i have a 2004 mini cooper s and i just received a new pair of tail lights i bought off of ebay. They are spec -d tuning lights. When i purchased the lights the ad clearly stated that they were for 2004-2005. I just received them from fedex and the box is labeled 2005-2006. Will these fit my 04? Im in New York and these took about a week and half to get all the way from California. I believe i read another post somewhere that stated that the wiring was different. Any help????????

 

You have what are called Pre-face lift tails or egg yolk tails. Different set up than the 05/06's which have the back up lights in the tail lights themselves and not at the bottom of the bumper. So there will prob be some illumination differences unless there is something built into these aftermarket tails designed to handle it.

I had the 05/06 tails in my 03MCS 4 years ago, when I pressed on the brakes the back up light inside the tails lit up. So I just installed a RED led bulb in there...

 

I actually found the thread were you stated that you had just installed the red bulb. Does that mean you had no reverse lights? What else is effected by the different wiring? I saw in the thread that there were also a link to a fix but the page no longer exists.

 

Your current reverse light in the bumper will be unaffected. You have to decide what you want to do with the clear light in your new taillights. As wired, it lights up when you press on the brakes. You have two options. You can put a red bulb there so it lights up with the correct color for brakes, or you can give yourself additional backup lighting by rewiring to make them operate as reverse lights.

 

Thanks for the replies guys. They are actually set of smoked tail lights ( Spec - D tuning) i bought off of eBay. If it won't effect anything else then ill probably just put red bulbs in for now and maybe rewire at a later point. Still not 100% sure whether or not I should keep them because the seller is willing to return since it was his fault. He also told that the manufacturer told them that the lights would probably need a resistor added or the lights will blink quickly. Thoughts?

 

Will my rear logs light also?

 

No, but that's actually a 3rd option. Wire the rear fog line to the clear light, and replace the bulb with a red one.

 

That seems like my best option. I think I'll probably try that. Thanks. Will post something up after its all done.

 

I looked at the wiring diagrams. It looks like you won't need to do any rewiring at all, just change the bulbs to red. Pin 1 on the taillight connector is used for rear fog on 2002-2004 and reverse light on 2005-2006. I suspect that gray raven had the "rear fog modification" that makes the rear fog operate like an extra brake light.

 

Yeah I had the extra brake light for few years then picked up the full toggle bank and now have the OEM rear fogs.

Have some touch up paint handy and some fine grit sandpaper for any rust repairs which could be necessary in the tail light opening area ( usually only visible after tails are remove.....it's a known area where rust can start on these cars.

 

Just finished installing the tail lights. Looks like all ill need now are the red bulbs. The rear fogs now light up white when the switch is toggled. May actually rewire into the brakes so I have double the amount of light. Thanks again for the all helpful comments. My only issue now I that it seems like intermittently that the signals flash quickly when I put on my turn signal. It only happened once or twice. The seller was saying that he talked to manufacturer and a resistor may have to be added. Here are some pics of the lights installed.