98 M3 - License plat light is out.

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jmiller0666 - 30 May 2007 16:16 GMT

The computer tells me the light is out. I checked it and sure enough
it is not on. I took the bulb out and it was OK. Put it back and it
did not work. So I took out my multimeter and checked both the bulb
for continuity and the plug for power. There is no power to the
passenger side light. The computer is right in telling me it is out.
I know I can fix the light by jumping the connection from the working
light. However, I want to solve the problem so that the computer will
stop telling me the light is not operating.

Any thoughts as to how I can trace this bad connection? I started to
follow the wires into the car but that was too hard once they got
bundled together and went into spaces too small for my eyes to see.

Thanks for the help, JM

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Oscar@nowhere.com - 30 May 2007 18:08 GMT

>The computer tells me the light is out. I checked it and sure enough
>it is not on. I took the bulb out and it was OK. Put it back and it
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
>Thanks for the help, JM

Check the BROWN for power then check all the fuses - Depending on LHD or RHD the
fuses are usually above the glove box or in the boot/trunk next to the battery.

& series E38 did have problems at one time with dodgy wiring under the front
wing/fender behind the mud lining might be some other exposed wires elsewhere.

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admin - 30 May 2007 18:47 GMT

>> The computer tells me the light is out. I checked it and sure enough
>> it is not on. I took the bulb out and it was OK. Put it back and it
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
> Check the BROWN for power then check all the fuses - Depending on LHD or RHD the
> fuses are usually above the glove box or in the boot/trunk next to the battery.

Brown on a BMW is always ground. There will be no power going to brown.
A fuse for this circuit would have taken both lights out.

The problem may be in the socket itself, or in the wiring going to it.
The E36 series is known to have the wiring harness fail where it bends
when it goes to the trunk lid (from opening/closing/flexing.) When it
starts to fail all sorts of interesting things can happen.. such as
loosing your license plate light. While I wouldn't wire a trunk lid
with two separate wires going to separate sockets - I can imagine BMW
doing it that way (they do that sort of thing..)

The only fix for this is to start at the socket with a voltmeter and
start working backwards to where you find the voltage.

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Oscar@nowhere.com - 30 May 2007 21:54 GMT

>>The computer tells me the light is out. I checked it and sure enough
>>it is not on. I took the bulb out and it was OK. Put it back and it
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
>& series E38 did have problems at one time with dodgy wiring under the front
>wing/fender behind the mud lining might be some other exposed wires elsewhere.

Sorry I thought you were talking about the tail lights....... Trunk feed is via
one of the rear lights check for broken wires or corroded connectors near the
hinges/supports.

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noobiedoobie - 14 Jun 2007 15:08 GMT

> The computer tells me the light is out. I checked it and sure enough
> it is not on. I took the bulb out and it was OK. Put it back and it
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> Thanks for the help, JM

I have the exact same problem on my '91 535i! It seems that BMW has
not corrected this design flaw in their models for 8 years running.
My bulbs are fine and the wiring to them seems OK. I will check the
trunk hinge where the wiring harness is...

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