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Bad earth on BMW E46 ?

15K views 8 replies 6 participants last post by  kceire  
#1 ·
Hi All

I have a strange problem with the electrics on my 2000 E46 320d. Sometimes when I indicate right my indicator flashes quickly as if I had a blown bulb and sometimes I get lights on the dash as if my two brake light bulbs are blown, but they all work fine.

I have checked all the bulbs and they are fine and the holders are fine and free from corrosion. They are intermitten faults and I'm finding the cause very hard to track down.

The next thing I have to check is to see if I have a bad earth somewhere, I googled it and it seems unlikely the wire would be the fault rather than where it connects to the car at either end.

I was hoping someone could tell me where these earth connections are on the E46 so I can check them or if there could be any other reason for the fault. I can't find anything useful on Google? :(
 
#2 ·
there is something about the earth cable on the back lights not being good enough and causeing this issue , one of the lads i work with had it , i cant remember what exactly it is il ask him tomorrow ;)
 
#4 ·
There should be a small bank of earths bolted to the chassis near the light housing in the boot. that could be your problem. Have ya looked into the bulb holder connector and the wiring plug themselves to see if theres anything astray?
 
#7 ·
Ya I had a good look round and cleaned all the contacts, I'll look for the earths bolted to the chassis and hopefully that will turn up something. Cheers
 
#8 ·
Thanks lads, I'll try those suggestions out and if anyone has any other ideas let me know. Might get this sorted yet :D