Headlight tail light assistance needed

[malena1379]

to begin, please refrain from writing me off or being rude in your response because i am a girl. I own a 1999 323is which i love with all my heart, and i try to all work on it on my own whenever possible (brakes, roters, oil, filters, O2 sensors, spark plugs, etc). i have two questions that i need help with, both involving lights...

1. drivers side tail light- me rear light is out and i have replaced the bulb to no avail. it is definitely electrical. my question is, i have priced several tail lights online (100-76 usually), but i am not sure if this would fix the problem. im probably jumping the gun though, not knowing if it is wiring or the actual tail light assembly

2. head light assemblies- the inside of my headlights are extremely foggy from dirt and residue. it is hard to see at night (even with expensive halogen bulbs). i took apart the assembly because i wanted to see if i could clean the inside of the headlight plastic cover, but it is glued to the black plastic backing. i tried to release it with an exacto knife, but it is glued on all sides (like the clear cover is inserted into a U like slip on the black cover). advice on cleaning this or am i going to have to just buy all new assemblies? i am trying to avid this at all costs since the are approx 132 each!

[apostrofu]

check your fuses for the tail light. i drove all summer with the same one busted, then i realized that my interior lights are gone too so i changed the fuse for the interior lights.. and my left tail light has been working ever since :confused

[berkeleyEE]

1. drivers side tail light- me rear light is out and i have replaced the bulb to no avail.

Remove each brake/parking light assembly (four 8mm nuts; see p. 630-5 in your Bentley manual) and look inside. The electrical connections are a stamped-out frame from a sheet of plated steel. When the connection where bulb holder meets frame gets dirty or corroded, the resistance goes up, it gets hotter, more corroded, and finally it fails. You might be able to shine up the contact surfaces with a bit of emery paper, or bend the tabs a bit for more contact force with the bulb holders.

Mine had a tab that was almost completely burned away from corrosion and overheating, I had to take a bit of metal and solder it (not easy on this metal) to replace the melted tab for that bulb. Look and you may find it.

If everything inside the taillight module looks good, then a bad connector or broken wire is the next suspect.

images of my taillight assembly here: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showpost.php?p=16661470&postcount=9


2. head light assemblies- the inside of my headlights are extremely foggy from dirt and residue.

Look in the Car Detailing forum: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=147

There's lots of discussion on polishing up headlights in there.

[dRock13]

for new lights, do yourself a favor and get depo's from ddmtuning.com

welcome to the forum =]

[palomino]

welcome to the forum. there's no need to announce that you are a girl in your posts though. trust me. the boys might be especially nice at first but they'll get over it quickly and start being mean if you keep it up. ;)

some of the metal on one of my taillights corroded away & my dad fixed it with a blob of solder for me. no problems since then. just buy new european-spec headlights from ddm. much better than the US spec headlights. the light output is worth spending the extra money.

[pac0]

welcome to the forum. there's no need to announce that you are a girl in your posts though. trust me. the boys might be especially nice at first but they'll get over it quickly and start being mean if you keep it up. ;)

That is, unless you are a hawt girl with pictures :shifty

[dRock13]

That is, unless you are a hawt girl with pictures :shifty
:alright

[malena1379]

thanks everyone for the help with the tail light. im about to check out the corrosion and fuses now.

as far as the headlights go, its not an issue of bad or weak bulbs. i put in some top of the line headlights (80 for the bulbs!) but it is still weak. it is definitely the plastic covering that is dirty on the inside.