Hi List.
I decided to install the factory rear camera into my 05 MCSC.
Office Maven posted the write up on it. He mentioned that the camera can also be triggered by a 12V source so it is not only on when the car is in reverse, but on demand. All you need is a switch to supply 12V. Also need a diode to prevent the bacup light go on this operation.
BUT
I am a neat freak and I would like to controll this function from my toggle switch bank. On my car I do not have rear fog ligths. All the other toggles are spoken for. I know that these switches are really not switches, they only provide input to the cars computer that turns the actual switc on. SO, what if I buy a full togle switch and let the computer turn on the rear fog lites that I do not have I can tap into the wire harness and use the voltage to do the trick. I only need my dealer to do the coding for the computer. The wires for the lfog light should be included in the generic factori wiring.
What is the wisdom of the List.

 

Pre'05s have the rear fog wiring. With 05's, it depends.

Unfortunately MINI have put the toggle switch bank price (back) up to $150; hope you can find a better deal.
Your dealer will probably charge you to activate the rear fogs output, even if you install the switch panel yourself. Then presumably you would want to remove the bulbs.

BTW: The rear fogs will only come on with other lights (various combinations) so you would still be somewhat restricted using this scheme.

 

Pappde, i'm curious, where did you buy your backup camera from and how much?

 

I purchased one recently (I haven't installed it yet). Final price including shipping from the UK was $728. See the comment I added to the rear camera review on MotoringFile: http://www.motoringfile.com/2005/03/..._camera_review

 

Hi. Ordered mine from here: http://www.newministuff.com/new/index.php

 

Hi Ian.

My first thought on this whole idea was to use one of your circuits with the garage door opener but I have seen that you do not have them anymore. Unless..you find one hidden somewhere in your shop.
Denes

 

Yes, that was my first thought too ...


The "" would not have been the best choice to find my better side ...

 

Sorry Ian.

What I really meant was leary or hesitant to imply any such thing.
Denes

 

Ian,

The one thing that I am still unclear on is why you have limited the total number to 1,000? Clearly there's demand there, even if it meant increasing the price. Of course I'm glad I got mine... but I'm a little saddened that I can't encourage friends with MINIs (especially those who I convince to get one) to buy the Auto-Up circuit too.

Is there any hope for more in the future? Different supplier?

Back on topic... I'm seriously considering buying the camera parts, especially since NewMiniStuff now has them much cheaper than buying direct from Germany. I just first need to double check with Canadian sources to ensure they don't have them cheaper still. My problem though is that I won't be confident enough to install them myself, so I'll be paying a bunch extra in labor.

 

Simply that it takes too much of my time.
Originally I hand built them. That got out of hand very quickly - only the first 30 or so were hand built. After that I had a contract manufacturer do most of the build and I would finish them. This allowed customisation for the different versions, but still takes time.
A few a week would be OK, but more than that were being ordered. I put the price up a bit in 2005 to reduce demand, but that did not work.
So as I approached a "nice round number" of 1000, I decided to stop selling at that point.

I hope so.
The big problem for me is getting my contract manufacturer to do ALL the build; then I can simply hand over finished product to an aftermarket MINI company to sell. I won't have any more involvement, but people can still get their circuit.
Working on it ...

 

I am actually the person who made the initial enquiry to Mikey at NewMiniStuff, and he was very helpful and added it to his website. I had checked on Canadian prices, and was told that list prices are $900 CDN for the camera and $455 CDN for the video switchbox. At the current exchange rate, the total converts to $1145 USD, plus shipping. I was also told that for Canadian dealers it is a special order item from Germany. Canadian import duties probably contribute to the high price.

I plan to do my own installation, but if you don't do it yourself, I suggest that you go to a good car audio shop. Before I purchased the MINI OEM product, I was also looking at aftermarket units, and that is the recommendation of the manufacturers. The skills involved are exactly the same as for audio (removing seats and trim panels, running and connecting wiring). Even if you bring it to a MINI dealer, it would likely be the very first time they have ever installed one.

 

rkw,

Just curious - where did you price it out in Canada? I received a good tip from the parts guy my dealer (after I enquired about some part numbers he couldn't get) that I should check with Coopersport.ca. I plan on contacting them soon to enquire about the camera parts and also a few other (more rare) things.

In my case though, I will be purchasing BOTH the front and rear cameras. Can't have too many gadgets. :smile:

As for who does the install, even if the dealer had never installed them before, with the official installation instructions, I'll probably still want them to do it. I think their labor rate is $100/hour (not -too- bad for a dealership), and the SA has been very reasonable with me for not charging more time than necessary. For example, they ended up installing the Ian Cull circuit for me at the same time as they replaced my Nav LCD screen (one bad pixel), and barely charged any labor at all since most of the time taking the dash apart went in as warranty labor. (The Ian Cull circuit was a greater challenge for me since I have the auxiliary gauges)

My only concern would be insisting to the SA that I want the job done as cleanly and neatly as possible, even if it meant charging me an extra hour labor since it would slow down the tech. They'd probably have to devote a full day to a tech to do it, which means I'd have to schedule the work when they weren't too busy.

Anyway, more research needed (especially on part prices!).

 

Sounds like you need(ed) to jack the price even more. Like $100 or even more ($150? $200?). Even if the demand didn't drop too much, it would be more worth your while. I know I would have paid more for it!

<keeping fingers crossed> You have done such a service to the community with the product, correcting BMW/MINI's mistake... dealerships should offer your product as an option. It's that good. :smile: