Permanent E53 Brake Light Fix DIY

[e30mpower]

I'm not on here often, so when I saw this thread bumped I felt compelled to respond. I did this a couple of years ago, and it's still holding strong. At the end of time there will be cockroaches, Cher, and my brake lights. Best $40 I ever spent, and I blew the Mercedes dude away when I told him what I using it for.

[thrillcat]

I just ordered a pair of these for my X5, but I'm also going to look into the possibility of using this fix for the same problem on an '05 Audi A6...

Thanks for posting the instructions!

[KGNash]

FIXED. After a year of wiggling wires, buying bulbs, and waiting to get pulled over for brake light issues I did this fix. Used eye glass screwdriver from Walgreens. Took me 25 minutes. If my eyesight was better I could do it in 15.

Great write up.

[e30mpower]

Originally Posted by e30mpower

I'm not on here often, so when I saw this thread bumped I felt compelled to respond. I did this a couple of years ago, and it's still holding strong. At the end of time there will be cockroaches, Cher, and my brake lights. Best $40 I ever spent, and I blew the Mercedes dude away when I told him what I using it for.

Two years and haven't had a "Check Brake Light" or "Check Rear Light" message yet. I can't recommend this fix enough. And I definitely want to thank Bayerische E53 for spending about 30 minutes on the phone with an anxious 23 year old walking me through which wires to pull.

[squidzilla]

I wish he was able to upload the pics. Oh well, I am sure I will figure it out.

[ehummelman]

I've got an extra kit if anyone is interested. I bought 2 but only used one. PM me.

[Russianblue]

For posterity I am posting a youtube video which, while for a Mercedes ML I believe, will go a LONG helping folks visualize what's going on here.

I was lucky enough to find a 2005 Xer with 70k miles in 2017 and am just now approaching 90k, so this site will remain a good resource for me for sure!

https://youtu.be/e40e_8_4N_A

I've also cross-posted in another major thread on this topic.

https://xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/...light-fix.html

[Bdc101]

Here's a bump and a question for those who have done this:


The 164-826-00-07 part number is for the brake light, but there are three sockets on the tail light housing, and they are not the same (the brake lights have two different filaments, each with their own positive wire, and the blinker has only one). Is there a different part number for the single-filament blinker bulb socket?



I ask because the blinker is going out on one side, and a brake light on the other.

[wpoll]

Originally Posted by Bdc101

... The 164-826-00-07 part number is for the brake light, but there are three sockets on the tail light housing, and they are not the same (the brake lights have two different filaments, each with their own positive wire, and the blinker has only one). ...

Note the the LCI cars are different - on an LCI each of the three lamps has only one filament - the LCM modulates the brightness to make each lamp either a tail light or a brake light, depending on what is needed.

This complicates things, since the parts and wiring for pre-LCI and LCI cars are somewhat different.

But since you asked, for the pre-LCI cars, REalOEM shows three different part numbers for the three different socket (none of which match the part number you have quoted).

https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=63_0597

[Bdc101]

Originally Posted by wpoll

Note the the LCI cars are different - on an LCI each of the three lamps has only one filament - the LCM modulates the brightness to make each lamp either a tail light or a brake light, depending on what is needed.

This complicates things, since the parts and wiring for pre-LCI and LCI cars are somewhat different.

But since you asked, for the pre-LCI cars, REalOEM shows three different part numbers for the three different socket (none of which match the part number you have quoted).

https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=63_0597

Wow, that is very interesting. I am surprised I didn't come across somebody else trying to do this with a pre-LCI car, or even asking the question.



The part number I quoted is the Mercedes part number though, so I would not expect it to match. Thank you for cluing me in on something that is very different than what I expected!