

The instructions said the blue/yellow wire was the high-beam wire, which you splice onto to activate the Hellas. But the blue/yellow wire left the Hella lights on in low beam. We determined the high-beam wire was actually white/blue. Perhaps something has changed in MINI production, I don't know. The instructions said to tap into the high-beam wire near the light, but we chose to access the wire (after opening the wrap) closer to the bonnet hinge.

I've purchased an override on/off switch that I will probably install and hide under the dash somewhere, just in case.

My thanks to smokey4 for his excellent post.

A picture of the car with the lights is below.

You are correct, the instructions must be wrong. I'm looking at the electrical wiring diagrams section of the Bentley manual. The yellow/blue wire is low beam and white/black is high beam. I'm working on an FF200 fog light kit on the lower grill and I plan on tapping the fog light power instead of the low or high beams. I'm glad I've got the wiring schematic for the fog lights right in front of me :nod: . Tomorrow, I cut through my M7 grill and run wires. Hopefully, it'll be done by the weekend.

Has anyone seen the other version, the FF 300's? They have a really great looking oval shape that might be fantastic. Only problem is that I cannot find a picture to show me if they are chrome housings?

The FF200s are oval too. I do not think the 300s are chrome but have "paintable" backs (so do the 200s). However, they 300s are pretty huge, more than 7" wide!
http://www.hella.com/produktion/Hell...F300/FF300.jsp

Yeah the FF200's are oval but nothing like the 300's! Those babies are 3 5/8" high by 7 1/2" wide :nod: While the 200's come in at 5" by 5.5".

I think you're right Andrew that shape would rock! Here the pic from chow's link
http://www.hella.com/produktion/Hell...ages/FF300.jpg

I did a bit more searching and found the same thing as you, smokey. . .

If I can get them to make them in a chrome housing, then it will be a hard choice between the 200''s and the 300's for my wife's Cooper. . .

heck, I might like them so much that I'll ditch my PIAA's and switch them for the Hella's on my MCS. . . .

I'm trying to work out a "possible bad purchase" of some Hella lights from an eBay seller, they are more appropriate for an under bumper mount then the advertised MINI application :roll::sly: If I'm successful, these just became an interesting contender :nod:
I picked them up to go on the Boy's car, but I'm digging those ff300's :thumbsup: The nice part about the "paintable backs" is we can shoot them in a semigloss black to match the aerogrille, as he's not a chrome fan.

Drop me a line if you find a good price on a set!

If you can live with 7 1/2" lights, which are pretty huge, then you can go with Black Magics which are Stealth:thumbsup:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gwangi
The instructions said the blue/yellow wire was the high-beam wire, which you splice onto to activate the Hellas. But the blue/yellow wire left the Hella lights on in low beam. We determined the high-beam wire was actually white/blue. Perhaps something has changed in MINI production, I don't know. The instructions said to tap into the high-beam wire near the light, but we chose to access the wire (after opening the wrap) closer to the bonnet hinge.


I just finished wiring up my Hella driving lights. I wired to the white/blue and guess what, the driving lights lit up with the low beams. When I wired to the yellow/blue, the driving lights lit up with the high beams only.

For me, the instructions were correct. 2005 MCS, xenon headlights.

Just bought my kit on Ebay. I'll install it as soon as it arrives- pretty sure I'll be looking for this post for guidance!

Cheers,

Paul.

Smokey! I need help! I ordered the Hella Comet FF200s and the instructions are telling me to tap the green wire to the blue/yellow wire. Well, there is no blue/yellow wire . . . can you tell me what to do? By the way, I have Xenon headlamps.