So ive been thinking of installing fog lights and really wold prefer the OEM Fogs but i feel kind of silly paying $400+ for foglights for a 6 year old car especially when i can buy a pair of OEM fit fog light lamp and mounts for $70 on $70 on ebay

what i would like to do is use those light but then not have to pay the ridiculous "Labor" of coding them .

Is it possible for me to get these and use the existing wiring but then patch into that wiring at some convenient point to power them directly and ad my own switch. I imagine the cost for that could be no more than $20 in wires and a switch bringing my total to $100 or less.

If need be, i wouldnt mind so badly if i had to wire all the way from each foglight fixtures though it would be nice to avoid that.. maybe even patching into the parking lights so the they turn on when my headlights go on.

Any thoughts?

 

You could run power from the battery to a switch and from the switch to the fixture. be sure to put the proper in line fuse between the battery and switch. ground it on a motor mount or any metal in the engine bay.

and make sure to use the right gauge wires, don't want to have a fire or not enough power.

 

I have factory fogs on my 2002. They are damn bright, but do nothing for lighting my night view, or assisting (either with headlights, or alone) fog. They do give a WIDER light path, but I want to better see what's in front of me, although they let me see lines painted on the road better. But I don't look just 20 feet ahead, even though my CT location might imply that. If you like the look, go for it. But don't expect them to change your life, even with 55w bulbs.

 

Do yourself a favor and don't tie into your existing wiring harness for any power. The body control module which regulates that power is very expensive to replace and is voltage sensative.

If you want those lights, make up your own harness, use a standard 12V RELAY, and plug in a pair of 35W HID's with 4-5K lumins color. I put a set into my OEM fogs and it made a huge difference yet are not blinding to oncoming traffic due to location and reflector designed to disperse the light as a fog.

And you then have the added benifit of a no lights hanging off of brackets up front which ultimately get into the way when trying to/leaning over/working on the MINI.