Hello everyone, brand new MINI owner and very proud to say so. I've acquired an '03 British Racing Green MCS a week ago today and I'm now a MINIac! I have a question about the tail lights though. The guy I bought it from says that he THINKS they are covers, but I can't seem to find a way to get them off. The chrome rings is underneath the said "cover", and that is what makes me think that they are. But then again, I don't see a way to get them off! Hoping someone could tell me if they are covers, and if not, how could I get to the chrome trim?






Thanks in advance, guys!

Sara

 

Hi, Those are OEM "egg yolk" tails for 02-04 MINI's, no covers. Just that the clear part looks like it has become opaque over time from sun exposure....

If you replace them, be careful of NON OEM units. They can have a poor fit, causing water to get inside the boot area filling up the battery compartment ect.

 

Thanks for your response! Do you have any suggestions on good non OEM tail lights? Obviously I don't want anything crazy. I would just like something more clear and something that wouldn't fog up like this. I actually like the tail lights I have attached a picture of (which I believe to be 05, 06 tails), but I'm not sure if I could wire the R lights to come on inside the tail light. (I'm a noob right now, but I catch on quickly) Sorry!

 

Or if someone could tell me if this could be repaired that would be great! I wasn't sure if wet standing and a rubbing compound would work on these. Or if I disassembled the tail light and cleaned from the inside?

 

There are numerous plastic polish kits for restoring headlights and taillights. It would be relatively inexpensive to try one of these before resorting to swapping out the lights. For example: http://www.amazon.com/3M-39014-Lens-...dp/B002UJ13QO/

 

Unless I'm mistaken, most, if not all aftermarket light kits are not DOT certified and therefore illegal. Use at your own risk.

If the plastic is scatched, yellowed, etc., you can get a kit to polish them out yourself, or pay a modest fee at a good detail shop to do it for you. 'Makes them look like new.

 

+! on the polish. Try it first, then if you don't like it get new lenses. I would suggest that whatever you do, you get some tint(clear or otherwise) to cover and protect the lenses.

 

Can't puchase just new lenses, and that discoloratiion is deeper than any polish would rectify. Sorry.

Only choice you have at that point is new rear tails.

The 05/06 will work, I had them on my MINI before. Only issue was that when I appled the brakes the clear back up bulb lit up too....so I installed a really large LED red bulb in there.

 

Tint on headlights and tail lights is illegal as well. I can understand doing it from an appearance point of view, but why would you knowingly reduce the effectiveness of your lighting? Less light to see with in the front and less light to be seen by in the rear. Bad idea all around.

 

Ever hear of clear tint/clear bra?

And yes the fogging can be polished off in the large majority of the time.

Sorry, I was using the generically acceptable term for the light assembly. sheesh

 

you could always try brushing them with toothpaste and a toothbrush.. i did it on my last car, and come out great.. and its pretty much free

 

Nothin' personal. 'Just pointing out that tinting is illegal. If it's a"tint", that means you're changing the color. Most dictionaries define "tint" as a "shade of a color". If it's colorless, it's not a tint. 'Just sayin'.

As for clear bras, yes I've heard of them. In fact, the entire front of my Mini has a clear bra. And I had them add some clear bra to the dimples behind the door handles as well. (The wife's jewelry seems to scratch everything.)

And for the money, I would definately try polishing those lenses.

 

Guess you missed me saying "clear or otherwise" in my post............

 

Even if you can remove 90% of it. It will yellow back in no time, even faster than it took to get that way.

Lexan has a UV clear coat which is easily polished off with all the polishing required in this case.

You would then have to re-clear coat the tails after trying to bring them back......get new IMO.

 

But it took 8 years to get that way. Polishing is so easy and low cost that I see no reason not to try it. No big deal ($10-$20) if it doesn't work. Even if it improves it by 50%, that may be "good enough".

 

Hey, give it a go.

But it will be yellow all over again in a few months w/o the coating.

This "class act" kit works great on headlights....(never tried it on a tail). Friend used it few weeks back. It has the clear coat and an applicator as well.

BG Headlight Restoration Kit

And I would remove the tail lights before doing this too so as not to scratch the surface of the MINI.

 

Nope. Just pointing out that tint is illegal. And being **** in saying that "clear" and "tint" are mutually exclusive.

As for putting clearbra over the lenses, that may not work. I may be wrong, but I don't think the clearbra materials have any UV inhibitors in them. If they did, then people would be extremely unhappy with clearbras as time went on and the paint under the clear bra didn't fad at the same rate as the rest of the paint. I'm betting clearbra doesn't have UV inhibitors in it. It can be good for protecting from stones and such, though.

 

Thanks everyone for your responses! I actually lightly tinted my tails for the mean time before I buy new ones. We actually tried every polishing technique before I posted the help thread, to no avail. The tinting made them look slightly better, but still bug the crap out of me. I know I'm still a noob,
And on to the question....

I've tried searching the forums, along with SunshineMINIS, which is a forum for Florida MINIs but, will the 2006 OEM tail lights fit my 2003? I know when I search on the web, most come up as 2002-2006, but I just want to make sure. I'm not worried about the reverse light being in the tail light, (actually, I prefer that!) And we're willing to rewire them. It's relatively simple to rewire right? We've rewired tail lights in a Fox Body and we're hoping it's somewhat similar. Also, when I see the following when purchasing tail lights, what does it mean?
"Without clear lens" I know mine have the ugly lens on them, but if I replace mine with the ones I posted earlier, does it matter that in the description it says without clear lens? Sorry if I sound like a dingus.

You guys have been very very helpful and this is just my fourth post! Thanks so much!

Sara

 

I've been lurking NAM since I posted last night and I found a few threads that say indirectly that 2006 tails will fit an 03, but they are not clear. I have yet to find anything about "clear lenses" but am I safe to assume that the newer tails aren't clear, but red? I'll try to find an example ad so I can show what it says when advertised.

This was pasted from (just as an example)
http://www.monsterautoparts.com/bmw/...brake_lamp.htm

Left Hand Drivers Side Headlight
Tail Light Without Clear Lens
Tail Light Includes Lens And Housing
DOT And SAE Approved
Replaces OEM Number 63216925835
Tail Light Fits 2002, 03, 2004 Mini Cooper
Interchange # 166-59354
Replacement Mini Cooper Tail Light Unit Built To OEM Specifications

Thanks guys!

 

I'm curious about this too Sara. I bought an 03 Chili Red R53 not too long ago and have tried the polishes myself. I like the picture you posted at the top of the thread and would be willing to do the rewiring myself as well if anyone could help us out it would be appreciated.

 

Webhead,
After most of the day devoted to finding some tail lights and making sure they work I have found myself at the very beginning again. I sourced myself back to the very original picture I posted of the 06 tails that I liked
http://www.motoringunderground.com/f...ad.php?t=15951
So I have found out that these tail lights WILL fit on our 2003's, but I would just like to know if the wiring is relatively simple to do. Seems like it would be, but before I fork over cash I would like to know from someone that has experience with this, or something along that nature. I plan to wire my R lights into the tails, and try out some of that red spray tint on the bumper reverse light. Whether I actually turn it into a rear fog light or not, I think it would look a lot better than having that silly little reverse light. What do you guys think?

 

Physically 05/06 taillights will fit on an 03. The electrical connections are slightly different because the positions of the rear fog and backup light were switched around, but that's a simple wiring change.

Look at gray raven's post #8 in this thread. He says he's done it.

 

Jeez! I forgot all about him saying that he did it. DUH sorry guys. I must have gotten distracted with all the other talk. But, Gray Raven said that he put in a large red light in where a reverse would usually be. I would like my white sections of my tails to come up when in reverse. Not braking. Simply put, I want my lights to work as if it was the back of an 06, you know? I bet I'm making this way more confusing than it would physically be. Haha.

 

Not at all, what you are asking for I would like to do as well....

 

It's definitely possible to do that, and I'd say worth it for the greatly increased backup lighting.

Your 03 doesn't have a backup signal going to the taillights, and you'd have run some wiring to add it in. You can run wires from your backup light in the bumper, but it can be more easily hooked up from inside the luggage compartment, because the backup signal is in the bundle of wires running down the side of the car. I believe that on the hardtop the wiring harness is on the left side (in my convertible it's on the right). It should be accessible behind the side access panel in the luggage compartment. In the wiring harness, look for a wire with blue and yellow stripes. I know all this stuff because I created this mod. In the 06 taillight, you'll have to see which pin the white light uses in the connector plug, and run your signal there.