Brake Lights stopped working - help! E36

The two rear brake lights and cyclopse on my 1997 BMW 318ic E36 has
stopped working - I checked the fuses under the hood and all looks good
- any advice what else it could be?Thanks in advance,

It happen to me just last week.
Brake pedal switch.


> wrote in message
oups.com...
> The two rear brake lights and cyclopse on my 1997 BMW 318ic E36 has
> stopped working - I checked the fuses under the hood and all looks good
> - any advice what else it could be?Thanks in advance,
>

wrote on 8 May 2006 19:30:31 -0700:

> The two rear brake lights and cyclopse on my 1997 BMW 318ic E36 has
> stopped working - I checked the fuses under the hood and all looks good
> - any advice what else it could be?Thanks in advance,

In addition to the brake pedal switch suggestion, you might also want to
check the wiring loom. My 93 E36 recently lost the brake lights. Then a day
later the license plate lights. Then then the fog lights. Then I lost power
to the windows and central locking, and finally the alarm. Discovered that
all the wires were breaking and shorting in the part of the loom that is
exposed at the side of the boot/trunk - years of opening and closing had
caused them to split.

Dan

"MJD" > wrote:
> It happen to me just last week.
> Brake pedal switch.

This happened to me about a year ago (1997 E36 318i). There is an easy test
for this condition before you go to the dealer or start tearing it down
yourself. Find a nice empty chuck of freeway and set the cruise control,
then tap the brakes. If the cruise disengages, your pedal switch is OK. If
not, then it's the switch.

Tom.

Tom Sanderson wrote:
> "MJD" > wrote:
>
>>It happen to me just last week.
>>Brake pedal switch.
>
>
> This happened to me about a year ago (1997 E36 318i). There is an easy test
> for this condition before you go to the dealer or start tearing it down
> yourself. Find a nice empty chuck of freeway and set the cruise control,
> then tap the brakes. If the cruise disengages, your pedal switch is OK. If
> not, then it's the switch.
>
> Tom.
>
>

I think there are more than one set of contacts in that switch, so that
test may not be valid for all cars...

--
-Fred W

Spack wrote:
> wrote on 8 May 2006 19:30:31 -0700:
>
> > The two rear brake lights and cyclopse on my 1997 BMW 318ic E36 has
> > stopped working - I checked the fuses under the hood and all looks good
> > - any advice what else it could be?Thanks in advance,
>
> In addition to the brake pedal switch suggestion, you might also want to
> check the wiring loom. My 93 E36 recently lost the brake lights. Then a day
> later the license plate lights. Then then the fog lights. Then I lost power
> to the windows and central locking, and finally the alarm. Discovered that
> all the wires were breaking and shorting in the part of the loom that is
> exposed at the side of the boot/trunk - years of opening and closing had
> caused them to split.

Follows...more of that fine German engineering. I guess it never
occured to them that trunk lids will need to be opened and closed
over time. I guess I'm about due for the brake pedal switch failure..
glad I read this thread.

--
Cliff
>
> Dan

In article . com>,
> wrote:
> > In addition to the brake pedal switch suggestion, you might also want
> > to check the wiring loom. My 93 E36 recently lost the brake lights.
> > Then a day later the license plate lights. Then then the fog lights.
> > Then I lost power to the windows and central locking, and finally the
> > alarm. Discovered that all the wires were breaking and shorting in the
> > part of the loom that is exposed at the side of the boot/trunk - years
> > of opening and closing had caused them to split.

> Follows...more of that fine German engineering. I guess it never
> occured to them that trunk lids will need to be opened and closed
> over time.

More likely the loom has been disturbed for accident repairs etc and not
correctly replaced.

--
*(on a baby-size shirt) "Party -- my crib -- two a.m

Dave Plowman London SW
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