Does anyone know if you can add a cig apater to the boot of a 2003 mini cooper? The new coopers all have one and I'm wondering if I can buy a kit to add it to mine. Mine has a pre drilled hole for one and it might even be prewired for it (if not I'm sure I can tap into a 12V switched line).

Thanks!

 

It's not pre-wired. The 02 had an outlet in the boot, it was removed and replaced with a plug for 03, then it was back for 04. That's the bad news. The good news is that several people have installed lighter plugs in the boot of 03s, tapping into power in various ways. My suggestion, do a search on here for boot power install or something similar. From memory, the common options were to wire straight to the battery, or to the hot wire in the tail-light assembly.

 

Whatever you do, fuse that wire!

 

I installed one in the boot of my '03. Got the kit from Brian at Classic.

Mine's an MC, so I had to run power from the battery in the engine compartment. I was already bringing power to the amps under the driver's seat so I figured while I was in there...

 

Do you happen to remember the cost and P/N I needed? Also do you have Brian's contact info?

Thanks!

 

I purchased an add on adapter that is for a pickup truck from WalMart and ran it with an Add-a-Fuse to the fuse box, put on a switch slot. Hid the wires under the carpet and rear seat. The plug fit the 03 hole in back perfectly. This kit comes with all the wire you need and cost less than $20.00. Worked like champ.....

 

I believe it was a few different part numbers but Brian had them together in a kit. I don't recall the price, but it I don't think it was too bad.

His number is 440-942-7500 - ask for Brian in Parts.

 

Where is Brian? Are those stock Mini parts matching the front lighted one?

 

This is something I've always meant to do but have never gotten around to it.

If I were to do it, I'd just go spend a few bucks at the local auto parts store rather than buying genuine parts. $10 or so should get you everything you need including parts necessary to add a fuse to it. With a MCS, I'll just wire it directly to the oh so conveniently placed battery.

 

I did this using a Casco aftermarket lighted cigarette lighter socket, some wire and connectors and a fuseholder. Fit like it was factory, and had the bonus of being lit. Since I have an '03 MCS, the install was a piece of cake with the battery in the rear. I also wanted this to be full-time powered rather than accessory switched. If anyone is interested I can dig up the photos I took during the install process.

 

Brian is at Classic Mini in Ohio. Yes they are stock Mini parts. One part is the socket and another part is the orange ring around it that glows. The socket itself may have actually been two parts - I don't remember.

I think it was $8 or something but I can't recall exactly.

 

yah, i would do that too cause you can use that plug to charge your
battery in the winter time (at 2A).

 

Here are the pics. This is a very simple mod for MCS since the battery is in the boot. MC cars need to have a wire run to the fuse box in the kick panel or to the battery under the hood.

This is the Casco illuminated cigarette lighter outlet, minus the green trim ring and the actual lighter. I fitted all the wires with quick disconnects (the reason why is apparent later.


I used 14ga wire for the power and ground (red and black), and an 18ga yellow wire for illumination.


Wrapping the wires into a harness makes the installation easier, and more tidy. It looks 'stock'.


Remove all the wires, disassemble the outlet assembly and mount it in the hole after removing the blank plug by reaching into the cubby with the back shell and screwing the front shell with the green illumination ring into the back shell. Because of the way the two shells screw together, having the wiring completely detached makes things a lot easier here. This is what you end up with.


Route the wiring through the boot cubby and alongside the wiring harness with the big red positive wire. Remove the trim piece that covers the boot latch. Run the wiring along the existing cables to the battery box. It's here that the positive wire connects through a fuseholder to the positive terminal (the fuseholder comes with short orange wires attached). I grounded the black wire at the battery hold-down bracket mounting at the top of the picture.


Continue the yellow wire to the opposite boot cubby. Pull out the wiring connected to the lamp above. Find the yellow wire with the red tracer. Splice the yellow wire to this lighting wire to have the outlet illuminate when the boot is open. The pic is of a test probe confirming the power source.


Add a couple zip ties to hold all the wiring in place, install a 15 or 20 amp fuse in the fuse holder, reinstall the boot latch trim, close up the carpeting and replace the boot cubby covers and the job is done. The advantage of this method is that you have an always-on (and high-power) outlet rather than one that shuts off with the ignition. This comes in handy for running inverters or refrigerated coolers. Also, this is handy for using a trickle charger via the power outlet, which is not possible with the standard setup or the console-mounted lighter outlet which is disconnected from the battery with the key off. I have a small solar charger that can be used to keep the battery alive while the car sits. I plug it in and set it on the rear package shelf.

The same lighter socket used in the console can be used here, the connector would have to be changed since they are all spade lugs on the MINI outlet, versus a wire, a #10 stud and a spade lug on the Casco. The advantage to doing this would be to have an orange ring rather than a green one. Unlike the factory setup in '02 and '04-on cars, this is illuminated. In fact, you can replace the existing outlet in so-equipped cars with the console version, and run only the yellow wire to have it now illuminated.

 

Thanks for the awsome write up! Where did you get the adapter you used? Is this something I can easily find at a pepboys?

Also, that's one serious looking crimper you got there. I got me a $5 dollar cheapo deal. hehe

 

Yes, you can get an illuminated cig lighter at pepboys and advanced auto parts and the like.

 

If I am not mistaken, I got the socket at either Advance Auto or Wal-Mart. You can find them everywhere. A quick scan of the Casco site shows they have versions available with orange illumination rings now. I believe the mounting hole is about 25mm or so, A standard, non-illuminating version of the socket was too small, this one fit perfectly. The new versions seem to all be snap-in style rather than screw-together.

The mando crimper seems to be there to offset the cheapo stripper I was using. I have two high-end automatic strippers, but cannot find either to this day.

 

i have one. ( i have an 06 ) but i never use that outlet. wat do you guys use it for? O.o

 

I use mine for a trickle charger 'inlet', and I also use it mostly for a small refrigerated cooler I take travelling with me. I also use it as my main place for using a 120VAC inverter for recharging camera and instrument batteries. All this can stay locked in the boot and hidden from view. Having it powered constantly means I dont need to have the key in the ignition to make use of the power. Downside is I have to remember to disconnect anything I have running before leaving the car for more than a couple hours. I replaced the original battery in the car with a big Optima deep-cycle battery, so I dont have the worries I used to when using battery power for extended periods.