I got a tail light out indication and have the following problem. Pulled the assembly and found pin 2 of the spade connection on the light assembly burnt about half way. Ordered another assembly and then noticed pin two on the wiring harness side to be burnt to the point of what I assume will be useless when I got the new light. I need the connector and at least one pin. The only number on the plug appears to be 56188 7519956. Where might I find it with pins and do I need an extractor to pull the pins. Thanks
tail lights I did this repair on both tail lights on my 2004 330xi. exact same problem. the warning light on the dash went off and then i looked at the bulbs and the pin was fried. The dealership gave me instructions on how to do it. Mike Stevenson at Richmond BMW in Virginia, specifically. He told me the way they do it is to first you must replace the board that holds the light bulbs. That is the main problem, something about resistance building up in the board. The parts department also sells the little silver pin connectors (very cheap), get extras, because they break easily on installation. You will need a new pin holder, (the black plastic piece which holds all the wires and pins and plugs into the board that holds the bulbs on the taillight...). This was Mike's suggestion. Apparently, when the pin gets fried, it also damages the plastic around the pin in that holder/plug piece. Plus, these things are kind of disposable, in other words, you basically have to destroy it to get all the buggered pins out... Take a picture of how the wires are arranged within that thing, so you won't mistakenly screw that up. Then, you have to clip and repair the melted pin and put them all back into the new plug/pin holder. Put the thing back together and Walla, you're done. It took me about 25 minutes to do each of them, and I haven't had a warning light in 30,000 miles...and the brake lights perform flawlessly... If you can't understand this, just call me 804-687-7265
Clear enough? Is that clear enough? The bad news is that it really should be a warranty item. In other words, they should replace the dang things prior to the resistance building up and causing problems with the wiring. I hope it works out well for ya. I have not seen a TSB or any such information or an official statement from BMW about this kind of thing, but the mechanics acted as though they see it all the time. The only real difficulty is finding the right small snips or other instrument to take apart the black plug that holds all the wires. I asked the mechanic, and even he didn't know any real tricks. Of course, I'm no expert. - tph
Very interesting. I have to look at the replacement unit. Haven't put it in yet as I am waiting for plug and pins. Didn't notice if there was any metal on the assebmly to ground. Thanks.
