1997 E36 tail lamp troubles

["thomas eby" <thomaseby@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Sam-
I had a similar problem, however my contacts were deformed and oxidized. 
Electrical short at the contact caused the oxidation which made the problem 
worse.

What worked for me was cleaning the oxidation off the contacts of the light 
bulb _holder_ (the removable black plastic doo-dad) and the rear assembly. I 
used a small file. Be careful if you use an aggresive cleansing agent -it 
may melt the plastic. The oxidation was slight greenish in color.

I also tweaked the contact tabs with a pair of pliers. So far, after about 
two months, no problems.

Tom Eby
96 M3
74 02
- --

>Date: Sun, 21 Jan 2001 15:08:06 -0800
>From: Sam Robertson <sam@domain.elided>
>Subject: 1997 E36 tail lamp troubles
>
>Uggh... frustration mounts...
>
>So for some reason I'm plagued with my driver's side tail brake lamp
>acting up.  I've taken it to the shop twice to no avail.  In fact, if I
>see that 'brake light' warning again I think I'll stick my fist through
>the dash. ;)
>
>Seriously, the mechanic had mentioned that they've seen this problem
>many times and all but my case showed that the tail-lamp assembly had
>become hot and deformed just enough to make the contacts between the
>lamp and the assembly bad.  That's all fine and good, but this doesn't
>look like the problem I'm having since we've verified the assembly is
>not melted or deformed and the tail lamps have all been replaced.  What
>does sort of convince me that I'm experiencing a similar problem is that
>if I loosen the lamps and retighten them I'm good for at least a few
>miles before the lamp quits working and the warning pops up.
>
>So here are my questions:
>
>* Can I replace the lighting assembly myself?  It seems simple enough.
>* Where can I buy this that won't cost me a small fortune?  I've not
>priced it from the dealer yet, but if there is just a 'known' place to
>order this stuff, I would rather take care of it myself.
>
>------------------------------

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