E46 intermittent rear bulb failure
anoop
The warning light indicating a failure of the rear bulb keepings
coming on every now and then. This has been going on for a
couple of months. The bulbs are all fine and all the lights seem
to be working OK. The contacts looks good, too.
The dealer said there's a known issue with the wiring and
it requires that the car be rewired. The estimate was about
$500-$600 range with parts and labor.
Has anyone else had this problem? Any other suggestions
for what I can check?
The car is a 2003 325i with 123K miles.
Anoop
Floyd Rogers
> The warning light indicating a failure of the rear bulb keepings
> coming on every now and then. This has been going on for a
> couple of months. The bulbs are all fine and all the lights seem
> to be working OK. The contacts looks good, too.
>
> The dealer said there's a known issue with the wiring and
> it requires that the car be rewired. The estimate was about
> $500-$600 range with parts and labor.
Get another dealer.
> Has anyone else had this problem? Any other suggestions
> for what I can check?
>
> The car is a 2003 325i with 123K miles.
Make sure you have OEM stainless bulbs; if you haven't already
replaced them, do so anyway. Also, try some electrical contact
cleaner (if you haven't already) on both socket and bulb.
FloydR
Jeff Strickland
brake pedal. I repaired mine, but you can buy a new one for about ten
dollars.
I backed my car to a window so I could see the brake lights as I worked the
pedal. The lights worked fine even when the error message was coming up. I
could turn my car off then on again to clear the message, and it might or
might not come up again. The randomness of the error is a sign of a dirty
switch contact.
"anoop" <ghan...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:bfc51b03-7f5d-4ef5...@p10g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
Jim
"anoop" <ghan...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:bfc51b03-7f5d-4ef5...@p10g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
>
times.
My treatment was first to clean the bulbs and sockets with electrical
cleaner. Secondly, I applied a generous amount of conductive grease to the
bulbs.
I obtained this fix from my dealer.
Both of these items are on sale at auto parts houses. Pep Boys didn't have
them, but Auto Nation did.
An indepemdent shop told me that they have fixed the problem by replacing
the housing. If you don't understand how to replace the housing, you won't
be able to do the other fix either.
Jim
JRE
There is a known problem with E46 rear light grounding. There's a kit
available from the dealer for about $30. If the connector hasn't melted
yet you can just run a good ground to each rear light.
For more info, see:
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=533309&highlight=melted+tail+light
--
JRE
anoop
> There is a known problem with E46 rear light grounding. There's a kit
> available from the dealer for about $30. If the connector hasn't melted
> yet you can just run a good ground to each rear light.
>
> For more info, see:http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=533309&highlight=melted...
Thanks for all the replies. And yes, I did repost because of problems
with google...when the post didn't show up for a while, I assumed I
must've done something wrong and reposted...it's only when that
didn't appear that I figured there was a problem.
FWIW, the connectors on my car are fine. Also, the service person
at the dealer told me the kit was $200-$300 plus a similar amount
for labor. I'll check with them about the $30 kit.
I'm a bit upset with BMW, though. If all of these are known issues,
they should be addressing them during warranty.
Anoop
Dave Plowman (News)
<7aadda57-4a59-4c31...@x16g2000prn.googlegroups.com>,
anoop <ghan...@gmail.com> wrote:
> FWIW, the connectors on my car are fine. Also, the service person
> at the dealer told me the kit was $200-$300 plus a similar amount
> for labor. I'll check with them about the $30 kit.
Wiring itself very rarely gives problems - except where it is flexed like
to a boot lid etc. So it is likely to be a connector problem. Could be
connector to connector or wire to connector if the crimping has been badly
done.
> I'm a bit upset with BMW, though. If all of these are known issues,
> they should be addressing them during warranty.
I'd not place any faith on what a dealer says. They often just say the
first thing that comes into their head to justify spending *your* money.
--
*Why are they called apartments, when they're all stuck together? *
Dave Plowman da...@davenoise.co.uk London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.
JRE
They might be assuming worst-case, with both connectors and both
taillight bulb holders fried, but even then it sounds a bit more than
I'd expect. Maybe they planned to replace the entire rear harness or
something.
The problems on our two E46s did not surface under warranty, and it's
even possible that BMW did not identify the problem as a common one
until after the vast majority of regular (non-CPO) E46 warranties had
expired.
Anyway, good luck.
--
JRE
dhs
anoop <ghan...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>The warning light indicating a failure of the rear bulb keepings
>coming on every now and then. This has been going on for a
>couple of months. The bulbs are all fine and all the lights seem
>to be working OK. The contacts looks good, too.
I have the same issue with my 89 325i, except that I get intermittent
check/warning lights for the rear brake lights, rear lights AND license
plate lights, and the right turn signal runs very rapidly. But all the
lights appear to be operational, and I've cleaned the turn signal bulbs
and connectors.
Could this be an instrument cluster issue?
Thanks,
Jim
"dhs" <d...@cs.utexas.edu> wrote in message
news:gcicq3$ldp$1...@cactuscafe.cs.utexas.edu...
after I put lots of conductive grease around the bulbs, the problem went
away.
Jim
Scott Dorsey
No, it's more likely either a wiring problem (grounding issues are popular)
with the rear bulb assembly or with the current relay box in back that
detects lamps being out. The relay box often gets cold solder joints in it,
and the system is sensitive enough that very small current differences can
cause false alarms even when it's working fine.
If the right turn signal runs very rapidly, though, you DEFINITELY have a
problem there that you need to fix. Check all the lamps, front and back,
as well as the connectors.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
h...@h-gee.co.uk
>In article <gcl5r6$h8a$1...@panix2.panix.com>,
>Scott Dorsey <klu...@panix.com> wrote:
>>dhs <d...@cs.utexas.edu> wrote:
>>>I have the same issue with my 89 325i, except that I get intermittent
>>>check/warning lights for the rear brake lights, rear lights AND license
>>>plate lights, and the right turn signal runs very rapidly. But all the
>>>lights appear to be operational, and I've cleaned the turn signal bulbs
>>>and connectors.
>>>
>>>Could this be an instrument cluster issue?
>>
>>No, it's more likely either a wiring problem (grounding issues are popular)
>>with the rear bulb assembly or with the current relay box in back that
>>detects lamps being out. The relay box often gets cold solder joints in it,
>>and the system is sensitive enough that very small current differences can
>>cause false alarms even when it's working fine.
>>
>>If the right turn signal runs very rapidly, though, you DEFINITELY have a
>>problem there that you need to fix. Check all the lamps, front and back,
>>as well as the connectors.
>
>Thanks - I'll give this and the conductive grease suggestions a try.
>Does the fact that this happened initially more in cold/wet weather
>point more to a problem with the rear bulb assembly?
>
>>"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
>All I could afford was a 15ips Akai ...
Have a look at where the bulb makes contact. On early E38 models they used a
zinc galvanizing process on steel for the contacts when it should have been
copper or similar material and this eventually burnt and arced if the bulb was
loose or could move and create a spark. this usually failed within 2 years and
it is a known problem.
On the E38 it was swapped out under warranty but the new ones still failed due
to burnt contacts.
I repaired both my sets of lights by using some copper strip silver soldered to
the steel used for tracks after carefully removing the affected strips from the
plastic lamp unit.
--
Sir Hugh of Bognor
The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys.
Intelligence is not knowing the answer but knowing where and how to find it!
Hugh Gundersen
h...@h-gee.co.uk
Bognor Regis, W.Sussex, England, UK
Scott Dorsey
>>
>>If the right turn signal runs very rapidly, though, you DEFINITELY have a
>>problem there that you need to fix. Check all the lamps, front and back,
>>as well as the connectors.
>
I think the original poster meant nonconductive grease. Ask your FLAPS
for "dielectric grease" and get the biggest tube you can find.
>Does the fact that this happened initially more in cold/wet weather
>point more to a problem with the rear bulb assembly?
No, because the front bulb assembly is also exposed. Put the key in,
turn the turn signal on, and go around pulling connectors and bulbs out
and putting them back in until you find the thing that causes the flashing
rate to change when you wiggle it. While you are at it, spray Cramolin
or DeOxit or something similar on all the connections, and pack them with
the grease so they don't become corroded in the future.
>>"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
>All I could afford was a 15ips Akai ...
I am sorry to say that I once bought out a Roberts factory service shop
and I still have cabinets full of spare parts for those things in storage
somewhere.