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Thanks for the drawings - I can work with that. I have a "dummy" pushbutton below the button for my fog lamps, which is for UK rear fog lamps. I am going to see if I can use that hole for my switch instead of drilling one. We'll see when I take the thing apart. I will post pics.
Ok, so I am gearing up to do this install. Thanks to all who have helped out so far. I have attempted to get the wheel arches off, but they don't seem to want to cooperate. (I have the tutorial and photos) I think it might be the cold temps. I have also looked at removing the cowl and it appears to be stuck to the window, and I don't see an obvious way to get the wipers off. Finally, the pass-thru grommet on the passenger side firewall looks to be wrapped up pretty tight. Any advice on how to get that thing apart so I can pass the wiring?
Ok, so I am gearing up to do this install. Thanks to all who have helped out so far. I have attempted to get the wheel arches off, but they don't seem to want to cooperate. (I have the tutorial and photos) I think it might be the cold temps. I have also looked at removing the cowl and it appears to be stuck to the window, and I don't see an obvious way to get the wipers off. Finally, the pass-thru grommet on the passenger side firewall looks to be wrapped up pretty tight. Any advice on how to get that thing apart so I can pass the wiring?
Thanks!
Hey Subguy. Did you ever get the switch to fit in that slot for the fog lamps?
I have a new F56 now and want to use the blank spot I have. I can buy a new cluster with the extra switch but that is quite expensive as you are rebuying the whole cluster for one extra button. Please let use know what you ended up doing.
The position of the on off switch as per the instructions is a really stupid position and hard to see IMO.
Last spring I installed my lights, but did not like where the switch was supposed to go (side of steering column). If you have a North American car (others may have this also) that did not come with rear fog lamps, then you may have a "dummy" switch location on your knee bolster just below where the front fog lamp switch is. Rather than drill a hole in the column, I put it in the "dummy" switch position as follows (see pic also):
Attached is a photo of the finished product. In the throws of my shade tree switch hacking, I am afraid I did not get many photos. You can see the aux. light pushbutton just below the fog lamp button.
I assume you know how to get the switch assembly off of the knee bolster. Once you have it out, you will see that there are very tiny little snap-tabs that hold the face plate onto the switch box. If you very carefully pop those off with a small jewelers screwdriver or similar, the plate will come off. As I recall, you need to remove the headlight selector **** to get the face plate to come off.
Once I had the face plate removed from the switch assembly, I used a Dremel tool to carefully drill out the dummy switch location until it matched the diameter of the inner switch barrel. There was some plastic inside the rear portion of the switch box that I had to also remove with the Dremel, but it was very easy. I used one of the small "barrel" type sanding wheels to get the final dimensions. I also drilled a hole in the rear part of the switch assembly that was just big enough to get the new switch wires through. I then reassembled the switch, again being careful of the little tabs that hold the face plate on, and then reinstalled the switch into the bolster. Then, I popped the new switch into the hole from the front of the bolster and voila, what you see below was the result.
You can pretty easily pop the switch assembly out of the bolster, and pop the front plate off to see what's involved. If you don't want to do it, it is very easy to snap the thing back together, reinstall and forget about it. I thought this was the easiest part of the install, actually...
There is some additional info including my "corrected" instructions for install on a 2014 hardtop here: http://www.minif56.com/forum/754-how...s-install.html Thanks to GregoryK for the help with the corrections to the electrical wiring!!
Last edited by subguy658; 10-31-2015 at 03:43 PM.
Reason: Forgot to add photo!
Last spring I installed my lights, but did not like where the switch was supposed to go (side of steering column). If you have a North American car (others may have this also) that did not come with rear fog lamps, then you may have a "dummy" switch location on your knee bolster just below where the front fog lamp switch is. Rather than drill a hole in the column, I put it in the "dummy" switch position as follows (see pic also):
Attached is a photo of the finished product. In the throws of my shade tree switch hacking, I am afraid I did not get many photos. You can see the aux. light pushbutton just below the fog lamp button.
I assume you know how to get the switch assembly off of the knee bolster. Once you have it out, you will see that there are very tiny little snap-tabs that hold the face plate onto the switch box. If you very carefully pop those off with a small jewelers screwdriver or similar, the plate will come off. As I recall, you need to remove the headlight selector **** to get the face plate to come off.
Once I had the face plate removed from the switch assembly, I used a Dremel tool to carefully drill out the dummy switch location until it matched the diameter of the inner switch barrel. There was some plastic inside the rear portion of the switch box that I had to also remove with the Dremel, but it was very easy. I used one of the small "barrel" type sanding wheels to get the final dimensions. I also drilled a hole in the rear part of the switch assembly that was just big enough to get the new switch wires through. I then reassembled the switch, again being careful of the little tabs that hold the face plate on, and then reinstalled the switch into the bolster. Then, I popped the new switch into the hole from the front of the bolster and voila, what you see below was the result.
You can pretty easily pop the switch assembly out of the bolster, and pop the front plate off to see what's involved. If you don't want to do it, it is very easy to snap the thing back together, reinstall and forget about it. I thought this was the easiest part of the install, actually...
There is some additional info including my "corrected" instructions for install on a 2014 hardtop here: http://www.minif56.com/forum/754-how...s-install.html Thanks to GregoryK for the help with the corrections to the electrical wiring!!
Looks so clean!! Since I ordered both front and rear fogs my switch is on the steering column (which I don't really like because its hard to see if on/off just like bmw and its heated steering wheel switch)
It's worth ordering these from the factory if you don't want to install yourself (like me) because they are labor intensive to install and you wind up paying less at port. Mine were $1,035 and people have been getting quoted $1300-$1500 installed which is crazy!
Last spring I installed my lights, but did not like where the switch was supposed to go (side of steering column). If you have a North American car (others may have this also) that did not come with rear fog lamps, then you may have a "dummy" switch location on your knee bolster just below where the front fog lamp switch is. Rather than drill a hole in the column, I put it in the "dummy" switch position as follows (see pic also):
Attached is a photo of the finished product. In the throws of my shade tree switch hacking, I am afraid I did not get many photos. You can see the aux. light pushbutton just below the fog lamp button.
I assume you know how to get the switch assembly off of the knee bolster. Once you have it out, you will see that there are very tiny little snap-tabs that hold the face plate onto the switch box. If you very carefully pop those off with a small jewelers screwdriver or similar, the plate will come off. As I recall, you need to remove the headlight selector **** to get the face plate to come off.
Once I had the face plate removed from the switch assembly, I used a Dremel tool to carefully drill out the dummy switch location until it matched the diameter of the inner switch barrel. There was some plastic inside the rear portion of the switch box that I had to also remove with the Dremel, but it was very easy. I used one of the small "barrel" type sanding wheels to get the final dimensions. I also drilled a hole in the rear part of the switch assembly that was just big enough to get the new switch wires through. I then reassembled the switch, again being careful of the little tabs that hold the face plate on, and then reinstalled the switch into the bolster. Then, I popped the new switch into the hole from the front of the bolster and voila, what you see below was the result.
You can pretty easily pop the switch assembly out of the bolster, and pop the front plate off to see what's involved. If you don't want to do it, it is very easy to snap the thing back together, reinstall and forget about it. I thought this was the easiest part of the install, actually...
There is some additional info including my "corrected" instructions for install on a 2014 hardtop here: http://www.minif56.com/forum/754-how...s-install.html Thanks to GregoryK for the help with the corrections to the electrical wiring!!
So did this myself tonight. I did not have a dremel so used a 14mm drill. I flush mounted switch which meant I had to sand the outside so it would fit in the hole I the dash. I think Joe's idea is probably easier!
Here are some pics to work with his notes. I ran my wire out the side of the switch because I did not want to drill through the circuit board!
Oh yeah mine a Canadian JCW - We have the fog lights but the top switch is free and that's where the driving light switch now resides...
So did this myself tonight. I did not have a dremel so used a 14mm drill. I flush mounted switch which meant I had to sand the outside so it would fit in the hole I the dash. I think Joe's idea is probably easier!
Here are some pics to work with his notes. I ran my wire out the side of the switch because I did not want to drill through the circuit board!
Oh yeah mine a Canadian JCW - We have the fog lights but the top switch is free and that's where the driving light switch now resides...
Damn those look awesome! What is the torx screw size for the dash pannel?
Last spring I installed my lights, but did not like where the switch was supposed to go (side of steering column). If you have a North American car (others may have this also) that did not come with rear fog lamps, then you may have a "dummy" switch location on your knee bolster just below where the front fog lamp switch is. Rather than drill a hole in the column, I put it in the "dummy" switch position as follows (see pic also):
Attached is a photo of the finished product. In the throws of my shade tree switch hacking, I am afraid I did not get many photos. You can see the aux. light pushbutton just below the fog lamp button.
I assume you know how to get the switch assembly off of the knee bolster. Once you have it out, you will see that there are very tiny little snap-tabs that hold the face plate onto the switch box. If you very carefully pop those off with a small jewelers screwdriver or similar, the plate will come off. As I recall, you need to remove the headlight selector **** to get the face plate to come off.
Once I had the face plate removed from the switch assembly, I used a Dremel tool to carefully drill out the dummy switch location until it matched the diameter of the inner switch barrel. There was some plastic inside the rear portion of the switch box that I had to also remove with the Dremel, but it was very easy. I used one of the small "barrel" type sanding wheels to get the final dimensions. I also drilled a hole in the rear part of the switch assembly that was just big enough to get the new switch wires through. I then reassembled the switch, again being careful of the little tabs that hold the face plate on, and then reinstalled the switch into the bolster. Then, I popped the new switch into the hole from the front of the bolster and voila, what you see below was the result.
You can pretty easily pop the switch assembly out of the bolster, and pop the front plate off to see what's involved. If you don't want to do it, it is very easy to snap the thing back together, reinstall and forget about it. I thought this was the easiest part of the install, actually...
There is some additional info including my "corrected" instructions for install on a 2014 hardtop here: http://www.minif56.com/forum/754-how...s-install.html Thanks to GregoryK for the help with the corrections to the electrical wiring!!
Greg, Looks like you did yours pretty much the same as mine, with the exception of using the drill vice a dremel. Great job. Curiously, your dummy switch position is opposite from mine.
Thanks for taking pictures. I meant to do so, but completely forgot - the stress of grinding on my MINI parts gave me tunnel vision.
They are shown as item #6 in this drawing. I have the non-LED type. The drawing implies that they are the same for both LED and non-LED, but I would check with the MINI Parts folks before buying. I am in the process of painting my covers with the black jack design.
They are shown as item #6 in this drawing. I have the non-LED type. The drawing implies that they are the same for both LED and non-LED, but I would check with the MINI Parts folks before buying. I am in the process of painting my covers with the black jack design.
Covers are available separately, but they are different. Ask me how I know! ;-). The non-led cover is all black & slightly smaller. The led cover is white & black....just hideous looking imo....painting my covers right now as the weather warms up!
Covers are available separately, but they are different. Ask me how I know! ;-). The non-led cover is all black & slightly smaller. The led cover is white & black....just hideous looking imo....painting my covers right now as the weather warms up!
In the 6 years I have had various auxiliary lights I have never used the covers - and honestly the lights too! IMHO they look way better without the covers.
In the 6 years I have had various auxiliary lights I have never used the covers - and honestly the lights too! IMHO they look way better without the covers.
I tend to agree, but having a cracked lens isn't a good thing! I wish the JCW had fog lights personally. MINIs just HAVE to have auxiliary lights though imo to look proper! ;-)
I've had the covers off of mine for about a year now- and there are no scratches. When I put the covers on, they tend to get really dirty (with bugs etc and are kind of a pain to clean)
First: thanks for your awesome tutorial, i'm think about the installation of the aux lamps that i always loved to have if i would have a mini (and now i have... so i wanna also those :D )
Here in Italy for the led spotlight from BMW we have to cash something around 600 euros, so i'm looking for something alternative and i probably found a good one from Cibiè, full led and very similar to the original (maybe the same?! ):
a pair should be around 200 euros. We have to add the bracket, and in my case the additional interface 'cause i have the full led lights.
Now, on the datasheet Cibiè says that they can powered from 12v or 24v (i will ask them some more specifics). Now the question: do you think that we can bypass the use of the additional interface by connect directly the aux lamps to the high beams? Here in italy is the only legal way to use that aux lamps (or at least the min out of the law...). The high beam led should works at 24v (or maybe 12v, i can test that.... no problem)... in that case we can do all the work with something around 300 euros/usd... with a full led lamps!
12-30-2014 | 04:39 PM
I have a "dummy" pushbutton below the button for my fog lamps, which is for UK rear fog lamps. I am going to see if I can use that hole for my switch instead of drilling one. We'll see when I take the thing apart. I will post pics.
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