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  #1  
Old 03-24-2021, 11:00 PM
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Brake light out - not the bulb

I did a search but couldn't find anything... I saw that my right taillight is out, but when I pulled it out the bulbs both (top & bottom) appear to be good, and the green socket (top light) appears to be loose.



I replaced both bulbs anyways with no luck. Is this just a bad socket or is there another problem? I feel like I've read about a problem like this before, but I don't have corroded terminals, at least that I can see.



Bonus question: I noticed the third brake light (LED strip) is also not working, so I probably need to get one or the other fixed. Anyone know a good place to get one that's cheaper than the $170 that Pelican wants?



Thanks in advance...
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  #2  
Old 03-24-2021, 11:25 PM
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Try replacing the bulb-holders first. They go bad, even if they don't look it. $12

Worked for me a few times…until I had to replace the whole tail light.

Bulb Socket Part # 63216943036

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Old 03-24-2021, 11:26 PM
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OP this issue plagued both my ‘03
and ‘06 E53. Bulb was never the issue. Socket had burned out to the point there was none or little contact. I realized it’s not your case but those sockets became unreliable with age. On my 06 I first tried to compensate gap with foil paper which worked for a little while but eventually stopped. The anxiety of getting pulled over got me to replace the entire socket+bulb . Had to purchase entire assembly with tail lights included on eBay but only used the new bulb/socket combo. Worked like a charm!


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Old 03-25-2021, 01:36 AM
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Thanks for the quick responses, I'll try the sockets. But this one (green) looks like the one I'm referring to. It's the top one in the red light fixture. Not the turn signal, but the upper of the two brake lights.

https://www.pelicanparts.com/More_In...0594&DID=16843


Here's a better picture:
https://cdn4.pelicanparts.com/techar...mall/pic07.jpg



Unfortunately they are up to $33 each which is just nutty.
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Old 03-25-2021, 08:39 AM
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This is a very common issue - search "brake light" and you'll find a lot of posts. (fyi - I prefer searching through Google instead of this forum. Type "brake light xoutpost")

It might be the bulb holder, but it's most likely the light assembly. Even if it doesn't look corroded, what happens is that over time the plastic holding the metal contacts disintegrates (melts) resulting in the socket no longer making contact. This is where you'll find lots of posts where folks stack up a lot of solder in order to gap the space and recreate the contact. Your comment saying that the socket was loose would be a good indicator of this.

Another option is the Mercedes brake light mod (search that). M-wagons from that era have the exact same stupid design, and MB offered a fix that bypassed the light board altogether. This is a very permanent fix (I just did it over the weekend after my solder job failed - again). And it's pretty cheap: https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/mer...des-1648260007

Regarding the LED 3rd light - I took a chance and bought a used one off of Ebay for $20 or so. Tons of these cars are in scrapyards by now, so parts like these I'm pretty comfy getting used.
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Old 03-25-2021, 10:10 AM
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Thanks for the additional info. I saw some 3rd brake lights on ebay for under $40 shipped with a 30-day warranty, so I think I will try one of those. And I think I'll pop out the taillight assembly tonight and see if I can get it to work off the car, where I can see it better and maybe even repair it. I'll report back!
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Old 03-25-2021, 06:06 PM
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And of course, today is the day that my driver's door handle carrier gives up the ghost.
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Old 03-25-2021, 07:37 PM
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this is a very possible fix, especially if your metal on the back of lamp has been worn away. Its used a Mercedes Benz part. I, like other have done this VERY EASY upgrade adn you neve rhave to worry about it again.
https://xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/...t-fix-diy.html
read the other post too, linked in the first post.
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Old 03-26-2021, 12:08 AM
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Yeah, I popped out the light housing this evening, and the metal strips which are used as conductors have come loose. The little plastic rivets which hold the metal strips in place have broken off, so the metal is wiggling around and the bulb sockets are loose. However, the one which was loose was working and after fiddling around with the one which was tight but wasn't working, it started working again. Anyways, I'm working on getting a third brake light on the way, and then I'll see if the fix in that thread is something I want to do for the housings. I'm not sure how long my third brake light has been out, it may have been very recent but I never got a dash message until recently when the side light went out.
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Old 03-26-2021, 12:29 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bdc101 View Post
Yeah, I popped out the light housing this evening, and the metal strips which are used as conductors have come loose. The little plastic rivets which hold the metal strips in place have broken off, so the metal is wiggling around and the bulb sockets are loose. However, the one which was loose was working and after fiddling around with the one which was tight but wasn't working, it started working again. Anyways, I'm working on getting a third brake light on the way, and then I'll see if the fix in that thread is something I want to do for the housings. I'm not sure how long my third brake light has been out, it may have been very recent but I never got a dash message until recently when the side light went out.
On your tail lights, it sounds like you've found the same problem I've had, which I think is the most common one there. My solution was to drill little holes in the plastic and use small coarse-threaded screws into those holes to hold the sheet metal in place. That has been a rock solid solution since I figured that one out, following a few less successful attempts with aluminum foil, sandpaper, solder, screwing around with the sockets, etc.

On the 3rd brake light, you may find some info on here about that. I have posted a few things on that, and have read others. Most people seem to always just buy a new BMW one, but for me that's usually the last resort.

Here's a post from when I first had a problem with mine:
https://xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/...light-led.html

I recall there are 6x clusters of 4x LEDs in the strip. As the circuit is designed, each cluster of 4 drops along with a resistor or two from +12V to ground, with ~2.xV drop across each LED bulb. When one LED fails, you lose the full cluster of 4, but remaining clusters will be OK.

So if you've lost the whole strip, I'd be thinking the problem is not in the strip itself, but in the wiring to it. If you access the strip (remove the spoiler with about 5x Torx screws, as I recall; pretty easy) you'll find the 2P connector going to the strip. Brown wire is ground. I'll guess a blue wire for +12V power. So if you put power and ground through those, you may find it light up, meaning your strip is OK and you then need to figure out why it is not getting the +12V when it should.
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