Well, here's a goofy one...

When it is cold (around 40 degrees or so), when I hit the unlock button the passenger rear turn signal lamp does not flash. I start the car and the I-Dive says "Rear Passenger turn signal malfunction" and then goes away. I try the turn signal and it flashes very quickly as if I have a bulb out. This lasts for two cycles through the three-flash lane change turn signal gizmo setting. After that, it works fine. When the weather isn't as cool, it does not happen. I told the dealer about it and they replaced the bulb back there. Well, it is still happening. Could this be a loose connection somewhere? I asked about corrosion and was told that the tech would have seen corrosion when he was checking things out. I'm guessing there is some distribution block of some kind where the turn signal wires all come together. That may be the culprit but I have no idea of where to start looking. I doubt it is a fuse since it only affects the one lamp.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

Sounds like the bulb "carrier" is bad. The exact same thing happened to me on my 2004 car and once they replaced the carrier, everything was fine...

 

Well, the dealer says they can't replicate the problem and they won't do anything else about it. I told them about the bulb carrier but they just looked at me like I had two heads. It hasn't done it for a few days, but the weather has gotten a bit warmer. Is the carrier hard to replace? If I can find the part, (and I am an electronics tech) is it difficult to get to to solder a new carrier in there? I don't even know how to remove the stupid tail light cluster. I need to get a service manual...

 

No soldering needed. Just look at your owner's manual on how to change the rear bulbs (any rear bulb except the license plate ones.) Once you see where all the bulbs go, you'll be looking at the carrier. I'm pretty sure it just pops into place and connects up to the wiring harness...

If you're expecting to solder a new "socket" in, that's not how it works. I believe the entire carrier assembly is one part. If your car is under warranty, just wait until the problem surfaces again and keep bitching about it. Eventually, they'll figure out what they need to do to fix it once and for all...

 

Well, that could be bad news. My warranty just expired. I DID complain about it and got it annotated during the warranty, so if it eventually does fail, the will have an evidence trail back to when the warranty was good (I hope anyway). Thanks for the info!!

 

If you're out of warranty and good with a soldering iron, you could always try to repair the current carrier. I can't say I can picture it exactly but I'm thinking there may be some exposed solder joints that you could touch up...

 

Tried reseating bulb? Seems that BMW bulbs have a stainless steel base. Most US bulbs have a brass base. The different resistance (and moisture build-up) could be throwing up a code.

 

I'll give it a good going over and see what I can find out. I'm almost willing to bet that there is some corrosion somewhere in there. The car is 3 years old and this is a very damp area of the country. A pencil eraser does wonders on electrical connections made from brass or copper. Stainless is another matter. I'll let you know what I find out.

 

I'm thinking that this issue is related to tolerances and not corrosion. Double-check to see if all the bulbs are seated tightly in their sockets. If they're not tight, the socket may be expanding with temperature and causing it to lose contact with the bulb...