On my way to work this morning, I got multiple lighting failure warnings, all from the right rear - back-up lamp, turn signal, and brake.

Does this sound like a fuse? What else might explain all the lights going out at the same time. Does anyone know if all three lights use the same fuse. The fuse diagram in the trunk was not that detailed or helpful. I have already made an appointment to have it checked out, but if it is something simple I will save the time of going in.

TIA

Rob

Not sure about the fuse, but the only thing I can think of is maybe the plug going to that tail light got unplugged or not fully plugged in somehow? Each tail light does use a single plug to connect to the wiring harness so that could be the problem. Other than that I doubt they use the same fuse, I have never seen a car where all the taillights use the same fuse. It's usually one fuse for brake lights (Left and Right) another for turn signals and yet another for backup lights, which would make sense since no one wants to lose all the lights at once.

Thanks.
Is the plug accessible from inside the trunk, or do you need to remove the lens from the outside?

You can't remove the lens, it's a tight package. So you need to get to it from behind :P.

Exactly, remove the carpeted panel behind the light, then the light will be right there. Check the plug first, if that seems to be in order remove the plastic tabs and you can take out all the light bulbs at once (really convenient) and then check the bulbs. The plug plugs into the bracket that holds all the light bulbs, the bracket plugs into the back of the light housing.

Thanks. Now I know what I am doing tonight.

Probably totally unrelated, but I just found out of a SIB for the E46 for rear light failures due to BMW design flaw that basically overheats the GND wire connection and melts the socket, among other thing. Look for burnt wiring or melted plastic around the connector. Here's the thread from the E46 site.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=158765

Thanks for the link. It looks like I experienced the same problem they are having in the E46. The brown wire terminal in the right rear lighting cluster wire harness appears to have overheated and melted, as shown in the attached pics. Sorry for the blurry picture (last one showing harness in place). If only there was a thread in the forum about what camera to buy . . . :lol: Off to the dealer.

WOW!!!! Sorry to hear about that, good luck at the dealer. Is your car still under warranty?

You have to be kidding me. What the hell kind of engineers did BMW hire and why won't the government make them recall all these POS cars with an obvious fire hazard? Does anybody know which government agency we can contact to force a recall? From their own SIB, it appears that they need an extra ground wire in the cluster. For the E46 it is SIB 63 03 06, if you're interested in seeing their fix. Shame on BMW for not owning up to their design flaws and for charging customers $400 to fix their mistakes...... :badbad: :barf: :mad: