Left Rear Brake Lights Out?

[mondo336]

About a year ago my 325i was involved in an accident where a lady hit the left side of my car, in particular the left rear bumper. I took my car to the shop got everything repainted and fixed, however I noticed that my left rear brake light was out on the counsel when I started my car. I took it out to the dealer (still under warranty) and they replaced it.

Alright so now the problem is about every month I will start up my car and that damn light will come on. It will only stay on for the duration of driving, say for example I drive my car to get gas (light on). turn off the car and fill up, then restart car and go home (light not on).

Is my wiring all screwed up or something? Does anyone have instructions for how to access the rear brake lights? I would greatly appreciate any input.

[its_tc!]

I had a similar issue with my tail lights on a 2002 325i, although there was no accident. What I discovered is that the wires to the tail light assembly had corroded inside the plug that attaches to the tail light. Because the wires were still inside the plug it would somtimes make contact and work fine, and other times not work.

You can check it yourself by opening the trunk and disconnecting the wiring plug from the tailight and looking at where the wire enters it. If the metal lugs on the end of the wires are deteriorated, that's likely the problem. If you're handy, you can solder new lugs to the wires.

[441tech]

I had a similar problem. My 'light out' indication in the dash would consistently display rear brake light out indication. After changing all the bulbs, I thought I had a wiring/part issue.

Then one evening, I go to leave the house at night with my lights on. I back out of my garage, and realized I forgot something. I leave the car running with the lights on, run inside, and when I come back out, I noticed the license plate lights were out. The next day I removed the lenses and the bulbs looked as though they were originals, and the contacts were all corroded. So, I bought some new bulbs, cleaned the contacts, and haven't had a problem since.

The "light out" display in the dash monitors running, brake, AND license plate light bulb integrity.

Go figure.

441tech

[bad man working]

Burnt and corroded connectors at the rear light clusters is a common problem, so common that the dealer do a kit with repair wiring you can solder in an the plastic blocks