Insatalled my new PIAA Plasma fog lights today, but they do not work! The switch has a green light for on, red for off, and they operate. I checked for bulbs (you never know) and they are both installed. I suspect the relay is bad. Anybody else have similar problems? I will call PIAA on Monday

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2004 MCS - Pepper White/ Black

 

Hey,

What you can do is try to bridge the wires with out the relay. Be carful to make sure that you bridge the correct wire to get the lights to turn on. Then you will know whether it is bad or not.

 

I installed mine two weeks ago. One thought I have and you may be way beyond it-
If you follow the instructions and tap into the green and yellow headlight wire, they will only work with the highbeams on. If you tap into the red striped wire, they will work with low beams and high beams. They work great with snow that way!

 

Do you have your highbeams on when trying to turn on the PIAA's?

 

Thick white wire=direct to positive battery post

Black wire=grounded to body of vehicle

White thin "switched" power wire=tied into hot wire at brake light switch so can only illuminate when key is turned on

 

Here is how my MCS now looks...

 

Hey,

Just looked around at my install. Where are you getting your power and ground from? Try hooking the red dotted wire directly to the 12V source, and see what happens. Do you get a red or green light on the switch? Let me know.

 

The switch glows green for ON, red for OFF, and I can hear the relay click. I contacted PIAA today, and a new relay is on it's way. I checked the lights, and they both have bulbs! It took me close to 5 hours to install this 540 kit. I am not touching it until the new relay arrives.

 

Ok. Let me know if that does it for you. Hope that it does. I actually got a set today form myself and installed it tonight. I really like this kit. Looks real sharp, and throws alot more light out. Hope every one else liked there kit also!

 

Really good to hear that it sounds like dealing with PIAA's customer service has been good for you Speltzer. Hope they are up and running asap!

 

They work!! PIAA had great customer service. After telling them my story, they sent a new relay out in 4 days for no charge. I installed the new relay tonight and guess what; they still did not work! No way are both relays bad. I feel like an idiot. I had already checked the bulbs and they were fine by a visual inspection. The green and red lights on the relay lit up before, so I never checked the 20A PIAA fuse. Thinking swiftly, I knew it had to be simple because I was meticulous in my installation procedure. I then pulled out the 20A fuse. You guessed it, I had a blown fuse! I replaced it and wallaaa....I had foglights and I love 'em!!! Here are some pics

With DRL's on...

DRL's and new PIAA Plasma Ion Fogs...

Xenon's and PIAA fogs...

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2004 MCS - Pepper White/ Black

 

speltzer, before anyone calls you an idiot for not checking the fuse, I want to say that you are a brave and honorable soul for admitting that so honestly.

As one who is known for having once set my entire vehicle's wiring harness on fire after connecting a battery backwards (not my MINI, thankfully), I applaud you

So glad they work. Tomorrow I will report back what happens when I put higher rated 85watt replacement bulbs in the PIAA's instead of the 55watt ones that came stock

I've got my box of 20A fuses ready, although PIAA has assured me that the harness is just fine with their brand 85Watt bulbs. Don't call PIAA to return the extra harness, as I might be needing it tomorrow

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SE Regional, BAMA Club Moderator: PM me

 

Thanks YUCCAPATROL...I was totally embarrased. I spent over over 6 hours total on the installation making it as factory looking as possible. I KNEW I had plugged all the wiring harness terminals firmly. This is what threw me; I would turn on the ignition and get a red and green light on the PIAA on/off switch. I could also hear the relay click. I did not think the fog light switch would illuminate if the fuse was bad. Chalk up another learning experience...

 

So how well do the fog beams work?

I've got the 540 driving lights on my MCS and they work great. But my car did not come with fog lights and I am debating whether I should get the MINI retrofit kit or go with a pair of 510 fog lights (slightly smaller) on these brackets and move the 540 driving lights to a new pair of brackets more in the center. Going with the PIAA fogs will cost more, but it would give me the 4-light rally car look and should provide better illumination.

Any thoughts?

 

>>They work!! PIAA had great customer service. After telling them my story, they sent a new relay out in 4 days for no charge.


You mean they didn't require you to send the bad relay back first? Or charge you for a new relay until they get your bad relay back???? Heck...they don't know how to run a proper business hee heee...

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Negative. PIAA's customer service department is just that. Keep the customer happy. I LOVE the light output of the fogs. I would highly recommend the 540 mini cooper kit with the Plasma Ion Fogs instead of driving lights.

 

Update on my experiment to install higher wattage bulbs in the PIAA 540's

I installed the PIAA 85watt H3 "xtreme" white bulbs in my PIAA 540's today. The added brightness is very significant. 2 lights now put out the equivalent of almost 4 regular lights (well 3 and then some).

PIAA customer service was correct that the wiring harness and fuse could handle the additional wattage.

The rally lights now appear to be as bright as the xenons and regular high beams put together!