[Mini Mic]

Hello
Im considering buying 2 Wipac spot lights for my mini.

My questions are:
Do i need to purchase the wipac wiring loom? But this loom comes with a switch and i want them wired into my main beams.. So do i just use the rest of the loom and leave out the switch?

Does anyone have a set of instructions for wiring these lights?

I dont understand relays and do i take the power from the auxilary battery terminal in the engine bay?

Any information/ advise would be great!!

Thanks!

Michael

[Richard82]

Hey Michael,

Well I have just hooked up 4 Wipac lamps to the front of my mini and it wasn't too bad. I didn't have a wiring loom with switch, mine just come on with the main beam.

I had to splice the main beam going into the NS front light. This wire then goes to the little relay box which has one wire coming off attached to the headlight mounting bolt (earthing the circuit). Another wire runs down the NS of the bonnet, down the hinge, through the cowl area, in behind the centre cowl and then I drilled a tiny hole for the wire to come out by the +ve terminal.

The final wire goes off under the bonnet sound proofing material to a multi wire junction where 4 wires go off to each lamp.

The power for mine comes from the +ve battery terminal in the engine bay and is simply attached by a hoop end (can't remember what the are called!)

If you need any more help just let me know.

Richard

[Mini Mic]

Hi Richard.

Thanks for the reply.

I see youre from Newcastle.. Same here.. well Washington.. just down the road.. You should get yourself to the North East Mini Club.. we meet every Thurs.

In reply to your post... Where did you get your relay and wiring loom from and what type would i need? Any suggestions?

Thanks

Michael

[Richard82]

I will have to look into going along 2 one of the clubs, but Thursday is my 5-a-side night!

I actually bought mine on ebay with the Wipacs but to be honest all you need is the relay. The rest are just standard wires and connectors, this kit would do you (just ignore the flick switch). You could probably buy the parts individually for less as you don't need the switch. I have the numbers to which wire has to connect to on the relay and its just a case of routing round the engine bay.

You might need a crimping tool (or just pliers ) to squeeze down the connectors.

The other things you would need is 2 ring terminals (one for the earth and one to connect to the battery) and a 'tap-wire splice' which splices the OS drivers light, like this:



The female quick connect terminals in the pack would be used to attach the actual spot lights (they just pop in). I would also suggest a few little rubber surrounds for the connectors just to protect from the water that gets into the engine bay.

I could have saved a packet if I had only known this before!

[Mini Mic]

Hi Richard
Ive been looking at getting this wiring loom which includes a relay.

Is this the loom you bought?

www.ebay - wipac - wiring loom

If you could let me know the numbers of which to wire to i would really appreciate it.

You should join the club. If only to get a membership which entitles you to Car Owners club discounts for insurance. The membership only costs a fiver and can save you up to 15% on your insurance premiums.

Michael

[Richard82]

I actually bought my kit second hand as I got it with the 4 lamps & brackets etc. That kit would be fine along with the extras I mentioned in the above post. I will draw a diagram of it this evening for you

[Richard82]

Michael here is a diagram I have put together. If it doesn't make any sence to you, let me know!

[Mini Mic]

Richard Thats great!! Thanks mate!

Will that relay be available from any electrics store or is that the one you get with the wipac kit?

[Snowie]

Hi Guys
For safety sake use a fuse in the supply line from the battery to the relay - 15 amps in line fuse holder from any car accessory shop will do the trick. Never wire directly from the battery without an in line fuse.

[Mini Mic]

Thanks for the info Snowie.. I will do just that.... infact that was my next question!

Thanks

Michael

[Richard82]

Yeah I suddenly thought of that last night and was going to mention it this morning!

[Mini Mic]

Thanks for all your help!

Hopefully the lights will arrive today or tomorrow and i'll be wired ASAP.

Will post a pic once its done!

Thanks again!!

Michael

[Mini Mic]

Finally got round to installing the spot lights today. What do you think?

Richard... Thanks again for all your help!

If you see me around... Flash like a maniac and i will flash back

[Richard82]

They are looking N I C E !!! Glad I could help you!

One other thing you could do is put some protective rubber/wire surround on the bits of wire that come out the bottom of the lights. I added some to mine the other day as they seemed to be getting misted up. I had some small rubber tube in the garage that I used, not sure if its needed though. It just goes back to the junction box on mine.

[Aberdeen Al]

Did you remember to earth them as well?

[Mini Mic]

Yes.. Indeed i did.

I well chuffed with them.

Went out in the countryside lastnight with them.

They are fantastic!! Now i know how the rally drivers do it.. Its better than daylight!

[robby71]

I've just bought the same kit on fleebay and had to order a wiring kit as i found 1 wasn't included
couple of questions
Since there aren't any templates for the brackets is it obvious how they fit/ where to drill?
There's just 1 wire from each lamp - i asume this is the positive so how do you earth them?

Thanks

[Mini Mic]

Hi Robby
Have a look at these instructions for fitting BMW spot lights. Ignore everything but have a look at section 5 where it tells you the measurements and where to drill holes.
www. BMW_Driving_lamp_install.pdf

I had a look at the wipac wiring kits but ended up making my own as i wanted a fused relay and didnt want to use the switch they included.

Anyway... its all straight forward once you get started.

The Wipac lights earth themselves inside the housing which inturn earths through the brackets and through the screws/rivets used to fasten to the car body.

Have a look at the wiring diagram Richard provided. Note:... make sure you get the relay which is the same.. otherwise the wiring will be slightly different. Incidently.. my relay was slightly different... basically the 85 & 86 were the opposite way around.

Post your pics once youve finished.. If you have any questions.. post them too!

Goodluck!

[Richard82]

Yeah, make sure you match the numbers (i.e. ignore the ordering!) My diagram is for the Wipac relay only as I am unsure of what other kits come like.

Robby71, the drilling takes a bit of force but be careful not to put so much on that you end up going through the grill above. What I did for the drilling was get a very fine drill bit first to drill a starter hole & then the point of the larger drill bit will sit in the hole making it easier to drill the final hole. If you go stright for the large hole the drill bit can squirm around making it a tad difficult.

Robby71, as Mini Mic says, just shout if you need any help or info!

[robby71]

Thanks for the help - i'm getting a new grille at the weekend so i'll fit them sunday, wiring kit came today so it's all systems go