Rear Lights Problem
 

Hello!

I have a 2003 X5 3.0 and I am having trouble with my rear lights. It started with my left brake light not working. I replaced the bulb and it stopped working the next day. Now the all the lights on the left side including the turn signal, tail light, and brake light are not working. I have replaced all the bulbs and still no luck. Now the right turn signal is not working either. I replaced the bulb yesterday and it worked for less than 24 hours.

Has this happened to anyone else? Does anyone know what it might be?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Hi,
If you search more ,you will find loads of info on the subject.
To give you a quick summary.On some european X5s to 2003 the left rear tail light assembly connector plate, suffers from corrosion ,where the bulbs connect to,due to a faulty or old rubber sealant that is suppose to shield the tail light assembly connector plate ,from water..but doesnt.
Remove the tail light and check for rust on the connector plate .You may just get away with sanding it off and then spray it with metal protector.If you do decide to sand it yourself ,make sure you cover the bulb hole ,to avoid any debris going inside taillight.(but you can always hoover it out :)

Thank you very much!! I will look into that!

Suggest you also use some di-electric grease on the bulb contact points after you take care of any corrosion.

solve all your problems by getting some leds. make your ride look upgraded and no more bulb issues.

Di-electric grease is an insulator and would cause more problems. Use conductive grease to maintain electrical contact.

2003 BMW X5 4.4i (E53) rear lights corrossion problem
 

After years of changing light bulbs and cleaning & corrosion protecting the electrical contacts on my X5, I have found the real culprit for all of these problems. I have found that I have an internal water leak coming from the sunroof and dripping right over the electrical fuses on the right-real panel . Somehow the water is not properly draining and is getting into the inner steel framing. The water and moisture collects on this cavity and makes havoc of all the electrical contacts and of course it also corrodes the rear lights and the brake lights. I flushed the two roof drains and they appear to not be clogged, but somehow when I test it for water intrusion the water still drips right over the electrical fuse box. Has anyone tried to solve this problem?
I truly believe this should be a major recall issued due to its nature and the fact that everyone seems to be having this so called “ Moisture and Corrosion Issue” with their tail lights.
At first there is moisture then there is lots of visible water…..take a look!

The water isn't properly draining bc your rear sunroof drains are either blocked or disconnected.

I don't use a conductive grease on anything other than battery connections where I don't want any gaps in the connection.

Di-electric grease is primarily silicone and silica. I an not using it to improve the connection. I am using it to protect electric connections from moisture and corrosion. It is similar to bulb grease but is a higher heat tolerance and better quality. I don't like bulb grease as it gets hard over time and I can use di-electric grease for a other stuff. The only way I know di-electric grease can cause a problem is if the bulb is not a tight connection and the grease is not squeezed out from the contact points of the bulb and socket---I have never had that happen with a bulb or a spark plug boot either.

Conductive grease is often used to eliminate static electricity. I don't use it in a bulb socket because it is conductive and can become a ground and or 'bleed' across the contact points.

As my old sparring partner states, if you do a search you would uncover many threads on this (or very similar) issue :popcorn:

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...ion-fix-4.html

I sorted my tail light problem I had a few years ago using the above. I've had no problems since.:cool:

I've had no problems since spending the 200 on replacement led units and getting a rear end upgrade in the process

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/15/a6asyvah.jpg

Take a pencil eraser to the corroded portions of the contacts (bulb holder, tail light mounting surface etc..)

Put everything back and it will work like a charm. Had this issue with mine a few months ago.