I posted also in the dragon run thread, but it may get missed because of all the replies to the dragon run. I installed the brake light mod to my MINI the other day since it was a descent day out finally and am really glad I did. It not only has good practical uses, but it also looks good cosmetically when the brakes are applied. All I ask for is the cost of the parts. I will also install to your MINI also. The reason I am doing this is because I feel it is very important for all to see your car so you don't get rear ended. It'll cost no more than a dollar if you do not have the rear fog light option. If you do have the rear fog light option or are planning on upgrading it'll cost 3-4 dollars because of the diode. I am planning on showing up a couple days early and will be leaving on Sunday. So I can do it during any free time throughout the long weekend. It'll only take a few minutes per car to install. If you would like me to do this for you pm me so I have all the materials for all that want them. I'm only going to bring what is needed and maybe a couple extra because I'm not trying to make a profit, just trying to help a fellow motorer. Also let me know if you have the rear fogs or are planning on getting them.

 

Mike of Donna and Mike in CA (but once upon a time in VA) did mine at the Dragon last year. You know that you will be making a very good mod into a traditional Dragon site mod.

If you have not done this to your car you should.

 

Teampajn,

Koolmini did mine for me at the Dragon this past fall, and since then I have loaded up my tool kit with lots of the connectors and bits of wire needed to do this. I have done many of the MINI's in the Birmingham area since then, and will also do the mod as a gift to the MINI community for anyone that would like it done.

I recently found some fantastic new quick connects that provide double contact points and seem to be a bit nicer quality than the ones I first used.

 

Just a small bump....Last call!

 

Teampajn, I am shocked that more people have not jumped in to get something really nice for basically nothing!

It's the best thing you can do to your mini for $1 !

 

What exactly is the brake light mod?

 

There is a few people that I have gotten PM's from. I just don't want to have someone that has the rear fog option say something while we're there. As far as without the rear fog lights, I'll have some extras for that. I don't wanna go to radio shack and get a whole bunch of diodes if people aren't gonna want them.

 

If you look at your brake lights, you will see 3 lights in the housing. The middle yellow one is for turn signals and the lower one is for brake lights. In the US, the upper light is unused although the MINI's come with bulbs installed in there.

The brake light mod turns on these unused brake lights and gives you a much brighter and noticeable braking signal. It makes them not only look better, but makes our tiny cars much more visible and therefore safer.

 

I'll be bringing my tools and a handful of diodes for anyone wanting a brake light mod installed as well.

 

>>I'll be bringing my tools and a handful of diodes for anyone wanting a brake light mod installed as well.

Excellent Greatbear! Are you gonna have wires soldered to the diodes to connect it to the wires going to the light?

 

Is this mod tough? Could I do it myself with minimal wiring knowledge, or should I have someone whos done it before help me out?

 

>>Is this mod tough? Could I do it myself with minimal wiring knowledge, or should I have someone whos done it before help me out?

This is something you could do yourself. If you don't have the rear fog light option it is pretty simple. If you pull the plug off the taillights the plug has numbers for each wire. All you do is connect a wire to the wires coming from 1 and 4 and you're done. I use these to connect the wires together. It's called a low voltage wire tap.


_________________
Dragon Run brake light mod volunteer. Check out the thread in the national forum if you'd like one!

 

these are also known as a Scotch-Loc in case you go into the parts place and want to ask for them! it's the simplest and most important mod you can do. you owe it to your Mini!!

 

Will this mod void my warranty?


R.E.

 

Try this for ideas on how to do it.Brake light mod

 

It should not void your warranty. In the event that you had problems with your brake lights, you could simply unclip the wire taps and remove the added piece of wiring.

I agree that paying the dealer for rear fog is a bit nuts. If it is dangerously foggy, I always turn on my hazard lights for safety.

 

>>Try this for ideas on how to do it.Brake light mod


Thank you, for some reason when I click on your url for brake light mod I just see the "this page can't be displayed" screen. Could be just be my computer.

As I was driving to the convenience store to rent a movie I thought about the brake light mod. As has been said, all that's required is to connect the wire to the current brake light to the unused but already there rear fog lights using the wire tap connector. When this is done the rear fogs should come on as brake lights along with the current brake lights. If you want rear rear fogs also you need a diode, (electrical check valve), to only allow power from the current brake lights to go to the rear fogs and not the other way. This prevents the normal brake lights from being continuously lit when the rear fogs are on.....right?.

What specs do the diodes need to have and I assume you have to cut the wire and solder the diode in?

Think I'll give this a try. Thanks for everyone's help.


R.E.

 

>>Excellent Greatbear! Are you gonna have wires soldered to the diodes to connect it to the wires going to the light?

I can do it however people would prefer, the diode soldered to the lamp holder (like I did with mine), the diode attached with pigtail wires to the existing wiring with scotchlocks, or the tried and true, easily reverted back to stock with no sign anything was there diode plugged into the connector blocks. Some people want permanence, some want to easily change back to stock if there are any worries about warranties.

This thread details the different methods. I notice I have to go back in and edit the pic URLs to get rid of the

 

I PM'd you, but just thought I'd post again... I want the mod, will be at the dragon, and taking part in just about every event. Am staying at Fontana INN in the honeymoon suite....