Hey guys, hoping someone from here might be able to help. I just bought a 2005 Cooper S and both license plate bulbs are missing as well as their covers. It seems that corrosion has eaten away the electrical contacts for the bulbs. I tried putting in a new bulb and it doesn't light. Now the question is where can I find replacement parts to get the license plate light to work...do I have to change the whole trunk lid handle including the switch to open the rear hatch? Thanks in advance. I was thinking of maybe taking the whole thing apart and wiring my own LED source to the old one. Any other ideas. Thanks.

Scott.

 

This may be a good part to find at the junk yard. I don't know exactly what you are looking at, but if someone has a trashed rear and the center is good, it should be pretty cheap. YMMV

 

Those parts only come with the handle. So the only way to fix it is to buy the boot handle. You can call Classic MINI in Ohio they give a nice NAM discount. If you find one at the wrecking yard pop the lenses off & make sure it is not corroded inside like yours.

 

Thanks guys, called the junk yards and no one has one. I'll just have to buy a new one and just not worry about it. Thanks for your help.

 

This happened to my car as well. It seems that these lamps were not well sealed, and corrosion of the contacts is an issue. I also just replaced the entire handle assembly to fix the issue. Take a look in the Marketplace forum here and see if somebody has one they are looking to sell (that's how I got mine).
Note that to access the wiring connector for the handle assembly you will need to open the trunk and remove the inner hatch door panel. This is no big deal, though it helps to have the Brooklands manual to know where the clips are.