Greetings. I recalled something the other day and it got me thinking. I met a fellow at last years Pittsburgh Vintage Grandprix that told me he replaced the bulb in his 2003 Mini Cooper S reverse light with something brighter. I swear the guy said something along the line of close to a 50W replacement. He mentioned that he did not need to change any fuses and the bulb fit perfectly without any mods. He showed me the result when he engaged the car into reverse. Even in the day time it was noticeably brighter. He said at night it like having a small white spot light for backing up visibility.

Has anyone here done this and if so make some bulb recommendations. Also, what size bulb in currently in there (I'd go out and check but it's 5 degrees out right now ).

I noticed that the 2005 tail light assembly will make this a mute point since the reverse lights are now in the larger light assembly and the rear fog is moved to where the current reverse light is now.

Thanks in advance for and insight.

- Driving Hamster

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Motoring since 2-13-03. Peace out, Motor On! 7 sub 21

 

Driving_Hamster
not to rain on your parade
but i have a light question too (didn't want to start a new thread)
anybody know the blub size for the license plate lights??

 

Hamster -

From this thread:

&quot;Backup light is also P21W, best replacement is P-796. Halogen 35W, really nice 1-piece bulb not the 2-piece 50W &quot;fire starters&quot; from the parts store. Twice the light output. Not for use in rear turn or rear fog because halogen bulbs don't come on as fast as regular ones, they take like an extra 100 milliseconds or so. OK for putting it in reverse, but you want your brake and turn signal lights on, RIGHT NOW.&quot;

I ordered a P-796 backup lamp bulb from Daniel Stern of
Daniel Stern Lighting, along with upgrades for my high beams, front and rear turn signals, and brake/rear fog lamps. He also has some great bulbs for the front turn signals which are mostly clear, with a slight blue tint, but light up bright amber. Eliminating the amber-glass bulb cleans up the look of the front end on my Pepper White MCS to no end.

The backup lamp bulb is made by Narva in Germany, and is a drop-in replacement for the OEM bulb.

To remove the backup lamp housing:
- Reach around the backside of the bumper, and you'll feel a locktab on each side of the housing. press in on the locktab while pushing forward, or while someone is gently prying the housing forward out of the bumper, and the assembly will come out.
- Unplug the electrical connector on the back of the housing
- Unscrew the lamp holder anticlockwise
- Press down on the old bulb and give it a twist anticlockwise to remove it from the holder
- When installing the new bulb, be sure not to touch the glass with your fingers. Oils from your skin can cause &quot;hot spots&quot; which may lead to premature bulb failure or shattering
- Installation is the reverse of removal

Hope this helps!
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...

 

Parklife,
I wholeheartedly agree. Daniel Stern is a GREAT resource.

I have the same question r.e. getting the backup light housing out of the bumper. Access on my 04 MCS is also blocked by the heat shield and tailpipes. Am I missing something? I don't see any tabs to push to remove it
Charlie

 

I fussed with the backup lamp for a good half-hour before discovering where to release it. It's currently what can only be charitably described as damn cold outside right now, but if I get a chance tomorrow I'll crawl under the car and take pictures of what I pressed to release the backup lamp from the rear bumper. Does that work for you?

 

Parklife,
Works for me. Thanks Dress warm..............
Charlie

 

(Yes, I know my car's salty.)

CC and Slant:

Here's the reverse lamp on my '04 MCS. To start with, you'll need either a thin-blade screwdriver or equivalent. Shown here is my knockoff Chinese multi-function knife that I got for free in the mail this morning. Put some tape over the paint where you'll be prying, so you don't do something idiotic like scratch through the paint like a certain author - who shall remain nameless - did.



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Here's the lamp removed from the bumper, showing the two locktabs:



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Another view of the lamp housing:



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Here's how to fit your hand around the exhaust and heat shield to release the driver's side tab. Once you have one side released, press gently down on the screwdriver while pushing forward on the lamp from behind with your finger to pop the lamp housing out. You'll only need to release one locktab in order to remove the housing. The passenger side tab is MUCH harder to get to than the driver's side.



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Here's the bulb holder removed from the lamp housing. To remove the bulb, press gently down and turn it anticlockwise. Installation is the reverse of removal.



Hope this helps clear it up a bit.
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Thanks Parklife for the great write-up &amp; photos!!! I've been trying to solve this mystery since Sept of last year (posted over on mini2). Hope you don't mind me stealing your post &amp; posting it over on m2 for our international friends...

 

Go right ahead! I should point out that you want to be REALLY gentle when prying on the lamp housing - it's that brittle. If it cracks, then you'll have problems with water condensing inside of it.

 

Outstanding! This is exactly what I was after. Thanks a million.

You mentioned that you upgrade your highbeam bulbs? Did you have the xenon package or the regular halogen set up? I have rally lights and xenons (which is quite a bit of light when fired up) but I am always looking for more!

Thanks again.

 

Hamster,

I do have the xenon headlamps. The high beam bulbs I'm now running are made by Osram. The original bulbs are 55W H-7s. The new bulbs from Osram are essentially a H-9 glass and filament on a H-7 base. Viola, a 65W H-7 that produces 2100 lumens of light (compared to H-7 55W 1400 lumens).

The extra 10 Watts won't hurt anything - 10W is about what a turn signal bulb uses.

The H-7/H-9 hybrid bulbs produce very &quot;even&quot; lighting compared to the original H-7s. There are no dark or dim areas in the beam pattern. Just smooth, consistent illumination.

 

Okay, Hamster, here's some more pictures of the bulbs I installed:
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On the left, the Osram Diadem front turn signal bulb. On the right, a stock MINI bulb for comparison. The Osram looks orange in the picture, but is actually a very light blue/amber tint. The Diadem bulbs light up a *very* bright orange, and are actually brighter than the original amber glass bulbs. When not illuminated, they're practically not noticable in the front turn signal housings. It helps clean up the front end of my Pepper White MCS considerably.


To change these bulbs, simply open the hood (bonnet, whatever), give the lamp holders in the front bumper a twist anticlockwise, and give the old bulb a twist anticlockwise while pushing down gently to release the bulb from the holder. Installation is the reverse of removal, and is a real snap!
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On the left, the Osram 65W H-9/H-7 hybrid high-beam bulb. On the right, the stock MINI 55W H-7 high-beam bulb.


To change these bulbs, simply peel back the rubber boot on the backside of the headlamp assembly. Reach up inside the headlamp housing and disconnect the two-wire plug from the back of the headlamp bulb. There is a small wire bail holding the bulb into the headlamp housing. Release it (I don't have pictures, but it's really obvious how it comes apart when you see it), and the old bulb will drop out. Insert the new bulb (do not touch the bulb glass with your fingers) and click the wire bail back into place. Installation is the reverse of removal.
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On the left, the replacement 45 candlepower rear fog and rear turn signal bulb (P-3497) from Daniel Stern. On the right, the original MINI 33 candlepower bulb. The brake/tail lamp dual-filament bulb (not shown, specs idential to P-3497) in the rear lamp cluster is a P-3496.


To replace these bulbs, simply remove the rear access panels from the cargo area, reach inside, and remove the electrical connectors from the tail lamps. Remove the lamp housing backplane by pressing down on the release tab on top of the backplane while pulling the backplane away from the taillamp housing. You will be able to sneak the backplane out of the car with the bulbs installed.

Remove the bulbs exactly as you did the front turn signal bulbs - push down gently and twist anticlockwise. Remember that the brake/tail bulb has different indexing tabs and can only be installed in the lower receptacle. The two upper receptacles are for the single-filament turn signal and rear fog lamp bulbs.

With the new bulbs installed, reinstall the backplanes into the lamp housings, and reconnect the electrical connectors. Turn on the parking lamps to make sure that the low-power filaments on the brake/tail bulbs work properly. Have an assistant step on the brake to make sure that the high-power filaments work properly. (Note that you may need to have the key on for the brake lamps to work.) I suggest this because I've seen some &quot;creative&quot; installations in which the bulbs have been installed backwards or in the wrong socket.
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On the left, the Narva P-796 35W halogen backup lamp bulb. On the right, the original MINI bulb for comparison. The Narva bulb offers twice the light output of the original bulb, but doesn't get hot enough to damage the plastic backup lamp housing or socket.


I've detailed how to replace this bulb previously in this thread.

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I hope this helps some! I'd take pictures of how to do each procedure, but the combination of rain/snow and freezing temperatures today means that I am the proud owner of a Pepper White MINIsicle. I don't feel particularly ambitious enough to brave the elements tonight in an attempt to clean the car off.

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An oldie but a goodie. Parklife - do you still have these photos posted somewhere on the internet?

 

I agree- any way to repost the pics? I have an 04 MCS that I need to change the rear bulb on...pics would be great!

 

bump for pics?

 

still hoping to get the pics restored...

pretty please with castrol synthetic on top?

 

yeah i would like to see pics also

Anyone know what the size for the factory fog lights are? H3?