I dont like the driving lamps in the front of the mini and i want to remove them. Is it easy to do, and how can I?


Also if anyone is interested in them I'll sell them.....I bought them for $400 and they are in perfect condition, just tell me how to take them off.

 

wellllll....if this is a factory install

the lamps themselves will simply unbolt from the brackets.

The wiring? well, you need to decide how much you are going to try to save. From the lights, it goes back towards the fire wall, there's a connection to the engine comptmt fuse panel then under the driver kick plate a relay pack, connections to the back side of the radio, and a wire to the right side ECU

Physically the brackets on the bonnet would be held by pop-rivets if done according to factory spec altho I usually used stainless bolts and nyloc nuts myself. MiniMania has original install sheets for you to try to back track. If the brackets are pop-rivited you could grind the heads off with a Dremel and patience. For a full factory pull you'd be removing the switch in the knee panel for the driver as well, and need to plug the hole.

 

The hardest part will be if the brackets for the lights were bolted or riveted in. If riveted, you'll have to drill the rivets out.

Remove the screw at the bottom of each light and pop the light out of the housing, then disconnect the wiring. You'll probably need to cut them. Then pull the wires out the bottom of the housing.

Then remove the nut holding the hosuing to the bracket, remove the brackets, disconnect the battery, remove the wiring loom that ruins under the hood liner. Remove the ground points, the power hookup in the fuse box.

Remove the lower bolster panel under the steering wheel and pull the loom through the firewall. Remove relay and switch in bolster panel.

Remove the ceter dash panel and lower console legs. Remove radio and remove the two wires going to the radio loom. Remove passenger side running board, lower panel and carpet. Remove BCM from the side of the car and disconnect the control wire.

Thats the basics in a nutshell. It really depends on how the kit was installed to begin with.

 

It's not too bad, if you know the car. If they used the OEM rivets, you'll need to drill them out. In addition you'll need to remove the engine side auxilliary fuse box, and the tap into the high beams at the BCM. Note that the harness was designed to be installed, not removed, so there will be a few glitches (i.e. holes drilled for wires, then connectors attached.)
You can probably find the install instructions at motoringfile.com

edit: oops, see the above posts - I forgot about the switch, relay and radio connection (for lighting the switch)

 

i see the screw at the bottom of each light to unscrew the light. As for the brackets, I looked under the hood and didn't see screws, there were circular black plastic things with a hole in it. How would i take those off?

 

yeah i dont really know the car, and i dont have very good car knowledge. I just want to remove the lights i dont care about all the wiring that could be left.

 

The circular black things are rivets. They must be drilled out or ground off. (They essentially mushroom out on the other side of the metal, so once the head is off, the bracket will come off.)

 

Okay what kind of drill would i use to get that off? and once i do get it off is it fine to keep the wiring there?

 

Just size the drill bit to be slightly larger than the *hole* of the rivet (NOT the head) - you can always drill a larger hole, never a smaller one.
If you're in doubt, I'm sure any shop would pop them off for a few bucks. Just make sure you don't drill through the rivet and into the surface of the bonnet!
The wiring should be fine, though I would zip tie the now loose ends somewhere on the bonnet. You could remove all the underhood wiring, but I'd suggest leaving it in case you decide on lights later, or sell the car.

 

okay thank you

 

I'm currently writing a book called "101 Projects For Your MINI Cooper". it's intended for the DIY'er and beginners as well.

When I installed the driving lights on my car, I used small stainless bolts rather than the rivets in case I needed to remove them at some point in the future..

Here are some pictures from replacing the power steering pump and fan. In the picture, you can see that the fan is held to the frame with rivets. I'm drilling out the center of the rivet. The drill bit should be slightly larger than the center of the rivet, but smaller then the outside rivet head.