E46 intermittent brake light warning

[Cerberus]

This morning on the way to work my brake light warning light turned on, and then turned off... It has now continued to turnb on and off while driving and all lights appear to be working. Could it be a bad connection somewhere? I could just replace the bulb :thinking:

Sorry for poor quality shot

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk

 

[Mohammed@Auto X-cessorize]

This morning on the way to work my brake light warning light turned on, and then turned off... It has now continued to turnb on and off while driving and all lights appear to be working. Could it be a bad connection somewhere? I could just replace the bulb :thinking:

Sorry for poor quality shot

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk

Normally this happens when the bulb is on its way out...
Replace the bulb or wait till it dies completely

 

[Cerberus]

:ty:

Thanks Mohammed! You and I must talk about those OEM rubber mats still - how things looking?

 

[Mohammed@Auto X-cessorize]

Also please unplug the light fitting and check for any burnt/melted pins, the face lift e46 has a problem of the earth wire burning , please check and let me know and ill tell you how to repair it

 

[Cerberus]

Also, is that sensor only for the brake light or is it for that whole cluster? I could just buy 5 bulbs...they're like R10 from Midas

 

[Mohammed@Auto X-cessorize]

Its for the whole cluster of globes, but please check the plug

---

:ty:

Thanks Mohammed! You and I must talk about those OEM rubber mats still - how things looking?

got plenty of stock on them, will post some pics soon

 

[beezo003]

+1 on earth wire:thumbs:

when its intrermittent usually its earth wire,because it hanging on by a thread

 

[Cerberus]

Its for the whole cluster of globes, but please check the plug

---

:ty:

Thanks Mohammed! You and I must talk about those OEM rubber mats still - how things looking?

got plenty of stock on them, will post some pics soon

---

Great! Will check the unit during lunch.

I'm very keen to get some mats - grey leather interiors don't like getting dirty.

 

[Ralf*]

the right hand brake light warning has two meanings

either the right hand brake light
or
the centre (window) brake light

bad contact, or earth wire, or globe on its way out

 

[Cerberus]

Ok I've checked the unit. No evidence of burnt pins and the bulbs seem fine.

Bulbs must be on the blink then?

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk

 

[ChefDJ]

That warning if for ALL the right hand side bulbs, as well as the centre brake light.

Check indicator, reverse light, fog light, brake light etc.

+1 on the connectors or pins melting. I had to replace the centre brake light connector/socket (where the bulb actually fits into) because it melted. Very easy to get into so shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Cerberus]

Well I put the cluster back in and went for a spin around the block. No warning lights! Perhaps the connector wasn't seated properly. I tested all lights :thumbs:

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk

---

Will buy some spares anyway

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk

 

[beezo003]

if you look at the one pin there in the middle on the left looks like could be a problem, and is probably your earth

 

[Cerberus]

if you look at the one pin there in the middle on the left looks like could be a problem, and is probably your earth

I see that it is different...hmmm. I'll open the other side and see if it looks the same this evening

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk

---

Odds are you're right.

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk

---

That pin is the number 3 pin.

I will look in my service manual to see if we can figure out what it is

 

[beezo003]

on mine that pin was loose,sliding in and out and caused that problem

 

[H|TM@N]

Also check the wiring going into the trunk lid. Sometimes they tend to break inside the rubber sheave.

 

[Sankekur]

Neither the plug nor the socket need to signs of melting for it to be an ground issue, if left long enough it will melt though. The first thing that happens is more oxidation on the contacts due to it being hotter. Re-seating the connector can temporarily solve this it will remove some of the oxidation and again allow for proper contact.

Though the best option is to solve the problem which is contact resistance that is not low enough, the easiest way of doing this it to simply add another connector in parallel to lower the overall resistance, this is how I did it on my car:

The one end is connected with a spade connector to the ground on the bulb cluster, the other is tapped into the brown wire on the harness.

 

[Cerberus]

raise: :ty:

Thanks for the feedback chaps - wow Sankekur that's a great solution :thumbs: I will do that.

 

[Sankekur]

No problem, though I can't take credit for the solution as others have done it long before I have.....this is a very well documented and pretty common problem on e46's around the world...there was actually a recall for this problem as well, though that was in the US only.


(I see you are in pta as well, feel free to give me a shout if you need a hand)

 

[Cerberus]

No problem, though I can't take credit for the solution as others have done it long before I have.....this is a very well documented and pretty common problem on e46's around the world...there was actually a recall for this problem as well, though that was in the US only.


(I see you are in pta as well, feel free to give me a shout if you need a hand)

Awesome, thanks man! :rollsmile: