Did this recall happen in SA?

[DieselFan]

For the rear tail lights ground problem.

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=867564

As I am having the same problem. Or am I going to have to sort it out myself?

 

[Gizmo]

Cut the brown wire off the plug and crimp a spade connector to it, there is a spot on the ground track where you attach the spade connector to, done it countless times for customers and you will never have issues with it again.:thumbs:

 

[DieselFan]

Like this?

[video=youtube]

Should I replace the "plug"/wiring harness aswell as its melted a little? Or should I not worry?

 

[ChrisBrand]

See my DIY:

http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=36420

 

[Gizmo]

Your DIY is for pre-facelift tail lights, my fix is for facelift tail lights.

A pic I found online with the facelift repair:

 

[DieselFan]

Thanks Gizmo

 

[ChrisBrand]

Your DIY is for pre-facelift tail lights, my fix is for facelift tail lights.

A pic I found online with the facelift repair:

Comes down to the same thing. I just don't have the metal square that sticks out.

Thanks for the pic

 

[sash]

I have been reading that similar issues plague other models including E60. I have a similar with my E60, thought it was battery related(battery was on its way out) but the intermittent failures still randomly occur, not long enough for me to actually look at the light to see if it actually is on or not.

Will be looking at the ground wires asap.

 

[Gizmo]

Comes down to the same thing. I just don't have the metal square that sticks out.

Correct.

 

[Hellas]

I've done this too, takes 10 minutes. The worst part is just getting the molded carpet out of the way.

 

[DieselFan]

Ok well my left tail lights 'looks' fine so I didnt do it to that one. I did it to my right one. And the problem is still there. Or should I do it to my left one as well and see if its still there?

Is it possible that because the cars done 413 000+ kms that the actually wire being Direct Currect has taken all the electrons out of the earth wire as its really still.

I went to Bosch after my mechanic. And the electrician there wants me too book it in which I did but im thinking about canceling for R450 and then he might fix it. But if there's more work he might charge more.

 

[ChrisBrand]

Make sure it is exactly like the pics Gizmo posted otherwise it won't work.

 

[DieselFan]

It is and I had my mechanic do it, if it wasn't done properly ie it wasn't connected properly then i would think it should throw a fault 24/7 but its intermittent. Like I will go to my car switch it on no warning lights, start indicating works normally then trips out error code and flashes fast. Then i indicate the other way and same thing happens. Then I'll pull over switch the car off and on and the problem is gone and im driving normally.

---

I wonder it might be because the headlights are really dusty, it might have be from the bang average spray job done on the car or because the car was driven on dirt roads pretty frequently. Do you think it might be possible theres so much dirt that its stopping a bulb making contact and causing it to throw codes?

 

[sash]

So i removed the carpet and had a look at the wiring and plug. I found the following.

I don't have any tabs to use, so am considering the method of drilling a tiny hole and fixing the connector there. I could replace the housing, but what stops it from happening again.

The left side checked out fine.

Sent from my GT-I8190 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Bavs108]

I had the same issue about 2 weeks back. Mine was intermittently triggering the indicator malfunction lights on the dash, but the bulbs were fine. Grounded the brown wire to the metal plate and never had an issue since.

 

[sash]

Your DIY is for pre-facelift tail lights, my fix is for facelift tail lights.

A pic I found online with the facelift repair:

I noticed that the wire you added on is thinner than the original wire. I thought i was using the same thickness wire to make my new wire(with spade, but just before joining to the brown wire i notice that it has less copper inside, more insulation.

Would this be a problem?

Also how come the same issue doesnt occur to the new wire? same amount of current, similar thickness wire...?

 

[Gizmo]

Its not my picture, just one I found on the net to show you where to connect the spade connector. A slightly thinner wire will still work fine, but it is recommended that you use the same thickness wire. If you cut the brown wire off right at the plug then there is enough length to not need an extension wire.

 

[Bayn46]

Can also have a look at the second post (mine) here for more pics of the facelift fix. Luckily mine wasn't to bad and only had to cut off a small portion of the bad wire.

http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=36196

 

[sash]

Its not my picture, just one I found on the net to show you where to connect the spade connector. A slightly thinner wire will still work fine, but it is recommended that you use the same thickness wire. If you cut the brown wire off right at the plug then there is enough length to not need an extension wire.

lol.., oops, sorry, ok, will see if the wire will reach based on where i cut it. I have read about other E60 owners using the grounding block to run a new ground with a thicker wire to stop the issue from reoccurring.

 

[sash]

Just out of curiosity i called BMW to find out ...R513 for the bulb carrier, R21 for the plug and R55 for a set of female plugs(not sure on the quantity) .

And to think after spending a smidge under R600 the problem might reoccur.... prefer to stick to the DIY, just need to source thicker wire today.