E39 series 5 1998 535i warning indicator.

"pete" > wrote in message
...
> There was a little ping. I distinctly hear this little ping over the
> radio but I wasn't going backwards and the doors were not open so I
> tried to dismiss it from my mind until I saw the warning "Check Brake
> Lights". My wife crawled all over (it is wet out today) the place
> looking for a fault but the brake lights are working. One at each
> corner and another in the rear window so what else is she supposed to
> check please?
> pete

Clean your bulbs and sockets - fine sandpaper.
They are making enough contact to pass the power to light them,
but not clean enough to pass the lower power warning indicator system.

> wrote in message
...
> "pete" > wrote in message
> ...
>> There was a little ping. I distinctly hear this little ping over the
>> radio but I wasn't going backwards and the doors were not open so I
>> tried to dismiss it from my mind until I saw the warning "Check Brake
>> Lights". My wife crawled all over (it is wet out today) the place
>> looking for a fault but the brake lights are working. One at each
>> corner and another in the rear window so what else is she supposed to
>> check please?
>> pete
>
> Clean your bulbs and sockets - fine sandpaper.
> They are making enough contact to pass the power to light them,
> but not clean enough to pass the lower power warning indicator system.
>

Go VERY EASY if you use sandpaper. It's a known problem that the brake light
sensing system is very finicky. It will come on even if one of the bulbs is
older than the other once it starts to become more resistive (wears down).
ALWAYS replace both (or all) bulbs at the same time. I had the same problem
and doing this cleared up this annoying situation.

"pete" > wrote in message
...
> On Sat, 23 Oct 2004 13:53:47 -0400, "tech27"
> > wrote:
>
>>
> wrote in message
.. .
>>> "pete" > wrote in message
>>> ...
>>>> There was a little ping. I distinctly hear this little ping over the
>>>> radio but I wasn't going backwards and the doors were not open so I
>>>> tried to dismiss it from my mind until I saw the warning "Check Brake
>>>> Lights". My wife crawled all over (it is wet out today) the place
>>>> looking for a fault but the brake lights are working. One at each
>>>> corner and another in the rear window so what else is she supposed to
>>>> check please?
>>>> pete
>>>
>>> Clean your bulbs and sockets - fine sandpaper.
>>> They are making enough contact to pass the power to light them,
>>> but not clean enough to pass the lower power warning indicator system.
>>>
>>
>>Go VERY EASY if you use sandpaper. It's a known problem that the brake
>>light
>>sensing system is very finicky. It will come on even if one of the bulbs
>>is
>>older than the other once it starts to become more resistive (wears down).
>>ALWAYS replace both (or all) bulbs at the same time. I had the same
>>problem
>>and doing this cleared up this annoying situation.
>
> OK that does seem to be the best course of action. How about the
> re-occuring check brake linings warning though as they have recently
> been renewed complete with discs?
> pete

Those sensors are normally closed (NC). When they wear down they cause an
open circuit by creating an open circuit when the sensor wire is worn down.
Make sure that BOTH sensors were replaced (driver side front/passenger side
rear -or vis versa-I forget). If both were done then check the wiring.
Sometimes the connectors get broken or twisted during the installation, then
they fail soon thereafter.
But if you had the brakes done recently I would just go back to the shop
that did the work and ask them to fix it.


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In article >,
> wrote:
> Clean your bulbs and sockets - fine sandpaper.

The sockets - on mine at least - are plated. So I'd not use anything
abrasive on them. A decent contact cleaner like Electrolube will do the
job just as well without damage - unless they are *very* corroded.

> They are making enough contact to pass the power to light them,
> but not clean enough to pass the lower power warning indicator system.

Hmm.

--
*I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message.

Dave Plowman London SW
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