Cars - Check Brake lights

On Sun, 17 Jul 2005 18:56:14 -0500, "RCG52" >
wrote:

>Problem - replaced the brake light three times. It burns out and lasts for
>only a couple of weeks. Any one experienced this problem?
>
It is not your bulbs or the holders but the contact strips on the light
units.

Remove the light units (10mm nuts) remove all the bulb holders and inspect
the contacts on the LIGHT UNITS. You WILL find there are burnt holes where
the bulb holders contact the galvanised steel strips.

CURE.

Carefully lever the contact strips away from the plastic - take care not to
break any of the guide pins.

Get a decent soldering iron and some REAL lead based solder. One that will
generate a lot of heat such as a 100W gun type or commercial 50W stick
type.

Get a file or scraper and remove all the burnt area from the metal strip.
If you have a large hole it is possible to use part of a thin steel
blanking plate from the rear of a standard computer after cutting it to
fit. Make sure it is the very thin type as the others are too thick.

Now either use the soldering iron to heat the contact strips and if
possible use plumbers flux to ease the job and fill all the holes and burnt
areas with solder or solder the repair patch you made with the spare thin
steel strip.

Re assemble and refit (replace any damaged bulb holders). Saving of $600
for new lights.

Done this on my original lights and replacement lights (when one was
cracked) got from ebay. Never had a problem since.

Actually this was a recognized problem with BMW and light units were
replaced under warranty between 1995 - 1999?

Sir Hugh of Bognor

Intelligence is not knowing the answer but knowing where and how to find it!

Hugh Gundersen

http://www.bognor-bill.co.uk
Bognor Regis, W.Sussex, England, UK

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