Intermittent Reverse Lights Issue

[cleansdabaffroom]

Hello. I drive a 92 e34 520i euro spec (manual transmission). The issue is that the reverse lights only come on maybe half of the time when reversing. Others have suggested that it is the switch that may be bad -- part 25 in diagram:
http://www.nmia.com/~dgnrg/page_41.htm

Apparently, this is accessible from under the vehicle on the side of the transmission.

Is this likely the cause of the problem? I have changed the bulbs and the connections and they seem good. Would this be an easy fix?

[PJV 528]

Maybe its the wire in the wiring loom. Could be damaged and not all the signals are going through it.

You say reverse light come on for only half the time you reverse. That mean when you engage reverse they come on and after some time they go off?

Just a suggestion....

Welcome to the forums btw-

[cleansdabaffroom]

Hi, thanks for the response. The reverse lights come on sometimes when i reverse, and sometimes it does not come on at all.

Where would the wiring loom be located? Any links on how to?

Thanks

[PJV 528]

The wiring loom runs around the whole car, basically its all the wires that run to the particular part that needs signals, and they peel off at certain places to the certain part.

My advice is to check the wiring loom in the boot. On the left hinge for breaks - this is an old problem with E34s. Remove the plastic covering and you may find one or more wires split or cut through completely. It happens over time. If you find nothing wrong here then pull the back seat and check the wiring loom on the right hand side (NZ driver's side) where it goes through a hole into the boot.

This happened on my uncles E34, but sometimes none of his lights would come on, e.t.c.

Hope it checks out.

PJV

[cleansdabaffroom]

That's a good suggestion and I'll definitely give that a look this weekend.

Thanks a lot

[maci4life]

the switch isn't expensive, you might wants to save the hassle and just replace it. when my switch went, it went all together though.