E46 Fanatics Forum banner

Tailight Fix

385K views 360 replies 229 participants last post by  OnTheFence 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Ok I posted this problem at the beginning of the week. My passenger side taillight is giving false indication that the bulb is out when it's really not. I got a lot of good replys but really still dont know what the hell to do. I hate this indication on the dash.

This is the best reply I got but I still dont know what to do :banghead:
"On the intermittent tail lamp bulb-out, it's a common issue since the ground pin (brown wire) on the connector is too thin to carry all that current in the tail lamp bulbs. Some connectors melt eventually. Do yourself a favor and just do this $2 DIY: http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=418836. I did it and the bulb-out indicator hasn't come on since. You don't have to cut and take out the brown/ground connector. Just splice into the brown wire and run a parallel connection to the ground plane tab."

Does anyone have a more detailed DIY or a step by step way to help me remedy this problem? Photos of the completed project would be nice.

Thanks in advance!:thumbsup:
 
#2 ·
Taillamp

Go see your dealership, there is a bullitin about this situation. It is your ground on your wiring harness that will need to get fixed.
 
#323 ·
Go see your dealership, there is a bullitin about this situation. It is your ground on your wiring harness that will need to get fixed.
Pardon me if this IS actually addressed somewhere, but I've been chasing this around for awhile, with multiple forks and sidetracks, for a headlight flicker thing, and now there's an intermittent right front turn signal warning light on the dash - so -

I am really interested in looking at this wider sweeping WIRING HARNESS ground issue FIRST - if I knew what/where to check, y'know?? Is there a service bulletin NUMBER, by any chance?

Thanks?:)
 
#3 ·
I went to the dealship ..... they replaced the bulb when I took it in under warranty (before I realized it was a known issue) I took it last week to get serviced now they want $248 to replace the tailight assembly(now that its not under warranty). I mentioned that I brought it in for this exact reason and they said they have no record that they worked on it. I need to look for my paperwork :read:
 
#68 ·
on the back of the light fixture there is a tab where you can attach a female spade connector and ground it to your chasis. Just drill a small hole and connect a wire to it and your done. any questions Email me at Crisbautista97@gmail.com I can email pics to explain:craig:
Hye chris./.. can you help me out maybe show some pictures of what you're talking about.. I need to ground both of my taillights...
 
#5 · (Edited)
... This is the best reply I got but I still dont know what to do :banghead: ...
Thanks for the compliment.

I did the right taillight before since it was the one giving me the problem. I saw your post so I did the left one today -- this time with pics.

All photos are for the left taillight. Process is the same for the right.

The only materials and tools you need are:
- a 0.25" blade receptacle (available in Radio Shack, Home Depot or any electronics shop)
- a 5" strip of size #18 or larger wire
- rubber or vinyl electrical tape
- utility knife
- pliers

1) Release the taillight housing and lay it on the trunk.

2) Release the connector by pressing on the sides then pulling. Take note of the circled tab. That's the point we'll connect to later.


3) Cut a 5" piece of wire and strip one end about a quarter of an inch.


4) Insert the stripped end into the blade receptacle and crimp using any pair of pliers. Try pulling out the wire afterwards to make sure it's tight.


5) At the connector, the ground wire is the brown one. It's noticably thicker than the other wires.


6) Using a utility knife, carefully strip half an inch of insulation on the brown/ground wire 2"-3" from the connector.


7) Strip half an inch of the other end of the new piece of wire and wrap neatly (mine wasn't too neat in the pic) around the exposed ground wire.


8) Wrap tightly with electrical tape.


9) Plug in the connector again and insert the blade receptacle into the tab.


10) YOU'RE DONE!! If you've been having that annoying intermittent bulb-out problems and all bulbs seem to be ok, this is I think a more permanent solution. Replacing just the connector like what's done at the dealer will just bring back that problem after a few years. The problem is that the connector pin for the ground is too thin to carry all that current to the bulbs reliably. So eventually the pin builds up electrical resistance and will melt in some cases. Running a parallel connection using a thicker connector will solve it. (I'm an electronics engineer by education btw)
 

Attachments

#15 ·
Thanks so much for posting this. I had this problem since I picked up my 330i, and I looked into everything. This weekend I saw that the ground wire connection had corroded and that the plug itself had a hole in the #3 spot. I pulled the wire out of there, re-made the connection and plugged it into that spot on the tailight - so far so good. No errors!

Thanks again!
 
#9 ·
I'm having the same problem with my car. I will try this and hope it goes away.
My passenger side taillight indication comes up when ever I start the car. If I turn on the headlight, after 5 seconds, the indication goes away. If I don't turn on the headlight, the indication stay there.
Hope this will make it go away.

Thanks.
 
#10 ·
Nice DYI!

I posted the steps a few weeks ago because I had the same issue and creating another ground fixed it for me as well.

(I connected the extra ground from the same location in the tail assembly but directly to the ground bolt...a little easier and you don't have to shave off the insultation on the ground.)

Doesn't this forum rock! :thumbsup:
 
#13 ·
Excellent Write-up! Definitely re-post this in the DIY forum! Good information for sure!

Edit: Already moved!
 
#14 ·
This is a great post/thread. I've been having this problem for months. Tried about everything, including moving bulbs from one side to the other, and lightly sanding the base of the bulbs. Last night I found this group/forum and read this thread (and another similar). Went out this morning and added a ground wire to the side (passenger) giving me trouble. So far, no false warning light appearing on the panel. If it later happens on the driver side I will add a ground wire to that side. Interesting: bad grounds have been a problem I've experienced on BMWs on E12s, E21s, and E30s; mainly showing up on the instruments.

BJM
San Salvador, El Salvador
 
#16 ·
Just posting some additional info since on my search for "taillight connector" I couldn't find the part number.

If your connector is melted and needs replacement here are the part numbers:

Part # and Description List Price
12-52-7-519-956 Housing $3.60
61-13-1-387-144 Plug $0.72

The housing is the tail light connector housing and the plug is what you attach to the ground wire and put into the housing.
 
#17 ·
I have a simmilar problem, I just purchased the car and the warning lights are telling me the tail lights are out .... mine does have LED Tail Lights, I dont think they are after market couse I been told the 2004 come with LED tails.

do I need to go to the dealer and have them reprogram or flush the LCM ??? what is that anyways ??

my 325 Ci Convertible model car is from Oct 2003 Manufacture date

Appreciate all your help in advance
 
#18 · (Edited)
Last time i remember, no E46 came with LED tail lights........

Ive never had that problem when i got my aftermarket LEDs.....

You might try reflashing the LCM......

Btw, i had my melted connectors replaced by the dealer, even though my car isn't under warrenty.........Last time i took it into the stealership to have my seals replaced, i discovered 4 door dings and both sides on my car which weren't there before hand. (I detail my car every weekend) $300 fix free..........:)
 
#23 ·
If you're talking about the small ground blade inside the 8-pin taillight housing connector, you can try using some sandpaper to lightly clean up the contact area. If it didn't work, you'll probably need to buy a new taillight assembly which I believe is $30-$40. My left taillight assembly connector's ground blade was slightly corroded and a little bit loose but everything worked fine after I slid the new ground splice connector onto it.
 
#25 ·
I have a similar problem, but it is with my after market EAGLE EYES LED tail lights that I installed about 5 months ago... The lights came with a whack of resistors, which keeps the "bulb out" warning off. But just recently, intermittently I have had this warning come up on my dash.

The thing is, BOTH sides (left and right) come on and off TOGETHER. I have yet to see just one side come on.

Is the Bulb Out sensor in the rear independent like the headlights are? (only one will come on, whichever one is out)?

I was about to do the fix mentioned on the board here, but it seems like since they are both coming on Exactly together, it may not fix my problem.

Feel free to PM me or just post here

Thanks for the help guys
 
#26 · (Edited)
The rear bulb sensors are independent. It sounds like you may have resistance/corrosion issues on your taillight assemblies ground wires. Check for corroded pins or melted connector pin holes in you taillight assembly's 8-pin connector. I have the factory taillight assembly. When idling or driving, one taillight warning would appear but both taillight bulb warnings would appear when I stepped on my brake pedal.

It wouldn't hurt to do the fix. It costs $2 and takes 5 minutes to do each side.

Pic of melted connector. http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=533309&highlight=melted+tail+light
 
#27 ·
thanks refimail. went and checked the connectors, they seemed ok. I had this problem with the ground pin before i did the led conversion, used some electrical contact cleaner. Nick from Jlevi recommended I check the license plate lights. Neither of them were working.

Upon removal of both lenses, there was almost a half teaspoon of green, corrosion powder came out! It was all over the bulb and the ballasts of each of the bulbs. The damage looks to be too intense to clean up and repair it, so it looks like i will be replacing some parts.

Ill have to do a little research to find the part name that needs replacing, then figure out how to get at it!

Thanks for the help guys
 
#187 ·
This exact thing just happened to me, after some troubleshooting of the ground circuit which appears to be good. I've got good continuity from the license plate ground to the taillight assembly ground.

As with shock29's situation my lp bulbs fell out in my hand and the parts must be replaced. Anyone know where I can look to find the license plate lamp parts?

-Mark
 
#28 · (Edited)
I tried doing this. It didn't work.

I don't have the tabs so I just soldered the extra wire to form the ground.

The tail light indicator is still on. Could it be anything else? I checked for corrosion, and there is none. All the bulbs work.

I guess it's not a big deal, but I'm just sick of staring at it when I drive.

Does anyone know of a link to a new tail light assembly? Thanx. :)
 
#29 ·
- Did you solder your ground line to the metal strip where the tab should have been? Not all the metal strips in the taillight assembly are using the same ground.
- Did you check if your license plate bulbs are out, like shock29? Those license plate bulbs also use the same warning light as the tail lights.

You can try to look up the tail light assembly part number in www.mileoneparts.com or give them a call if you can't find it.
 
#30 ·
I don't know if my problem is the same but i need some help too!

*Both of my tail light warning lights are on my dash.
*When I crank up my car my brake lights come on and stay on, and my 3rd brake light is on too!
*When I turn on the lights nothing happens because they stay on 100% of the time..... what can i do about this?? All the lights work, i just cant get them to cut off, ever!
 
#31 ·
Go into your trunk and remove your rear tail light assemblies. Disconnect the black 8-pin connectors and see if one of the pins in each connector (leading to a thick brown wire) is burned/melted like this: http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=533309&highlight=melted+tail+light

If so, perform the following BMW service bulletin: http://www.bmwtis.com/tsb/bulletins/bulletin_graphic_temp/B630306g.htm

If the connectors are not burned, follow the procedure called out earlier in this thread.

Good luck.
 
#32 ·
Thank you so much for this write-up!!
Never again will I have to see the rear taillight warnings, definitely post this in the DIY section-I'm sure there are still a lot of E46 owners dealing with this everyday
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top