2002 Cooper S
So, here's a question for you gurus, I have these lights (see arrow on picture) on my car which I thought were foglights, but I have no switches in the s4, s5 spots (which are supposed to control foglights, right?). Furthermore, I can't figure out how to turn these on. No position or combination of positions on the headlight controls turns them on. I guess the first thing i need to know is are these actually foglights? Why would my car have them and not have a switch in the S4 or S5 position? Is there another common method for operating these lights? If they were installed after the fact, where would the switch be located? Any help provided will be GREATLY appreciated...

 

Do you have the toggle switches?

Not sure what you mean by S4 or S5.

If no switches then I would guess they are not functional, if you do then maybe the bulbs are shot.

 

Sorry, yes, by S4 and S5 I mean the switches in the #4 and #5 position on the switchbank. I do NOT have switches in those positions.

 

those looks like aftermarket fog lights to me which means that you would not have a toggle but some other type switch, maybe in the glovebox or under the steering wheel portion of the dash? these are just some areas that I have known people to put switches

 

this may be a little technical but you could trace the wires.

 

Can anybody else out there shed some "light" on this subject?

 

They appear to be aftermarket. Only the people that installed and used them would have a definitive answer for you as to where the switch might be located. Any of us would be just speculating since we can't look through your car for you. Search around the cockpit of the car, and you should find a rocker switch or some sort of toggle switch. Unless the prior owner had the wired in to be daytime running lights with no switch, and the bulbs are merely burned out. I'd start with the previous suggestions others mentioned, and go from there...

 

they also could have gotten them and threw them in and never wired em up...

 

Thanks everybody.
I've looked all over the cockpit for the switch...to no avail.
I'll check the bulbs next, while I'm at it, I'll start tracing the wiring.
I would like to convert these to a factory set with a new switchbank in the near future. So any knowledge gained now will pay dividends when that time comes.
One last question, if I replace the switchbank, should I assume that the wiring harness will be there with a spot for me to plug in the switch (and lights for that matter)? I've done some work on Japanese vehicles and found them to be quite resourceful in that regard...not sure what the BMW approach is to these matters.

 

I Fail.

 

The car is not prewired for front fogs! A new harness must be added. I've installed the factory retrofit kit, and it ranks among the top 2 or 3 most involved and time consuming mods I've done (and I've installed a LOT of mods -- see my gallery for just a subset).

Installation instructions here: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...t_Retrofit.pdf

 

rkw! you are a huge resource. Wow! Great job on those mods...

With respect to the foglight retrofit kit, how much does it cost and does it come complete (including new switchbank)? How did you accomplish the vehicle recoding step outlined in the installation manual?

Is that parcel shelf lighting mod a kit (how much $)? Does it's power supply come from the current trunk light (i.e. no additional switches and wiring required)? Would love to do that...

Can you provide links to online purchase for these kits?

 

I'm getting to old and senile for this crap. rkw rocks.

 

The retrofit kit includes the fog lights and wiring harness. The toggle switch bank is purchased separately. 3 years ago, my total parts cost was about $250. I'd imagine that current prices may be up as high as $450. Prices recently mentioned here for the switches are double what they were back then.

I purchased my parts from Classic MINI. You can ask for a price quote, and they will pick out the parts and offer a good discount:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.com/classicauto
Their latest contact info is here:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ne-number.html

The lighting is connected in parallel to the footwell lights, with no additional switches. I used these LEDs from Oznium: http://www.oznium.com/prewired-superflux