Tailight Fix

it seems as though this issue mainly affects sedans, though i'm getting the same error on my coupe. Does anyone know where I can ground the wire to on a coupe with upgraded aftermarket LED tails? I can take what ever pics you guys will need.

I'm trying to clean off the plugs on the 8-pin connector in my tail lamp. Can anyone explain what the trick is to get the wires/plugs to release from the connector housing? The dealer says it requires a special tool, but people here seem to be removing them with no difficulty. I'm tryng tweezers to compress the two flanges on the plugs but with no luck. Thanks.

Can i use 22 instead of 18 guage


well anyways i did but is it safe?

I just did the taillight fix. It took longer to gather the tools than to do the fix!

Thanks ssm1991. Your taillight fix worked perfectly. I use to get intermittent lamp failure and when I activated my turn signals it would blink rapidly. Your instructions fixed everything.

Thanks so much you saved me a ton of dough and frustration.

Originally Posted by ssm1991

A lot of guys have PM'd me to ask where to connect the ground wire if you don't have the tab (i.e. some pre-facelift models).

You can wrap 2-3 turns of the ground wire around the spot circled below, then wrap with electrical tape. Note that that point is part of the metal strip that goes to all bulbs.

I am a new BMW owner and so working on this car is still new to me. I would assume that this fix would work for the wagon as well? I have the flickering drivers side headlight. Should I start looking at the drivers side tail light assembly, like is there a correlation between the side of the flickering light? Removing the tail light assembly I assume is pretty easy once the panel covering the area is removed?

Thanks guys and gals for a great thread!

Originally Posted by shock29

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

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

Great fix. You guys rock! One thing I did different: I simply cut the brown wire instead of trimming off the insulation. I then used a wire nut to connect the end of the brown wire running from the vehicle to the new wire. The other end of the new wire runs to the metal frame of the light fixture. As mentioned above, getting the tools and supplies took longer than making the repair.

You guys made my weekend. I hate taking my vehicle to a mechanic. I'd much rather fix it myself.

Is it ok to completely unplug the brown wire from the 8-pin connector and connect it to the ground tab of the taillight? It is the way it was done by the dealer on my car.

Originally Posted by yurekk

Is it ok to completely unplug the brown wire from the 8-pin connector and connect it to the ground tab of the taillight? It is the way it was done by the dealer on my car.

Hopefully it wasn't a BMW dealer that did that If it was, you need to tell us their name

Originally Posted by yurekk

Is it ok to completely unplug the brown wire from the 8-pin connector and connect it to the ground tab of the taillight? It is the way it was done by the dealer on my car.

Is pOst#188 above your post the same solution. looks like it worked for him. Someone, pls correct me if I am wrong.

Originally Posted by mps

Is pOst#188 above your post the same solution. looks like it worked for him. Someone, pls correct me if I am wrong.

Yeah, it sounds like the same way it was done by dealer (while on warranty) on my car. For me it looks like acceptable solution, but need a confirmation.

THANKS to ssm1991
His fix and info was invaluable...did same on my 2003 325i & all is AOK now!
Will try and and attach 3 pix of my repair job...

...couldn't seem to attach pics

Just did mine this weekend. Working like a charm. The ground from car bypasses the plug and goes straight into the metal of the bulb housing. Had the bulb out light on the dashboard, but disappeared after the first time I hit the left/right turn indicator lights on.

Originally Posted by yurekk

Yeah, it sounds like the same way it was done by dealer (while on warranty) on my car. For me it looks like acceptable solution, but need a confirmation.

i was reading your post i know its been a long time and you may not even opwn your bmw anymore ,but had to respond .i bought my first and probably last BMW 01 330cic recently ,i knew i had a few issues to deal with tires, brakes and cel light but the taillight issuer on mine turned into a huge mess .i had the red light of death at light go on several times and drop to failsafe ,my battery light was blinking and several other lights led me to beleive i had a short or something . I checked the rear light socket and sure enough burnt connector and brown ground wire , i ordered anew housing after calling BMW dealwer and they told me i could only buy fix kit consisting ofboth housings and connectors etc for 200.00 plus . I am getting a real bad taste in my mouth with this issue (fire hazard ) and the transmission consumer repot posts of the hundreds probably thousands that have had trans troubles with as littlwe as 20000 miles BMW says there not aware of any trans troubles at all .How could a luxury auto maker have such deceptive policies and customer service be sooo bad . i ordered a new bulb housing from AM Auto but thery sent the wrong one ,i have to try to find another supplier as dealer or should i say stealer wont sell any of the parts seperate

frustrated in kentucky tom

Originally Posted by flashcardsgo

i was reading your post i know its been a long time and you may not even opwn your bmw anymore ,but had to respond .i bought my first and probably last BMW 01 330cic recently ,i knew i had a few issues to deal with tires, brakes and cel light but the taillight issuer on mine turned into a huge mess .i had the red light of death at light go on several times and drop to failsafe ,my battery light was blinking and several other lights led me to beleive i had a short or something . I checked the rear light socket and sure enough burnt connector and brown ground wire , i ordered anew housing after calling BMW dealwer and they told me i could only buy fix kit consisting ofboth housings and connectors etc for 200.00 plus . I am getting a real bad taste in my mouth with this issue (fire hazard ) and the transmission consumer repot posts of the hundreds probably thousands that have had trans troubles with as littlwe as 20000 miles BMW says there not aware of any trans troubles at all .How could a luxury auto maker have such deceptive policies and customer service be sooo bad . i ordered a new bulb housing from AM Auto but thery sent the wrong one ,i have to try to find another supplier as dealer or should i say stealer wont sell any of the parts seperate

Every car manufacturer has their flaws. BMWs have their fair share, but guess you never heard about the E46 rear subframe failures yet? Luxury auto maker doesn't care about small potatoes for those that go and buy a 10 year old car and expect it to be brand new. They will always have followers and those that curse them as they fix their cars. These cars do not come cheap to maintain so you cannot expect that, but just know they are quite easy to work on. Use realoem.com to get the part numbers you need and find decent places to get parts from. Decent pricing for genuine parts, try ebmwparts.com (Peabody BMW), and for OEM parts, try autohausaz.com, pelicanparts.com, and bimmerspecialist.com. One good thing about BMW is that parts are rarely ever discontinued but just superseded. You can still buy parts for the cars they made in the 1950s. When owning these cars, it is essential that you are able to turn your own wrench, unless you want to get taken to the cleaners. There is nothing special about these cars, so don't think these are some special mystical unicorn. BMW just chose to use cheap rubber, lots of plastic, and a whole heck of under-engineering. After what I have seen, I do not ever recommend this E46 generation to anyone.

Good luck with your search for fixes--the one good thing about BMW ownership is that there is a large fan base, and plenty of DIYs to go around. Try the other forums to help expand your exposure and soon enough you'll be your own master mechanic.

Hi,
I've 2004 325i and was facing the same problem. I did all the steps as shown in the pictures and wow! lights were all gone and everything looked perfect. I simply cut the brown wire and grounded that to the tab using a spade connector. But after 10 days, the tail light in the dash board came up again although all lights are working fine and then next day my car won't start. Checked the battery with AAA and they told that there is drainage in battery of 2.64 A. Can someone please tell me if grounding the wire on the tab causing this drainage?? has anyone faced the same issue after grounding the wire?

i fixed my tailight the other day ,using a couple of parts from the hardware store and a new piece of wire .i puchased the new bulb carrier from getbmwparts.com and all my lights work now but still have the dash ones on . go figure oh well ill have to do some more cyfering on this one .

I have a question if my plug housing where #3 is already burned and also the carrier plug housing is somewhat can i do this DIY and will it work or do I have to buy another plug housing

For some reason my 99 323 does not have that "tab" in which apparently everybody has grounded their new wire to. Where should I ground mine if this tab is not present? I've looked at it 200000 times and can't seem to find that little tab.