Hey NAM,

So I had the factory driving lamps installed on my Mini when I picked her up. Unfortunatley, right now, in order for me to turn them on, I have to have switched on my high-beams AND have the switch on for the lights themselves(which are defaulted to OFF when I start the car).

What I would like to do is make it so that when I turn on the switch, the lights go on. I asked my dealer and they said that they weren't aloud to do that because of "regulations". I checked around and couldn't find anything that was prohibiting that.

So does anyone know how I would go about hooking the driving lights up directly to the switch so that when the switch is ON the lights are ON?

Right now I feel like I wasted my money on a pair of lights that I never turn on because if I EVER use my high beams it's on a back road, in an emergency and by that time I usually don't even bother going down to my left knee, taking my eyes off the road, and turning on the switch.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
-Nick

 

I don't know about the regulations but i guess the idea is that unless you can use your high beams, (no one coming or in front of you), you don't need the glare of the driving lights, (low beams only), so you don't blind the person coming at you or in front of you.

A lot of people use, "driving lights" just because they have them...to the detriment of other drivers.

Look at it this way, they look great even when they aren't on...and you may be in a rally someday.:smile:

 

I agree that too many people use driving lights (and fog lights) more for decoration than to light the road.


One way you could get the lights to work the way you want would be to rewire them. You would need a relay tied to a 12 volt souce and then wire the relay to a switch on your dash in case you did want to turn them off. The switch would be wired to a power supply that was only hot when the key was on. That way you could leave the switch in the on position and the lights would come on every time you start the car.

 

I can understand wanting them to work anytime, so, I won't go there. But, in Tennessee, it is illegal to have driving lights working except when the high beams are on.

That's how mine are wired.

Good Luck!!!!!

 

Driving lights, either the OEM ones or aftermarket, are the equivalent of high beams with an even greater reach. Unlike fog lights, which light the portion of the road directly in front of the car in a short, wide pattern that is lower on the road and cut closer to the front of the car than low beams, driving lights extend farther and wider than high beams. Any and all oncoming traffic will be hit with a blast of light that is more powerful than your high beams. If you plan on driving with these lights on continuously, prepare to be constantly greeted with the highbeams of oncoming traffic in return, even in daylight. Not to mention the wrath of the local constabulary.

The reason why driving lights (which is a bit of a misnomer because it implies they are to be lit when driving, like low beams) come on when the highbeams are on is to disallow their use alone, plus to make it easier to dim them along with your highbeams in oncoming traffic or other reasons. Driving lights are a companion to your high beams, to extend their range farther. Fog lights are a companion to the lows, to see closer to the car and to the immediate sides to aid in driving in bad weather with limited forward visibility.

 

Light's are not for decoration. If you wire them up directly you will get flashed constantly because you will be blinding on comming traffic with lights that are only intended to be used with high beams

 

Can someone tell me how to operate the driving lights?

I've ordered my MCS with two sets of driving lights because I drive country roads and need all the light to see the damn deer in the road.

I'm hoping that the driving lights come on when I hit the high beams. From Nick's post, it sounds like I have to turn on some switch each tme I start the car in order to use the driving lights with my high beams. Is this correct?

 

If your lights are wired the same way mine were (and I have no reason to believe otherwise) then you're not going to be happy...

You need to turn on the driving lights independently the first time you activate the high beams each time you re-start your car. From that point forward they act in unison (on/off from the stalk) with the high beams.

 

Not sure about this, but I would think that this issue could be alleviated by changing the type of switch that is used so that you don't have to hit it everytime you want to use them, and only have to turn on your high beams

 

Changing the switch would be no benefit - there is a (green) relay module that implements the "smarts" of controlling the driving lights, requiring that you press the switch once each time you start the car to enable them, and linking them to only come on with high beams.

Of course, if you change the relay ...

 

Ian,
This looks like the solution to the 'problem' I will have when my car arrives in two weeks

A couple of questions: Is the replacement relay an 'off the shelf' model or did you create it? Also, I'm getting two sets of drinving lighs installed on my MCS; do you think the relay will work properly when it is powering such a large load?

 

I had my OEM driving lights installed by a dealer in the Bay area and was pleasantly surprised to find that I can turn on the driving lamps when just my regular lights are on - I don't have to have the high beams on. I just press the switch and they come on.

 

Where did you "check around"?

Each state is different. You need to look up the Transportation Laws of your state. Your dealer would not touch it because, most likely, it is ILLEGAL in your state to wire auxiliary driving lights to go on the same time the high beams go on. Further, it certainly is ILLEGAL to drive with them on ALONE or in conjunction with low beams as their purpose is to throw light, usually a pencil beam, way out in front on a highway. They are NOT usually designed to give a Spreading light effect to see the sides of the road like a fog lamp.

Check your state laws. Your "supposed" to turn on your auxiliary "driving light" when you normally have your high beam on and want to see FARTHER down the road (not to the sides).

 

The RLR module was designed by me for my needs ... it will ONLY work with the OEM lights, as a plug-in replacement for the original green relay.
The OEM relay / wiring etc will not support four lights - in fact there is a MINI tech memo which warns of possible warranty invalidation if four lights are installed (due to affecting the cooling air flow into the radiator / engine).

The RLR relay might work with double the load but would probably "fold back" into overcurrent to protect itself - but even if it did work, the wiring would be overstressed and could fail, perhaps creating a fire!
Not recommended.
If you want two pairs of lights, you need two sets of wiring to them (or don't use any factory wiring/etc - go fully aftermarket with appropriately up-rated wiring/fuses/etc).



The lights were not correctly installed - lucky for you maybe.


The RLR module is specifically designed so that a quick flick of the high beam lights on/off will always turn off the rally lights - when a car comes into view the other way you need to quickly reduce your lights brightness, and reaching for the lights stalk on the steering wheel is much preferable to fumbling down under the dash ...

 

Thanks Ian. You confirmed my suspicions about an airflow problem with the four driving lights installed. Do you have info about the tech memo so I can tell my dealer about it? I would have thought they would have known about this.
TIA

 

The reason that the lights are wired the way they are is so that they comply with the Federal standards which all states have adopted at a minimum, this is not to say that individual states can not adopt more stringent standards so you must check with New York State.

Driving lights can only be used when your high beams are on and must be off when your high beams are off to protect oncoming traffic. To wire them in any other fashion will earn you a ticket.

The question arises as to why you would want the driving lights on when you were not also driving with your high beams? Perhaps it is a question of understanding the function of driving lights and their uses. This has been coverd by previous posts and does not need more explanation.

You have not wasted your money, you still have fine driving lights that function as designed and offer you better vision on empty, un-lit, roads on dark nights. They will allow you to see deer in the roads at distances greater than your high beams. They require active thought on your part as to when you use them and when you shouldn't. This is what was intended when the laws were established and it works.

I have been blinded all to often by oncoming traffic that is operating with their improperly aimed fog lights or driving lights under inappropriate conditions. I strongly support the current laws and just wish that the local police would enforce them more vigorously. Even the people that substitute bulbs of higher, non-road legal, wattage in their low beams and high beams are endangering all those that come into their path with blinding, night vision destroying, glare.

Use them when you need them and enjoy the added safety they offer. Please be sure to check that all of your forward facing headlights are properly aimed and remaain so. Because of their extreme brightness please be courtoeus to other drivers and turn them off whenever you approach another vehicle from the front or the rear. Information on proper headlight aiming in available here:http://www.danielsternlighting.com/ along with other educational material about your headlights. Please do not be affraid of the word "educational", it won't hurt a bit.

Rant over.

John

 

Lighting regulations do vary from state to state. I can give you Pennsylvania's laws.

Driving lights have to be mounted in the center of the car. There is a maximum distance they can be apart from each other (I believe it is either 12 or 16 inches), they have a minimum (18") and maximum (36") height restrictions and they can only be turned on when you have the high beams on.
Fog lights have to be mounted far apart (24" or farther) low (no more than 12 or 16" off the ground), they have to turn on with your low beams and go off with the high beams.
I am not sure on the specific measurements as it has been a while since I have had to worry about it and they may have changed in the last 15 years, but this is what I remember.
The setup for each of these is that driving lights should be pointing down the road and slightly to the right and fog lights should point to the right and left sides of the road. The fog lights should be pointed more downward than driving lights.

Personally I used fog lights instead of driving lights as they lit the sides of the road more. I would connect them to my parking lights so I could use them in the fog and they would be more effective.

 

Great post Greatbear and it doesn't surprise me with all your MINI knowledge.

I have the OEM Rally Lights and use them every morning I drive to work. An earlier post mentioned driving roads with deer and I do daily, but that’s a misnomer about daily. I go to work Between 2:30 and 4:00 AM, which is night to most of you folk. I work different hours daily so don’t ask about the time shift, but the deer are out here.

The very first thing that happens when I turn the key and rev the engine is Fog lights on, DSC off and Rally Lights on. It automatic and I give it no thought; it’s just boom, boom, and boom.

If you truly have a use for them and I mean use them for real light you won’t have a problem with this post. People who want to drive around town blinding other drivers will.

Ask how to put 4 extra hi-beam lights on your car and I have no problem, but don’t expect me to have a nice word for you if you ever come driving down the road towards me with then all lit up for show and glow status.


I’ve been deer struck in a previous car and if I had the extra light my Rally Lights give me now it may not have happened. They have a function people, not just looks. I use them for a reason and know how to use then responsibly.

 

I too use my driving (rally) lights on the roads around me to keep an eye out for deer and other critters that too often trot across suddenly. The key here is that I use these lights to augment my high beams, and I always dim the lights to oncoming traffic. I've installed driving lights on several of the vehicles I have owned, and in each case I have interlocked them to the highbeams for ease of controlling them. In quite a few occasions, the usage of my driving lights, including the ones on the MINI, has saved my bacon (venison?) by allowing me to see a hazard from a greater distance away and avoid it.

I recommend that people install additional lighting on their cars and trucks. And I also make sure they know what kind of lights to get to match their driving conditions and how to aim and use those lights. Too often I see people running on the streets with poorly installed and mis-aimed driving and/or fog lights turned on in traffic making life miserable for those that encounter or are being followed by them. It causes oncoming traffic to flash and burn their highbeams to get the offending lights dimmed. This in turn blinds the innocent motorists following the offender and sometimes starts a photonic war on the road.

Think of the retinas!

 

I would like to have them wired so one switch will turn on the high beams, fod lights, and driving lamps all at once so when you are flashed by other drivers for having the brights on (as often happens in the mini), you can give them a nice blast of full power to show them just how bright it can be! ha!

 

I cannot agree with Greatbear more. I too, have a commute where I often encounter more deer than other cars. I have Alta's rally style light bar, and the lights saved me from two potential deer decapitations last winter.

The lights are very powerful, and SHOULD ONLY BE ON when your highbeams are on. That's it, end of story. Be a responsible motorist, and do not re-wire your driving lamps to turn on with your low beams. If you do, you're not only TOTALLY missing the point about what the driving lights are designed to do, but you're breaking the law, and most importantly, jeopardizing the safety of oncoming motorists.