I have a 2002 Mini Cooper that came without a switch that can be use to turn the rear fog light on and off.

I was wondering if I get switches from a newer used 1st Gen Mini. Will it work if I get the part from Outmotoring.com "Rear Fog Retrofit Wiring Kit: Gen 1” # SKU 63120406620. Can I still use my stock reverse white light using the Fog Retrofit wiring with a switch on and off and using the reverse manual transmission backing up? Will it work and has it been done?

I can't find any information on this.

Please let me know thanks.

 

The rear fog in a 2002 is the top bulb in the taillights and will not affect your reverse light. It requires no extra wiring, just the switch panel and dealer programming. Yes, a switch panel from a newer MINI will work.

Two points need to be clarified for you:

• The rear fog for 2002-2004 is at the top of the taillights. The taillights and rear light configuration changed in the 2005 model year, and the rear fog was moved to the bumper at that time.
• The information in the Outmotoring listing is incorrect. This listing is more correct: http://www.ecstuning.com/ES172109/ ("For vehicles built from 7/2004 - 11/2004"). All MINI are prewired for rear fogs except cars built during those few months are missing rear fog wiring. That harness is only needed for cars built during those months

 

Thanks for the information.

Let me see if I am understanding this right. I have the rear white reverse light in the middle bottom of the bumper and I am hoping to keep it in that location instead of having two white light on each side of the tail lights. So if I get the wiring from Ecstuning to hook it on my 2002. Does this means I can still use my stock middle reverse white light with changing the manual gear to reverse and also having a switch that I can turn on and off? I would think it would need modification to the wiring to make it work by having the manual gear change to reverse and having the aftermarket wiring to hook it up to a switch?

The reason, I like the idea of doing that, is because if is dark outside and I can turn the white reverse switch on at night doing something in the back...etc

Let me know thanks.

 

You don't need a wiring kit for rear fogs. The wiring and bulbs are already in place. You DO need to get a new toggle rack with the appropriate switch, and to get the BCM programmed to 'recognize' that you have the rear fog switch.
None of that affects your reverse light, which you can modify to suit your needs.

 

Okay, I misunderstood. You didn't actually want rear fogs. You want a manually operated reverse light and thought the rear fog circuit might be a way to achieve it.

If you want to use the rear fog switch for that purpose, first retrofit the rear fogs by getting the switch panel and getting the rear fog programmed at the dealer. The rear fogs in your taillights will turn on when you flip the rear fog switch (note that it is interlocked so that will turn on only while your headlights or parking lights are on). Given that works, you can then do some wire splicing to make the rear fogs also turn on your reverse light (you shoulld add a diode so that when actually do go in reverse, it won't feed current back to the rear fog circuit). The current operation of your reverse light won't be affected. The wiring for all of the rear lighting runs down the side of the car in a harness bundle and it is accessible inside the side panel. If you find the right wires, you only need to make a short wire splice between two wires (along with the diode).

So it can be made to work, but it seems somewhat complicated and involved for this purpose. You can turn on the reverse light by simply turning on the ignition (engine doesn't have to be running) and putting the car in reverse gear. Another approach is to wire LED lighting to your dome light, or even simply a lantern powered from the cigarette socket.