Why the Tail LIghts of your BMW Does not Work

The tail lights are an important feature in your car for its safety. The tail lights in your BMW help you to drive it at night, in bad weather conditions like the rain and snow as well as in twilight hours. The tail lights in your car are generally illuminated in its rear end and turn on when the flip switches of the car turn on the headlights. The cars like BMW have an automatic sensor which can turn on the tail lights when it detects the ambient of the low lights.

Like other parts of the BMW, the tail lights of the car also stop working and cause major safety concerns in your car. It will create a dangerous situation for the driver to drive the car on the road because the other vehicles are unable to recognize the car due to the lack of tail lights. The following points provide the reasons behind the tail lights of your BMW does not work.

Failed sockets

Many times, you will find that the plugged bulb socket is failed. When the moisture enters into the socket it is corroded and end up when the wire connection is poor. If you find out that the bulb and fuse of the car are in good condition, then the first thing you need to check out is the socket for any discolorations such as the white, brown, blue as well as the bent or broken pins. So, it is always advisable to check the electrical current of the car with a multimeter at the socket. If the electricity unable to reach the pins, then make sure that the electrical line of the car has some problem.

Damaged tail light bulb

When you find the damaged tail light in the BMW, your first preference is to check out inside the cab and the fuses under the hood. If both of them are in good condition, then your next task is to check out the tail lamp bulbs. To remove the tail light cover, the BMW has an access panel in which you can twist the bulb out of the lens. Identify the damaged bulb of the tail light by removing it from the socket and check out its filaments. Moreover, the filament of the wire inside the bulb creates the necessary illumination, so the damaged filament can affect the illumination.

Overused wiring

If the electrical current is unable to reach the socket, then check out the fuses is the best option. In this way, you can determine the damaged or broken wire along with the wire lines. So, to fix these types of issues, you need to obtain a wiring diagram and inspect those wires along with the tail light circuit for determining the broken wires or the cracked insulation. Through these processes, you can easily determine the dirty, loose or broken ground wires of the tailpipe which may fail to deliver the electricity to the sockets as well.

Worn out tail light fuse

The tail light fuse is the important component which you need to check for preventing the damaged tail light issues in your BMW. The fuse is a metal band inside a plastic container which is designed to break when the current flow is very high. It mostly protects other parts of the electrical system and controls different electrical components in the car. Thus, the fuse controls the tail light which is identified and tested by using a tester. If the tail light is worn out, then the fuse should be replaced with a new of same size and amperage.

Dirty light sensor

Now the new modern cars like BMW have an ambient light sensor on the dash which allows the computer of the car to automatically turn the headlights and tail lights on and off. Some lights of the car also turn off in the daytime. If both the parking lights and headlights of the car don't turn, then make sure that the tail light is damaged completely. When the light sensor of the car is dirty, then it unable to turn on the lights. In this way, it can affect both the headlights and tail lights and can be tested manually by turning the headlight switch to the on position.

Damaged control switch

When the tail lights of the car are not turning on then inspect that the switch which controls them may be damaged. The headlights of the switch can be damaged on the dashboard and need a regular inspection for preventing road accidents. If you found that the other parts of the tailpipe circuit are in proper working condition, then make sure that the switch has failed. So, it's your responsibility to pulled out the switch from the dashboard and check them with a multimeter to verify the failed switches.

Final words

Tracking down the electrical failure of the BMW can be a tricky and frustrating process. But the tail lights of the bulbs are relatively working on their own isolated circuit, so the problems on those tail lights can be tracked down easily. So, when you feel that the tail lights of your BMW are not working, you should immediately take it to a reputed mechanic who will easily track down the problem behind the problem.