new taillights

[sean]

i just received some new red and clear taillights i got off of ebay and when i went to install them none of the lights on the drivers side matched those on the passengers side (parking light on passenger side was different from driver side etc) so i tried to see how the factory lights were wired and i now have the lights that always run when the headlights are turned on working, and the blinkers working but i can't get the lights that turn on when in reverse to work on both sides, it only works on the drivers side, and the brake light only works on the passengers side. also the farthest light on the bottom outside on both lights i can't get two work.
has anyone ever had to deal with this, or does anyone know how you can fix this. my car is a 1997 318i
thanks

[El Presidente]

that's generally what you get for buying ebay lights; you get what you paid for. If you got a good seller, you may be able to exhange them for another pair and try your luck with those.

[sean]

so i played with the wiring today and was able to rewire the lights so that they work properly, who ever made them with the wiring harness did them all wrong, figures. but now they work great so im happy with them

[Furious]

glad to hear you got it all sorted out.

but let it be a lesson to those who buy via ebay, not everything you get is gonna work outta the box properly, luckly its only taillights, and not something very expensive, and unfixable.

[trinidon2k]

i about my tails from ebay too....now i got tail light errors on the lcd even though they work fine

[M3Daemon]

Originally posted by trinidon2k@Mar 25 2004, 05:25 PM
i about my tails from ebay too....now i got tail light errors on the lcd even though they work fine

Check for loose connections. Sometimes metal connectors from the bulbs just barely touch the metal plates of the lights, since the lights are not manufactured precisely enough. The connection is good enough to make the light work but the electronic might check the light at a fraction of a second where you don't have a connection and voila you get an error on the display. Most of the time it's enough to bend the metal connectors a little to make them connect properly or drop some solder in if there is not enough metal to work with. B)

[BEX]

I could kick myself for not thinking of the solder deal. I have the same issue with my OEM tails but the boulbs are AEM and they are giving me hell with the LCD 1 Brake Light Fail message. Thanks for the advice, thats what these boards are for.

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!

I'll repost if it didnt work, but I think it will since the left brake light illumines only when i push it in hard.

BEX
1992 E36 320i EuroSpec

[BeemerMan]

If you bought the crystal cut tail lights then those units are not wired correctly as you mentioned. I purchased mine through procarparts. They were kind enough to inform me that you do need to rewire them to work properly. Although they are nice, I was discouraged to keep them due to the cheap creation and the fact that I had to rewire them. When I buy something I expect it to work properly without having to do work on them. So they refunded my money and sent me free postage to return the item. If you buy these crystal cut tail lights be aware that you have to rewire them.