teohenwhy

My drivers side license plate has been out for some time now and I found that a couple wires were sliced and touching each other where it goes into the trunk hinge. Apparently this is a common issue. I repaired the wires and tested every fuse in the trunk and glove compartment but the light still isn't working. I know the bulb is good because I swapped it out with the passenger side license plate light and it's good. Are there more fuses somewhere else I need to check? I tested the wire with a test light before it even goes into the trunk hinge and there is no power so it looks like an issue with a fuse or something.Thanks in advance for any help or info.

twh

What year and model?

teohenwhy

2010 528i

twh

Here is the wiring diagram:

teohenwhy

Thanks , but I am not sure what I can do with this diagram other than knowing the wire is gray and brown which I already know. ??

sanjsanj

You need a diagnostic cable and INPA or DIS to clear the fault code from the LCM - if that doesn't work, you'll need to use Tool32.

teohenwhy

Will clearing the code make the light work again? Are you saying that the light is not working because of fault code? I have a diagnostic cable and Inpa. I am sure that the fault code is still there because the light is still not working.

teohenwhy

One that I found is that when I put a light tester to the gray/brown wire that should be the positive wire it actually has a negative output coming from it. Doesn't make sense because that wire should be positive, NOT negative. But if I unplug the light socket from the plug , it no longer is negative.

sanjsanj

Yes exactly that - if the wires were actually touching and shorting each other, the light module would have disabled that circuit if it happens 10 times in a row. Make sure the problem is properly fixed before resetting it, I think you can only reset it 4 times before it permanently stores the fault code.

Look up the colours in WDS if you want, brown is ground in the headlights of my car...

twh

The wiring diagram has the wire colors and fuse number.

What sanjsanj says is true. The electronics can detect a short circuit. If it detects it repeatedly, it just decides to never again energize that circuit! I don't remember where I read that and I don't remember what the exact procedure for reseting the short the circuit was. You should be able to find it with some searching.