What does this dummy light mean?

Vtec kicked in Yo

You guys are all dicks for not giving him a real substantive response.


Those lights indicate your exhaust manifolds are overheating.

Thanks for all the jokes! Made it a little more enjoyable to read. It was the license plate light burned out / or loose. Problem fixed, and now I have a turbo charged vTec engine with warp drive, overheating exhaust manifolds, a brand new set of flux capacitors, AND new LED license plate bulbs. Unfortunately the search function on this site is REALLY cluttered, and it's far easier to ask a new question than read a billion threads looking for my answer.

Glad you got it fixed bro.

You're gonna miss those little lights now

I was about ready to pull the gauge cluster and yank the lights out! haha

Glad to help.

incoming missles, fire chaff

Originally Posted by putyoursoxon

incoming missles, fire chaff

I need one of these.

I had the same problem with my 01 330 Cic. The "dummy" ligts for taillight problem would go on and off (mostly on) until one day it to continuously on. I checked the wiring to taillamps to see if my car was affected by the insufficient ground plug design that has been so well documented elsewhere on this site. I found no evidence of a problem, but I proceeded to make the recommended bulb plane gronding repair anyway. No dice. Finally, (what a dummy) I realized my license plate lights had stopped working. I found the bulbs were both blown, so I replaced them, but they still didn't work. Then I found there was no voltage at the lamp socket. I began to wiggle the bundle of wires inside the rubber sleeve that run from the right front of trunk lid to the body, and to my surprise, the license plate lights began to flicker on and off. I cut open the rubber sleeve, and I FOUND THE PROBLEM! AT LEAST SIX FO THE WIRES BUNDLED THERIN were very visibly damaged - with a couple nearly cut through. Just a jiggle on one of the wires that fed the license plate lights, and it broke in two. SO, I a soldered in splice in the most damaged, and wrapped the remaining less-damaged (but not cut throgh) wires in electrical tape, and viola, everythings worked. And best of all, no more light-out indicator warning light at the dash.

Originally Posted by PhotoPro

Red lights towards the rear of the car. My brake lights and reverse lights work fine from what I can see... Hmmm. Any help?

Check the lights that illuminate the liscence plate.

had the same issue i put the wrong type of bulb in but you have to find the right bulb you can feel it snap in place but if it needs to be forced in its the wrong bulb and they will seem dimmed compared to the rest

Check out my post from 8/2, just above yours. Most problems related to the dash dummy light rear-light problem annunciation are due to a grounding problem with the taillight assembly ground plane, as documented in great detail elsewhere on this site. I've gathered that this problem is more common, if not uniquely common, on newer-than-01 models, and it was eventually addressed by a BMW recall.

My problem, also an 01, (and with same dummy-light symptom) turned out to be a completely different issue -- damaged / broken wires within the wire bundle that is located inside the rubber boot that leads from the trunk lid to the body (on my car, attached to passenger-side hinge strut). My license plate bulbs continued to burn out, apparently due to their constant flickering on/off due to the shorting wire lead located within this rubber boot. The lead to the license plate was all but broken in two, and several other wires also showed considerable insulation damaged with some exposed wires . It almost looked as if the insulation was cut, as if the wires were damaged before or during installation, and not by opening and closing of the trunk. Of course, there is no way to say for certain.

To check this out, carefully slit the boot open on one side with a sharp knife to expose the bundle of wires therein, and take a look. Repair any damaged wire(s) therein as/if necessary, and then tape boot back up with electrical tape, and reattach it to hinge strut with strip-ties.

Good luck

I have the same light on and I can say with certainty for me it was the licesnse plate light.

Easy fix ! Headlights stopped flickering as well

I think im ganna take my license plate bulbs out and rig a separate LED bar so i can have this light pop up all the time so i can tell people that i have turbo boosters. my cluster looks boring with no indication lights on anyways

I had that warning last summer when the ground wire on my tail light corroded. I relocated both ground wires on the holders and it was good. Ironically, one was corroded and the other was not but the problem was with the clean wire. There was a recall for the 2002-2006 models but did not include my 2001.

This thread was hilarious AND helped me find the issue. Thanks e46ers!!