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Stock Problems/IssuesDiscussions related to warranty related issues and repairs, or other problems with the OEM parts and software for MINI Cooper (R50), Cabrio (R52), and Cooper S (R53) MINIs.
So I picked up a slightly rough 2004 Cooper S last week. Just starting to dig into what it needs to make it right again and got to the headlights tonight. There was some kind of whacky aftermarket HID kit in there that wasn't working anymore, in what I assume are aftermarket housings. My intent is to just order new headlights and taillights but is there a dead obvious way of knowing whether the car was fitted with HIDs from the factory? I have a shop manual in the mail right now but I want to get the car road ready asap.
This car is going to need some TLC, I look forward to picking your brains some more.
...is there a dead obvious way of knowing whether the car was fitted with HIDs from the factory?
Go to THIS website, type in the last 7 of your VIN, scroll down and you'll see the details on how your specific vehicle left the factory. If your MINI had the Xenons, option 522 will be listed there.
Go to THIS website, type in the last 7 of your VIN, scroll down and you'll see the details on how your specific vehicle left the factory. If your MINI had the Xenons, option 522 will be listed there.
Sweet! That's exactly the kind of info I'm looking for, thanks!
Factory it came with either Xenon or Halogen headlights. The older 2004 model came with non projector Xenons. Like this:
They will show Xenon writing in the housing on the outer side, you can see it in the pic. Halogens will looks similar but will not say Xenon in the housing.
Well vin decoders I've tried so far aren't working for me except the NAM one which is pretty generic, and the housings are aftermarket. I'm going to assume it was a halogen from factory given the sloppy aftermarket HID conversion the previous owner did.
Ok, this is a dumb question but China makes poor instructions and I honestly don't know the answer. Turns out my car has factory HID, but as others have stated, these aftermarket headlights that aren't supposed to work according to the manufacturer, do in fact function just fine. Obviously the low beam is the projector and the high beam is inside the "halo". But what the hell is that other bulb for? Like the halo, it has to be spliced in for power as it's not in the harness. But what is its purpose?
