Hello all,

I have an '03 MCS. It would be nice to have a 12V power outlet in the boot. My MINI has a dummy plug instead of a power outlet (or cigarette lighter, if you will).

I stumbled across this thread: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...nk-bonnet.html

In that thread, there are those that state that '02 and '03 did not have a power outlet in the boot but instead had a dummy plug. There was also a statement that there is a wire going to a location behind the plug. There was an open question as to whether a retrofit was possible in order to install a power outlet in the boot. I have searched the forum but I can find no reference to whether this retrofit was ever achieved.

Has anyone installed a power outlet in the boot on an '02 or '03 MCS or Justa?

 

My 04 has it and I use it to charge batteries when I am flying my UAVs / Drones. The hardest part (making it look neat) has been done for you since there is a dummy plug there. The rest is making sure that your ground is as short as possible and WELL insulated - and making sure that your run to power is well insulated as well so it never contacts the body. There is some science around the guage of the wire - but if you like I can pull the panels on mine and tell you what they used. Stereo shop is great alternative if you don't like wrenching.

 

Since it is an S...
THIS POST took longer to write than wiring it up....
As long as you are OK with an always on plug....
The battery is only 2 feet away.....lots of metal for an ground....the hole is already there....add the wire, a fuse, a plug in the hole, connect the ground....done.
If you are not comfortable or do not understand DC power, get some help from a friend, but this is perhaps the simplest wiring job I can think of in a mini. I would not try to fish a wire from the front fusebox...too much work.......

 

I am comfortable and have a general understanding of DC power, and I could certainly add a fused setup as you outlined. I apologize, my original question was ill-posed.

My question really relates to, are there already a hot lead and ground lead present within the harness that goes to the boot from the fusebox, already put in place by MINI? There would be no need for me to hack in something if they have already put the infrastructure in place, if you know what I mean. I believe that in the thread I referenced, some said that the feature existed for some '02s. If so, it seems possible that the harness already has the wiring for the circuit in place. Really, that is what I want to find out.

Anyone know whether the wiring is already in place for a power outlet in the boot for an '03?

Baby J, if you could look and let me know wire gauge, color and marking, that would be helpful Thanks!

 

^ Yep - I'll take a quick look on Saturday or Sunday kind sir.

 

Boot power was factory standard for the first of the vehicles then it was discontinued. I had the dealer (retro) fit mine pre-delivery. If you have the wires in place, put a meter or globe accross them to test for power. The rest is easy.

 

So there's the rub. I don't know if I have the wires in place. I pulled the driver's side access panel in the boot. I saw a six pin connector coming off the harness that goes to the tail light assembly; presumably this is for a rear fog. In the main wiring loom, I have yet to unravel the wrapping to see if there are any loose leads.

I am sure brown is ground, in any event... I will need to tear into it to see whether there are any loose wires wrapped in the loom/harness but I would think the would be at a minimum taped/capped or possibly connectorized. I didn't see any obvious connectors in there. Just thought I'd poll people out in MINIland (small world?)

 

That connector is of course for the entire tail light. The rear fog is just one of the wires.

MINI removed the power socket to save money. Most of the cost comes from installing the wiring. It's very unlikely they would have left the wiring.

 

Hi the six pin connector was the only one that was not connected to anything, which is why I am guessing it is for a rear fog, which as I understand it was wired in but not connected on US models. Of course all the other wires within that branch of the harness head to the tail light and seem to be connected, and presumably they handle the entire tail light.

 

Did you ever figure this out? I took a look in my '03 and I found an unused connector with a brown/yellow wire and a black/yellow wire connected to it. There is no power outlet. I don't know that I'd use it very often if I had one, but it would still be nice to have.

 

Unfortunately it is on my list of things to do yet.

 

Had you posted this on Monday I could have taken a photo of one of my '04s, I had the whole thing stripped out to install my recovered headliner.

I'm pretty sure there is a wired L shaped connector plug that is pre-wired and part of the harness on the Left Rear loom, it should run about 12 inches or so from the main loom.

Reference Parts:
http://parts.miniofkennesaw.com/show...modelYear=2003

Motor on!

 

If those wires were on the passenger side....it is for the 6cd changer and sirriurs/xm radio prewire...
If in the drivers side.... You might be lucky....
With a battery INCHES away....you could wire up a plug and fuse in mear moments on an S....

 

This is the connector. Sorry about the mix up with the wires. This is probably the connector for rear fig lights or something. There are three wires connected to it. It would be easy to wire up a power outlet directly to the battery, which I may do.