Two months into our MINI experience ('04 PW/B MCS) the wife and I have developed a serious case of driving light-envy. I can't stomach $695 for the dealer-installed factory set-up. $389, my own labor, plus whatever the dealer charges for activation doesn't sound much better. Hunting around online I've come up with some alternatives:
Either of these options leave you to source or fabricate your own wiring and brackets. Can anyone recommend a source for an everything-but-the-lamps driving lamps package?
Have a look on www.hella.com and follow site to MINI kit they are Comet 200 lamps and look serious quality, looks good as well, better than OE I think . it may help if someone could post a link .
Gerard
You can also order the OEM lights from Classic BMW (they sell to the public at a discount) and do the install yourself. There is no "activation" on the driving lights for the US - it taps into the high-beam wire at the computer. I did the install myself on my new MCS:
I even had the brackets chromed to blend into the chrome grill better. I didn't use the Jute lights that come with the kit though - I replaced them with Cibie Tangos. You could sell the Jutes if you choose to use another set of lights.
[quote=CurtP]You can also order the OEM lights from Classic BMW (they sell to the public at a discount) and do the install yourself. There is no "activation" on the driving lights for the US - it taps into the high-beam wire at the computer. I did the install myself on my new MCS:
Sounds like a good option. How do you contact Classic BMW? What do they charge for the kit?
Great looking car! Ours looks like yours minus stripes, lights, and full-chrome grill (stripes and lights are in its future). Color scheme was our easiest decision when buying.
Regarding your driving light install; your switch is shown mounted in the parcel shelf which our car, being typical NA spec, lacks. Are there alternate locations for this switch?
The switch is mounted close to the same place with the standard knee bolster. There's a template that puts the switch in the correct position (you have to cut a hole), but I think it has to be ordered separately from the light kit (the part number is shown in the installation .pdf). I took a little extra time with the light switch to make it look right - most of the installs I've seen just put the switch in the hole on the parcel shelf although that hole isn't made for the driving light switch (it's for the manual xenon leveling control on EU cars). I had to trim out a blank-off plug to get the right fit.
The wiring isn't too hard, but it is a bit involved. Make sure you're ready to tackle such a job. You'll have to route the wire loom through the firewall, a single wire from the left-hand side over to the right-hand side, and remove the kick panel on the passenger footwell to get to the computer to tap into the high-beam wiring. The radio also has to be removed to tap into the dash lights and switched power. Read through the instructions before commiting to the project:
The instructions aren't quite up to date though - a couple of things have changed for the '04's - I believe Classic can send you the current instructions if you order the kit from them. The changes are minor though.
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