My E46 Tail Light Ground Fix.... doityourself

[danewilson77]

I. Assemble tools

A. Electrical Connector set. I already had this.....and it had the appropriate connector.

B. Some to cut and strip wire. I used a combination of wire cutters and pocket knife.

C. Small tweaker.

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af278/nicee46/Maintenance%20and%20Misc/TL5.jpg

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af278/nicee46/Maintenance%20and%20Misc/TL4.jpg

II. Remove old ground wire by slowly "tweaking" out on clip, and pulling wire out simultaneously. Mine came right out. You can see where the plastic was melting and where the brown wire is starting to char.

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af278/nicee46/Maintenance%20and%20Misc/TL2.jpg

III. Cut off old connector and strip back to where good wire exists.

IV. Install new ground connector. I ended up using the blue one.

V. Plug into lug on circuit board. Red "Dot" below

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af278/nicee46/Maintenance%20and%20Misc/TL3-1.jpg

VI. Plug main connector back in, and your all done.

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af278/nicee46/Maintenance%20and%20Misc/TL6.jpg

[danewilson77]

First drive into work this morning without a bulb warning....since buying the car August 2010.

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[Whitexi]

Well done Dane, I still had a fast blink issue before because the connector has melted into the surrounding pins.

On a second note, the dealer can't actually deny the repairs because this has been sent through the NHTSA correct?

[Meric]

Another well written DIY! Thanks Dane. :) (I though i was in trouble for some reason when i saw my name) :D

[danewilson77]

Another well written DIY! Thanks Dane. :) (I though i was in trouble for some reason when i saw my name) :D

Lol. Thanks for making me do this.

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[nike001]

Hmm.. I'll probably be doing this tomorrow. Any special connector I need? And the connector just slides onto the new point?

[danewilson77]

Hmm.. I'll probably be doing this tomorrow. Any special connector I need? And the connector just slides onto the new point?

Connector just slides on. I think I got that connector kit at Lowes...it mat have been an impulse buy at walmart. I got it when I was planning for my A/E's just to have it. Just size it up to the wire.

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[shadowpuck]

yup, exactly what i did........easy fix, nothing to it.

[johnnyrad]

What size are those female connectors? Anybody know? I went to Lowe's and they have nothing and Walmart and Home Depot seem to have nothing on their website.

[danewilson77]

I bought that kit at Walmart.....might also check RadioShack.

[zj96sc]

Female spade connectors all connect to the same "width" spade. The color corresponds to wiring gauge, connectors are all standardized:

Red - 16 to 22 gauge wire
Blue - 14 to 16 gauge wire
Yellow - 10 to 12 gauge wire

Walmart, lowes, home depot, and radio shack all carry them...at least here.

[johnnyrad]

Got it. The ones at Lowe's seem way to large, as the OEM connector is really tiny. I'll try Radioshack, Sears and Walmart. My white XI has the brown wire fried and the dashboard light has been on since purchase.

[johnnyrad]

Well I fixed mine, I think anyway. Sears hardware had all the stuff. My connection was slightly black and melted the plastic around the connection. So I just put some of that electrical "goo" on the ends, stuck it in there real tight and zip tied around the wire bundle so the brown wire (#3) would not come loose. I think that was my issue. The brown wire was loose and pulling out causing the tail light to show up on the dash. Now no warning light! And I didn't have to splice anything. We shall see if it holds, but for now my dash is warning light free.

[danewilson77]

Love it. :hashbrowns

[johnnyrad]

Oh duh! :facepalm

I thought you had to cut the old connector off the brown wire, add the new blue connector to the end, then re-insert it back into the housing..WTF was I thinking..Of course that's not going to fit. I didn't realize your moving the grounding wire location to that tab. I didn't see it hooked up in Dane's photo because I was looking for the blue connector not red one. My wife was right, I need to pay attention better. :)

[danewilson77]

Oh duh! :facepalm

I thought you had to cut the old connector off the brown wire, add the new blue connector to the end, then re-insert it back into the housing..WTF was I thinking..Of course that's not going to fit. I didn't realize your moving the grounding wire location to that tab. I didn't see it hooked up in Dane's photo because I was looking for the blue connector not red one. My wife was right, I need to pay attention better. :)

Hehe. Lmao.

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[midlandtech]

If we have trouble getting the plug out of the harness is it ok to just cut the wire free? And leave the plug in place?


~Steve
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[danewilson77]

If we have trouble getting the plug out of the harness is it ok to just cut the wire free? And leave the plug in place?


~Steve
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No....I think you want to remove. Drill it out is you have to. That's what I think was done to mine.

[johnnyrad]

I eventually just broke the little tab on the connector and pulled the brown wire out with a pair of needle nose pliers. I just did the other side (rear driver's side). I didn't have a warning light on the dash, but I noticed the passenger side rear tail light that I fixed yesterday was sooo much brighter now then my driver's side one. Night and day I tell ya.

[midlandtech]

No....I think you want to remove. Drill it out is you have to. That's what I think was done to mine.

10-4 only reason I ask is the HK sub amp uses the same type of connector and I found that they can be a monster to remove sometimes

[derbo]

This is the essentially the way they fix the taillight grounding issue from the dealership. I'll take pics of my car's "fix" soon.

[danewilson77]

This is the essentially the way they fix the taillight grounding issue from the dealership. I'll take pics of my car's "fix" soon.

Perfection. Thanks.

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[Newjack]

I think I'm finally going to get around to taking care of this. I have EE LED tails, and my inside trunk lid light is really dim on the passenger side. The same section of light that houses the reverse light (If that makes sense). I'm wondering if doing this will fix the dim light problem. Won't know for sure until I open it up and take a gander.

[danewilson77]

No idea.

[brettbimmer]

Bump for a useful thread, if you wish to make this repair yourself.

Two photos/notes which may be of help - I used a fully-insulated female spade connector as pictured. Second is to get the old terminal out of each plug, I cut the ground wire about a half inch from the back of the plug, attached some baby vise-grips to the wire stub, lifted the small black tab helping hold the old connector in place on the plug, and wiggled/pulled it out same side as the wire side. My plugs weren't particularly burned, but I lost my right rear turn signal due to the faulty ground. All is well now with this fix.



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[Vas]

Quick Google search brought me to this thread. Going to use this diy to fix it instead of taking the Car to the dealer.

[danewilson77]

Good deal. Forward proceeds and proce difference by hitting the "Donate" button. :rofl

[Smilez]

I will be doing this. My left one going out too Fail haha

[Vas]

I bought my parts from radio shack. Got a bag of various connectors for roughly $3.

Looked at the connectors and nothing is melted yet. However pulling out the wire is a pita.

[Stewbie]

Didn't know this was a common problem till I saw this thread. Thought it was just my car. I cured it with some well placed electrical tape.

[SureShot434]

I'm going to have to look into this. I have the Eagle Eye LED Tails, and about a month ago it started giving me a bulb out warming for both sides, even thought they are both working. Good write up DW!

[SureShot434]

Didn't know this was a common problem till I saw this thread. Thought it was just my car. I cured it with some well placed electrical tape.

This ^ :fistpump

[Avetiso]

I have a bulb out warning but my taillights have already had the fix done. Any ideas? Could it be from having a coupé LCM?

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[gmurphy]

I have a bulb out warning but my taillights have already had the fix done. Any ideas? Could it be from having a coupé LCM?

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Does your taillight illuminate? :) could be the backup bulb too


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[LivesNearCostco]

A few months ago I had this issue and it turned out to be a failing bulb that was going bad but had not failed completely. I tested all the bulbs on that side with a multimeter to find the culprit.

[Avetiso]

Does your taillight illuminate? :) could be the backup bulb too


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Taillights work fine.

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[Avetiso]

Let me elaborate: Lights will come on (both sides) without even using the brakes. They will always come on. Taillights work perfectly fine and have seen multiple sets of bulbs and the issue persists.

[Stewbie]

eEuroparts.com has a DIY with links to replacement parts and a repair kit. http://www.eeuroparts.com/blog/articles/69/bmw-e46-tail-light-repair/

[WOLFN8TR]

Not sure if this is the issue I'm having or not, I have LED tail lights. My drivers side brake light doesn't work, the tail light, turn signals and reverse lights work fine.

EDIT: Found my tail light is bad, time to find a new one. :blink