...Rear Fog light install....

..Got a decent deal on the factory parts and labor so i had them do it....looked pretty simple, took about 15 min for the head tech (a real good one btw) to find the taped harness pig tail coil up inside the rear bumper as it was this dealer's first time installing rear fog lights on an R56....another 5 min to connect and then snap in the rear fog lights....another 10 min to snap in the new toggle and toggle surround bar (the switch is already there behind the bar....another 15 min to reprogram the control module....great! 35 minutes of work, i get screwed because the labor was to be billed at a fixed 2 hours.....hmmmm...whatever, glad to get it done...

...then....switch on the ignition....lights....rear fog toggle.....nothing!....hmmm....let's go to the factory instructions.....OK, let's reprogram...okay, another 15 min to reprogram....again ....no rear fog....okay...crank up the computer and fool the control module...good , the rear fogs come on....must be the module....bring in the dealer's demo, switch control modules between the cars....the fogs work in the dealers demo, they don't work in my car....wtf??.......it's not the control module......okay, let's get serious.....take apart almost the entire dash and replace the console assembly that houses all the toggle switches....put it back together....viola, the rear fogs work....it was the switch!.....by this time there is almost 5 hours in the job, maybe more when you count the tech and his apprentice helper.....

..had i started that job on my own there was no way i would have been able to diagnose the faulty switch....would have had to take it back to the dealer, hat in hand with bowed head , who would have then quoted the job on a time and material basis.....no telling how much thinner my wallet would be.....doing it within the warranty period also saved me another $600 for the switch console......sometimes you get lucky i guess

 

So what did this mod end up costing you ... Im interested in getting them as well...

 

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...dealer installed came to $150 parts $280 labor including the reprogram....the best bet is to get the rear fog option with the car, it 's only $100

 

Some things aren't worth trying to save a few $ on. Things like that can really make a simple job into a huge one. Glad it worked out!

 

I ordered just the plastic pieces to pop in the rear bumper. They don't work but I don't really think I wouldve used them that often anyway. Plus they were only $47 shipped, so I saved almost $400.

 

I found a website that sells the kit as an extra set of brake lights. I found that A LOT more usable and important than using them as fog lights.

With the lights, and the extra harness. It came out to $75.00, and only takes maybe 45min tops to install. I am pretty excited....

Nick

 

Where did you find this kit?! I have the rear fog lights themselves and the toggle switch installed, but i really could care less about having them function as foglights, auxilllary brake lights seems like a much better option.

I did the install myself of the rear fog light stuff since I didn't get them as an option, been putting off the reprogram due to price...so this brake light "kit" sounds interesting.

 

Colin,

Website is called minspeed.net. They actually have a lot of accessories for the mini. Here is the link for the fogs.

http://minspeed.net/R56BLK.htm

Just like you, I am probably gonna waste more money and get the toggle switch and the new switch cover, even though I will never get it programmed

 

Sweet! Thanks, i've been to their site a bunch but never noticed that kit. Yeah I HAD to replace that blank toggle spot...it bugged me to no end. I could care less about rear fogs, but I hated having a blank toggle spot. I ordered the rear lights themselves too figuring maybe i'd find a way to tie them into the brake lights if I never had it reprogrammed for rear fogs lol.

 

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..you might want to rethink that decision.....the reason it is a factory option is that a functional rear fog light comes in very handy when you need it.....used mine twice already in a couple of weeks in pre-dawn fog.....to me added brake lights = bling

 

I agree rear fogs could be useful, but I don't see how an extra set of brake lights for someone to see when i'm stopping are bling? Emergency vehicle/police cars have at least 2 extra sets of brake lights....I don't think they do it for bling.

 

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..no offense meant, bling is cool.....but to your point, those vehicles have them high , like in the back window or the roof....fog lites are down low so that they can be better seen in the fog, UNDER the fog....

 

lol, none taken. Good point, I suppose having brake lights down low won't help much with someone tailgaiting...although the one time I was rear ended where someone didn't stop or even slow down seeing an extra set of brake lights from further back might have helped...but that's a big MAYBE. So we'll see. I might not do anything with the rear fogs, I'm just happy now that I don't have a blank toggle spot anymore!

 

do you think it would be possible to get the lights installed as rear fogs so that the switch works (OCD i want all toggles in) and then also program it so it works as auxiliary brake lights?

so i guess what im saying is that when parkinglights/headlights are on the fog lights also light up but dimly, and when brakes are depressed the fog lights brighten, but when you toggle the switch inside the car the fogs lights will stay bright until you toggle it off again at which point it returns to being an auxiliary brake light. has anyone tried this and do they get what im saying? (sorry the thought is confusing in my head as well)

 

I have noticed with my bikes on the hitch mounted rack my brake lights are almost completely hidden. With the trouble and expense taken to install the fogs, I think it will be brakes for me.

 

Yes you can get them installed with the toggle and reprogrammed and they will work

 

No offense but if it took a tech 5 hours to install and do a diagnostic, he was an idiot.

Aside from the time to install, if the lights didn't work, the VERY FIRST thing any decent tech would have checked is to make sure the lights were getting power.

If they were, the next step is to make sure that power is going to and from the switch. In your case, obviously, the switch was getting power and none going on the other side.

Now, having worked on cars for over 30 years, I'll be the first to admit that the best laid plans go awry all too fast.

However, if you've got a tech doing the installation, the switch should have been the second or third thing checked.

Glad you got it fixed though.

Now you have have to change your screenname...lol.


Mark