10 replies to this topic

[MrMini]

Hi all i have a 1975 MK3/MK4 and it never originally had reversing lights. I have brought a boot mounted Lucas reversing lamp but have no clue how to wire it up. I am not sure if it makes a differance or not but the car used to be auto and has now had the engine and gear stick/box etc converted to a manual. I vaguely remember 2 wires going to the gear stick beneath the exhaust tunnel, (a green and green/lime green i think), do i need to use these perhaps? Is there any wiring exsisting in the rear light clusters that may help? Where do i get a feed from? Wiring is not my strong point and all advice will really help!

Thanks in advance!

[MrMini]

Oh i forgot to say that the reversing light itself has a red and black wire coming out the back.

[MRA]

The and reversing lamps, if you mount it on the boot lid, it MUST have a separate on/off switch AND a gear selecting switch, ie only works when in reverse and switched on, however it is illegal for use on the highway.......

power needs to be from a fused supply, 1mm wire should be ok as long as it's automotive and not household wire... a separate switch with a light to show when on then to your reversing switch on the gearbox (front of the remote style or on the gear selector unit on rod units) then on to the red wire...... the black wire goes to ground

Regards Martin

[MrMini]

Ok, so i just earth the black wire. Then a wire runs to from a fused supply to a switch and onto the gear selector and down to the red wire on the lamp. Here is an old photo of my current wiring, what do i do with these two wires then? Do i wire into one and out the other?

 aaa.jpg   100.79K   14 downloads

Edited by MrMini, 21 May 2009 - 09:33 AM.

[MRA]

The picture implies that you do have a reverse lamp fitted ?

[MiniMonty]

I've heard before that those old rally lamps were illegal as reversing lights - anyone know why ?

Best wishes
Mony

[MrMini]

The picture implies that you do have a reverse lamp fitted ?

The engine, gear linkage and gear box were from a later mini and were placed in the car to replace the much earlier auto i had. Any ideas?

[MRA]

Ok, so i just earth the black wire. Then a wire runs to from a fused supply to a switch and onto the gear selector and down to the red wire on the lamp. Here is an old photo of my current wiring, what do i do with these two wires then? Do i wire into one and out the other?
 aaa.jpg   100.79K   14 downloads

live feed to fuse
from fuse to conventional dash mounted switch, which MUST have a lamp when on...
onto one of the wires in the piccy...
then from the other wire in the piccy to your lamp
Black to ground

Dependant on the length of wiring and the switches used etc.... you may need to include a relay and take the power from the battery (via another fuse)

[oc1sup]

If it helps, there's a wiring diagram in the Haynes manual 0646 (about page 12.44) for a similar circuit for the foglight switch, but needs the reverse switch on the gear lever added between 22 and 86 on the diagram - one wire from manual switch 22 to the reverse switch, the other from the reverse switch to the reverse lamp 86. Cable colours obviously don't match....

[MrMini]

Great stuff. Thank you for the replies/advice!

[minimadjonesy]

I've heard before that those old rally lamps were illegal as reversing lights - anyone know why ?

Best wishes
Mony

think it was due to legisalation brought in around the mid 80's! I have a 1980 Mini with a boot mounted lucas ranger lamp which i fitted shortly after I bought it. Checked then if it was legal and was advised that my car was old enough for it to be ok as long as a lower wattage bulb was used! make sure you adjust it though as it can blind people if aligned incorrectly.

I took the feed from the original reverse circuit as i swapped the rear lights to be the mk2 style!