[Poochie]

Originally Posted by mike_o

So the brown wire is ground? How strange, I'd expect black to be ground...

We have the problem in a 2018 (may delivery) car...

The two brown wires attached to a harness are just extra ground wires, which is not needed for the LCI taillights. On vehicles built after 10/2016 have them.

All together, there are two extra brown ground wires and two extra brake wires (two per side).

Hope it's not too confusing. PM if you need more clarification.

https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/f...ess/1VnZ8zZX2B

[mike_o]

Poochie, thanks. Will look into it when the weather becomes a bit better

[Avex]

so my pre-LCI right tail lights (8 pin) just threw me this dreaded error. i could try out the ground wire split + female disconnect solution that's been widely documented, but i've been eyeing those new blackline LCI and thought I might fix this problem while doing that upgrade. Poochie , can you help confirm connectors won't melt with the new 6 pin connector on LCI tail lights? Or do I still have to split the ground wire on the LCI lights to be completely safe?

[Poochie]

Originally Posted by Avex

so my pre-LCI right tail lights (8 pin) just threw me this dreaded error. i could try out the ground wire split + female disconnect solution that's been widely documented, but i've been eyeing those new blackline LCI and thought I might fix this problem while doing that upgrade. Poochie , can you help confirm connectors won't melt with the new 6 pin connector on LCI tail lights? Or do I still have to split the ground wire on the LCI lights to be completely safe?

What error is it throwing exactly? That's a clue where the problem lies.

The polar resistance of grounding is much lower for LEDs over the original halogen, so one ground wire for the Blackline lights are way more than enough, there is no reason to additional grounding..

[Avex]

awesome thanks for confirming that. i just place an order for those blackline lci tail lights.

In the meantime is there anyway to circumvent the issue with the charred ground connector? It's not completely dead in the water, it still works intermittently and the console would throw me errors and clear itself while im driving. And this is after i simply removed the right tail light, unplug and replug the connector. Before that it was just permanently not working.

but when this occurs, my right brake light/indicator isn't working as well, so it's more a safety hazard than anything else.

[Avex]

Originally Posted by VpR111

Poochie - would you happen to know where one would ground that spade connector on the second wire shown in the picture on a F22 bulb socket? I'm tempted to just do this instead of haggling with the dealership, but don't want to connect to something silly. Thanks!

i've been searching around myself for an answer since I still needed to be able to drive my car while I waited for the new parts to arrive.

This video has someone solder the ground wire onto specifically, a F22 metal trace in the harness. But for reference, you can view it here, around the 16:50 mark:

[Poochie]

Originally Posted by Avex

awesome thanks for confirming that. i just place an order for those blackline lci tail lights.

In the meantime is there anyway to circumvent the issue with the charred ground connector? It's not completely dead in the water, it still works intermittently and the console would throw me errors and clear itself while im driving. And this is after i simply removed the right tail light, unplug and replug the connector. Before that it was just permanently not working.

but when this occurs, my right brake light/indicator isn't working as well, so it's more a safety hazard than anything else.

Since the ground wire pin is burnt out, you have to either buy a new pre-LCI harness and re-pin the wire to harness (it comes with everything you would need) or try to temporarily solder the burnt out ground wire to taillight connector directly.

[p912guy]

So my 2016 M235i vert developed this issue last week. Dropped it off for service at the dealership last night. I got the call from the Service Advisor this morning that BMW has extended warranty coverage for this issue to 100K miles and he is replacing both sides - had one in stock and needed to order the other, so car should be done tomorrow.

He also noted worn front tires due to a bent rim and front end out of alignment. Surprisingly he quoted a very competitive price to replace the front tires and only $100 to straighten the rim, but the front end alignment seemed a bit pricey. At any rate, I told him to go ahead and fix it all. I'll be switching to my winter tires and wheels in a couple weeks, but at least I'll be all set to go with good tires and wheels when the weather turns nice again in 6 months.

[MLJR235]

So funny, I was just looking at this thread not too long ago. Since I got error codes for driver side tail lights intermittently like once a day (only let it go for 2 days before fixing the issue). I pulled the light and sure enough, had signs of damage at the ground pin connection. Was going to go dealer route but considering I already had the upgraded taillight design, all I needed was the additional grounding kit/harness. Picked up a pair of harness kits and did the fix in my own driveway in about 30-45 minutes for both sides. It's funny that my passenger side also showed signs of slight burn/melting at the ground connector but was not getting any error codes yeT. Anyway, did both for approx $50 and problem solved. Would I have needed to buy the upgraded taillight board, I would have gone to dealer for sure.

I am curious and almost certain that if pre lci 235's owners pull your tail lights out and pull the connector plugs, will have signs of burn/melting at the ground pin. Maybe for those that meet these criteria take a look, if anything it's a free fix from dealer for something that will happen down the line. These dinky ground designs will melt the connector and burn pins.

For the BMW experts, is this a long-time design flaw on BMW's part? During my research I saw thread after thread for older 90's model cars with grounding issues too.

Seems like some solid evidence to the stereotype of BMW drivers never using their turn signals hence no need to use large/strong grounds on taillight assemblies lol X)

[Avex]

thanks for the responses all. Fixed it myself using the video i linked above - took me a toal of 45mins with zero experience soldering prior. Now eagerly awaiting my LCI black line tailights!

[Anesu1992]

So I purchased a driver side taillight (pre-Lci) I actually like the look and the housing held water so I replaced the entire thing with the revised version. I also purchased the pin connector kit. I took my time and replaced my pins one by one, the same way they were before. The tail light work but I think all my pins are now jumbled up because all the lights are mixed up... like the brake turns on instead of the tail lamp and the reverse light also turns on with the brake applied... help!

[pmcmtnbkr]

Originally Posted by Anesu1992

So I purchased a driver side taillight (pre-Lci) I actually like the look and the housing held water so I replaced the entire thing with the revised version. I also purchased the pin connector kit. I took my time and replaced my pins one by one, the same way they were before. The tail light work but I think all my pins are now jumbled up because all the lights are mixed up... like the brake turns on instead of the tail lamp and the reverse light also turns on with the brake applied... help!

Re-pinning can be a bit tricky you either mixed up the wires when reinstalling or damaged the connector removing and reinstalling the pins and then are shorting out to each other . Double check all your connections make sure none of them are touching each other even a strand of wire pushed through the pin could make contact ito another wire when pushed into the connector

[Poochie]

Originally Posted by Anesu1992

So I purchased a driver side taillight (pre-Lci) I actually like the look and the housing held water so I replaced the entire thing with the revised version. I also purchased the pin connector kit. I took my time and replaced my pins one by one, the same way they were before. The tail light work but I think all my pins are now jumbled up because all the lights are mixed up... like the brake turns on instead of the tail lamp and the reverse light also turns on with the brake applied... help!

*Left*
Pin 1 Gray / Blue = Reversing Light
Pin 2 Gray / Violet = LED Bar
Pin 3 Gray / Yellow = Fog Light
Pin 4 Black / White = Turn Signal
Pin 5 Yellow / Black = Brake Light
Pin 6 Brown = Ground (-)
Pin 7 Black / Yellow = Brake Light
Pin 8 Gray / Pink = BFD/Brake Light

*Right*
Pin 1 Black / Gray = Turn Signal
Pin 2 Gray / Yellow = Fog Light
Pin 3 Gray / Black = LED Bar
Pin 4 Gray / Blue = Reversing Light
Pin 5 Gray / Pink = BFD/Brake Light
Pin 6 Black / Blue = Brake Light
Pin 7 Brown = Ground (-)
Pin 8 Yellow / Violet = Brake Light

Recheck the harness and pin line up.

[Anesu1992]

Originally Posted by Poochie

*Left*
Pin 1 Gray / Blue = Reversing Light
Pin 2 Gray / Violet = LED Bar
Pin 3 Gray / Yellow = Fog Light
Pin 4 Black / White = Turn Signal
Pin 5 Yellow / Black = Brake Light
Pin 6 Brown = Ground (-)
Pin 7 Black / Yellow = Brake Light
Pin 8 Gray / Pink = BFD/Brake Light

*Right*
Pin 1 Black / Gray = Turn Signal
Pin 2 Gray / Yellow = Fog Light
Pin 3 Gray / Black = LED Bar
Pin 4 Gray / Blue = Reversing Light
Pin 5 Gray / Pink = BFD/Brake Light
Pin 6 Black / Blue = Brake Light
Pin 7 Brown = Ground (-)
Pin 8 Yellow / Violet = Brake Light

Recheck the harness and pin line up.

Thankyou guys! I went back and I had both a frayed pin and some backwards left to right

[alxsaleen05]

Does anyone have the instructions on how to install the repair kit for the rear tail lights using the new bulb socket on M235i? Not sure where the two wires plug that comes with the kit attaches to on the main tail light plug? Thanks in advance?

[MLJR235]

Originally Posted by Poochie

You have to purchase revised bulb socket holders to attach the second ground plug.

Part number:

63217370291 (Left)

63217370292 (Right)

The back of your taillight assembly needs to have this style of socket holder. It contains the extra plug for the ground upgrade cables.

Does yours look like that?

[alxsaleen05]

I do Have the new sockets, but the repair kit plug has two wires. not sure if one of the wires go to the #8 pin on the main plug and the other one to the ground wire (brown). 2014 M235i

[alxsaleen05]

Repair kit has the plug similar to the picture above. Please see picture above.

[MLJR235]

I believe this is what you are asking? The "upgrade" plug goes into its appropriate connector and the other end (two loose wires) needs to be spliced/soldered into the already existing brown wire on OEM wiring... I think that is your question?

[alxsaleen05]

Yes! just to make sure, both loose end wires are soldered together and soldered to the brown wire on the original EOM connector?

[MLJR235]

That's what I did and it worked out perfectly.

[alxsaleen05]

Thank you so much for your help. I will do it that way, hopefully it will fix my issues with every light bulb failing on my right side.