stopping bogus 'brake light circuit' error message - BMW Forum

Silver98 · 08-20-2004, 08:34 PM

Sometimes when I use the brakes on my '98 m3, the trip computer decides there's a problem in my brake light circuit, and starts blinking a warning which won't go away until I shut down and restart the car. My old mechanic knew how to prevent this -- apparently it happens when some wire is loose or something. Does anyone know what I need to do to stop this? I know for sure that the brake lights work just fine, despite the dire warning from the computer.

97alpineM3 · 08-20-2004, 08:38 PM

That happend to me twice last week....

Doesnt really bother me all that much.. just punch it out on the OBC Check Control Button.. and the light in the dash will go away.. but the left and right side of the OBC display will still be side ways arrows till you restart the car.

It would be nice to know how to fix though.

Silver98 · 08-20-2004, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by 97alpineM3@Aug 20 2004, 09:18 PM
That happend to me twice last week....

Doesnt really bother me all that much.. just punch it out on the OBC Check Control Button.. and the light in the dash will go away.. but the left and right side of the OBC display will still be side ways arrows till you restart the car.

It would be nice to know how to fix though.

on my car, even if i punch it out on the computer, the dash light stays lit (though it does stop blinking). i think there are different messages when it thinks there's a circuit failure vs. a taillight failure, maybe that's what's going on. if i find anything out either way i'll post it.

97alpineM3 · 08-20-2004, 08:59 PM

Thanks... any info in that would be very helpful.. Thank you.

Silver98 · 08-21-2004, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by 97alpineM3@Aug 20 2004, 09:39 PM
Thanks... any info in that would be very helpful.. Thank you.

ok, i answered my own question. just google this:

bmw obc "brake light circuit"

and you'll get a bunch of links, several with photos explaining what you'll need to do for the fix. the fix depends on which error you're getting. if you're lucky you'll just need to clean or swap your bulbs.

97alpineM3 · 08-21-2004, 11:08 AM

Hmm... thanks.... I'll look into that... Thank you!