Reverse lights don’t work? Here’s how to fix them!

While checking over the Mini for it’s upcoming MOT – and filming that process for last week’s video you can check out in the cards above – I noticed that the reverse lights weren’t working. I’ve even got a clip of me reversing but no lights came on. If your reverse lights aren’t working, here’s what I did to fix ours.

My first thought was to check the bulb. Most cars only have one reverse light, it’s normally the only light that’s clear instead of red or orange. In our Mini’s case, it actually has reverse lights on both sides, so I checked both. You’ll need to remove the side panel just by pushing the two clips at the top down and pulling out. You may be able to get at the light from there but I made things a bit easier by unscrewing the 10mm nut holding the whole light housing in, then popping the unit out. Then you can unclip the outer housing from the light fitting board and check the bulbs visually, and if you’ve got a multimeter you can check if the two ends of the wire coming out of the bulb have continuity. If the bulb is blown you won’t be able to complete the circuit.

In my case the bulb was fine, so I also got my partner to start the car and put it in reverse so I could check if there was any power actually going to the bulb. Since it’s got two I also checked the other one just in case they were wired in series meaning if one was broken neither would work. That’s a terrible design and I doubt that’s how it’s connected, but it’s worth checking just in case. That one was also fine, so it’s not the bulbs.

If I’m being honest, the fact both lights didn’t work should have been a strong indicator it wasn’t the bulbs, but I figured it was easy enough to check them first so why not. So, if it’s not the bulbs, what can you do? Well, much like the brake lights, the reverse light often uses a physical switch to engage them. Some, especially newer vehicles, do it a little differently but in our Mini’s case it’s a physical switch on the side of the gearbox. 

For many this would be enough to take it to a garage, but specifically on this R50 Mini Cooper it’s really easy, needs next to no tools and even a novice can get it done in under an hour. First up, pop the bonnet using the handle in the driver’s footwell and lift the yellow handle just to the left of the right headlight. Once it’s up, you’ll want to remove the battery compartment lid for a bit more space. Then to keep things easy we aren’t going to remove the hose clamp to the top of the airbox, so it’s just 2 8mm screws on the right side of the airbox to get the top piece off. You’ll need to unclip the wires from the right side, then lift it off of the clips on the right and pull the air filter out. 

You can then remove the 10mm bolt on the right side that’s holding the lower half of the airbox in, then the other 10mm bolt towards the back. Be careful not to drop it as you remove it. You can then slide the lower part of the airbox off the intake tube. You might need to move the cables, but you should be able to wiggle out the lower section out of the engine bay. Once that’s out you’ll see the switch on the front face of the gearbox.

You’ll need to squeeze the metal wire on the connector down and pull it free. It shouldn’t be too stuck on, so once it’s free you’ll need to use either a 19mm deep socket or an angled 19mm spanner, ideally the 12 or 6 point end rather than the open end. I couldn’t fit the deep socket on personally – if you are willing to remove the air intake tube which I believe is just clipped in then you’ll have plenty of room but for me the spanner worked fine. Once you break the force it’s then completely loose, easy to remove just by hand.

The replacement part I got was a TORFAN 500 536, it was something like £8 on ebay next day delivered so it’s really not too expensive. You’ll want to thread the new sensor in and use either your socket or spanner to tighten it back up. The manual recommends torquing to 25 nm or 18.5 lbs ft, so if you can use a socket and torque wrench that is the proper method. Once it’s guten-tight, connect the electrical connector then it’s the reverse of what we took off. Start with the lower half of the airbox, making sure to not trap any of the cables. Seat it on the intake pipe, install both the rear screw and the one on the frame rail. Reinstall the air filter, then clip the airbox lid back down and tighten the 2 8mm screws, clip all the cables back into place, reinstall the battery cover and the weather stripping on top of it, then you are done.

Assuming all is well, you’ll then be able to start the car, stick it in reverse and the lights will be shining away. Apparently these little switches are fairly prone to failure so it’s worth knowing how to replace them and it’s the perfect job to help you get some experience and confidence in fixing things that go wrong with your car. Taking this to the Mini dealership would set you back at least £100 in diagnostics, parts and labour so the £8 you’d spend on the part itself is one hell of a saving, and the 20 minutes it takes to replace it is what I’d call a good investment.