paging Weasel - POS E53 tails
 

Is it just me or are the E53 stock tails POS....I suspect it has to with a combo of the gasket sealing and the circuit board design. Left tail was rusted through and I purchased a *used* one off Ebay. Again, the left side is shot and I'm leaning on buying a $$$$ brand new OEM tail. Not sure if it's worth it or not , but regardless we have a state inspec. coming up, so I need to get this tail fixed soon. My indy has a shop that will just do the sticker, but I have not needed to drive to my Indy for awhile (he's quite a drives away from me)

I have seen the aftermarket LED tails and personally, I think they look like crap.

It's not the bulbs as I put in fresh bulbs...
And it's not the harness...even though it did get a but rusty from the original set that got leaky leaky and cause corrision on the wiring harness/contacts.
That was resolved and cleaned up and was working fine on the ~second~ used tailight. Tested it with a MM as well.

The CEO is probably planning to keep the X for another 2 more years and I want to do is replace the tails with a working solutions for another 2 more years.

It's not a easy task for me (as there is a full blown stereo install), etc and quite a bit of work needs to be undone/done to get access to the tails.

My right light has been failing for some time, but the left seems to be just fine. I just bought a complete set to replace them both (so they match), so if you are interested in my left one then let me know. It's on a 2001 with Sport Package (white turn signal lens)

Jeff

Another bad design by bmw, i think so.
Mine had the same problem, started to corrode.
I ended up taking everything apart and sanding down the contacts to make a cleaner connection. It has been fine for about a month, but i think next winter it will do the same thing. I also replaced the gaskets last winter.

I noticed one more thing, when i look on realoem, and reference the part number for the rear tail lights, it shows that it has been updated with a new part number, i wonder if its any better.

thx jeff but since I'm replacing, I'm just going to go BNIB to at least mitigate the heartaches about replacing it....it's no small order to remove the components to get to it...

I did see a different part #, but this always seems to get superceded in one fashion or another. Whether or not it's a improved part is a hopefully something Weasel or X5 Meister can shed some light on.

Yes there was a problem with them that got improved and an SIB was issued. Also there was a fix the dealer was doing for a while too. What model and DOP is your car?

See if these help:

1. SIB 631106 - Rear Brake Light / Parking Light is Out
2. SIB 630807 - Rear Lamp Repair (in 5 parts due to upload size restrictions)
3. SIB 044206 - BMW Plastic Repair Kit (for above SIB)
4. Excellent DIY article on tail lamp assembly repair.

'03 March 4.4. - LH45230

Can you recommend the best applicable part #. Might as well make it both L&R

I was looking under the articles section, as there used to be a BMW article on a "04 up light kit. Basically, it has a set of tails as well as a *convertor cable* to plug into pre '03 and before wiring harness.

I can't seem to find this kit on RealOEM or the article I am referencing under xoutpost articles

Just a thought;

After years of installing all sorts of electrical gear I thought I would share a trade secret.
If you decide to work on these rear lights and want to prevent future burn outs
and corrosion then consider this product. No-Oxide Compound - Specialty Products

It's a required substance for electrical connections which will prevent some of the
problems that come from heat, moisture and a host of other issues that can cause
burn outs.

I have not used it on my X because my tail light repair was covered under warranty.
But I guarantee you that if the issue comes up again this is the first thing
I will grab when I do the repair.

At this point you have left me confused. Did you look at all the stuff I just posted?

When you say best applicable p/n and that you can't find something on realoem, can you at least mention what p/n's you are looking at or post a screen shot photo or something. It's hard to decipher stuff based on the little info you've given.

BTW, from your VIN it appears that you do not have the 'facelift' lights that were implemented for the 2004 model year (10/2003 I believe to be exact). If you want to install those, then you will indeed require the retrofit kit. See attached info. Also take note that the upgrade is not simply plug and play, it will require dealer coding.

Retrofit: Rear Lamps Facelift
P/N 63 21 0 304 773 White MSRP $316.61
P/N 63 21 0 304 774 Yellow MSRP $297.65

Sorry, I do have the part #s for stock ones
63217158391
63217158392

I was referring to the one that I believe were '04 and up (taillight is of a slight different design) . There was a article on xoutpost that showed the *kit* that had both the lights and the convertor cable. The convertor cable was simply a wiring harness switchup due to I believe the pinouts on '04 and up were different than prior years.

Is this what you were looking for? http://www.bmwmotorsports.org/pdf/e5...ht_Upgrade.pdf