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      12-13-2020, 12:45 PM   #1
leejak
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No Trunk light

Hi all:

I recently came across a perplexing problem....suddenly my trunk light no longer works....I assume the bulb was out, but have replaced bulb(old bulb actually good) to no avail....I also noticed the red light on the trunk lid is also out.....the lock button on the trunk lid does work.....I researched on line this issue and found sometimes the issue is with the electronic in the trunk latch, so I replaced the latch, still no trunk light....checked all fuses, none out....

Has anyone else gone thru this and how did you fix?....help!
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      12-13-2020, 01:18 PM   #2
Thewrench86
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Had issue recently with random lights not working. I checked fuses and they looked OK. But firstly because its so cheap and if u have any about id try changing the fuses. Think its in the rear fuse box. Also check the relay. For me I had to replace the whole fuse box as it failed. Check for any water also.
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      12-18-2020, 09:07 AM   #3
leejak
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Unfortunately fuse box and all fuses ok.....no other circuits has any problems..

The only thing not working is the trunk light and the red light on the trunk lid..
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      12-18-2020, 09:45 AM   #4
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Could be a physical wiring issue, possibly some damage in the wires going to those bulbs, with them both being on the same general area of the car. Not sure how u would go about finding and checking that though sorry.
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      12-18-2020, 09:46 AM   #5
Opie55
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I assume by "red light on the trunk lid" you mean the third brake light? You confirmed that does not work when you press the brakes? If it does not work, then step one is to look at a fuse diagram and see if that light and the interior trunk light are on the same fuse. If they are not, then your problem lies elsewhere. The trunk latch should not affect the third brake light. I would look at the wring where it enters the trunk lid. Perhaps repeated open and closing caused them to break, or they somehow got pinched.
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      12-18-2020, 07:21 PM   #6
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Hmm...interesting how different things come to mind when a vague or not common description is used. For instance, when I read “red light on the trunk lid”...since there was no mention as to the location of said light in regards to it being on the interior or exterior...plus mention of the interior trunk light was part of the topic...my mind went directly to the red light on the underside of the trunk lid that is visible to traffic coming up behind you when the trunk is open.
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Last edited by Qsilver7; 12-18-2020 at 07:31 PM..
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      12-19-2020, 12:18 AM   #7
leejak
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Opie55 View Post
I assume by "red light on the trunk lid" you mean the third brake light? You confirmed that does not work when you press the brakes? If it does not work, then step one is to look at a fuse diagram and see if that light and the interior trunk light are on the same fuse. If they are not, then your problem lies elsewhere. The trunk latch should not affect the third brake light. I would look at the wring where it enters the trunk lid. Perhaps repeated open and closing caused them to break, or they somehow got pinched.
I am referring to the red light that is on the trunk lid to warn oncoming traffic I suppose.....not the third brake light....sorry
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      12-19-2020, 12:22 AM   #8
leejak
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Qsilver7 View Post
Hmm...interesting how different things come to mind when a vague or not common description is used. For instance, when I read “red light on the trunk lid”...since there was no mention as to the location of said light in regards to it being on the interior or exterior...plus mention of the interior trunk light was part of the topic...my mind went directly to the red light on the underside of the trunk lid that is visible to traffic coming up behind you when the trunk is open.
Hi:

Yes, that is the red light I was referring to....when the trunk light went, I noticed that light is also out....checked bulb...bulb is good, so must be something in the wiring.....
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      12-19-2020, 01:53 AM   #9
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need to check loom in rubber for breaks,,problem in the e series,,also if any other lights on brake cluster,,the e series suffered earth pin burn out,,easy fix,ive done it three times on different e series models,,google boot wiring/lamp fault,,also rear light earth mod..
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      12-19-2020, 08:38 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Qsilver7 View Post
Hmm...interesting how different things come to mind when a vague or not common description is used. For instance, when I read “red light on the trunk lid”...since there was no mention as to the location of said light in regards to it being on the interior or exterior...plus mention of the interior trunk light was part of the topic...my mind went directly to the red light on the underside of the trunk lid that is visible to traffic coming up behind you when the trunk is open.
I did not think of that light because I did not even realize it was there! Funny how you can look at something all the time but never really see it.
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      12-19-2020, 10:15 AM   #11
leejak
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rasa bmw View Post
need to check loom in rubber for breaks,,problem in the e series,,also if any other lights on brake cluster,,the e series suffered earth pin burn out,,easy fix,ive done it three times on different e series models,,google boot wiring/lamp fault,,also rear light earth mod..
Hmmm......on the F12, there is no loom in rubber...like in the e series...the trunk hinge is a metal tube, no rubber....wonder if wires are inside the tube?
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      12-19-2020, 10:59 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by leejak View Post
Hmmm......on the F12, there is no loom in rubber...like in the e series...the trunk hinge is a metal tube, no rubber....wonder if wires are inside the tube?
I'd start by popping off the fuzzy trunk lid liner and looking where the wiring goes. It probably does go through one of the trunk lid arms. I'd be particularly interested in the spot where the wires enter that arm - not on the trunk lid end, but the other end of the arm - that's where the wires would be flexed. Also, did you check for power just before the trunk latch? I'd want to know if power was reaching the latch, even it is not leaving the latch.
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      12-19-2020, 12:13 PM   #13
leejak
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Opie55 View Post
I'd start by popping off the fuzzy trunk lid liner and looking where the wiring goes. It probably does go through one of the trunk lid arms. I'd be particularly interested in the spot where the wires enter that arm - not on the trunk lid end, but the other end of the arm - that's where the wires would be flexed. Also, did you check for power just before the trunk latch? I'd want to know if power was reaching the latch, even it is not leaving the latch.
The trunk latch works perfectly.....so latch is getting power.....

I had the fuzzy lid liner removed when I swapped out latch.....but at the time did not think to trace wires.....I guess I’ll have to remove again and trace.....very painful to remove fuzzy liner.....a million fasteners tot remove...
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      12-20-2020, 02:56 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by leejak View Post
Hmmm......on the F12, there is no loom in rubber...like in the e series...the trunk hinge is a metal tube, no rubber....wonder if wires are inside the tube?
yeh,,never even looked on my 6,,worth checking them where ver they are,,anything with a bend that keeps getting bent will eventually have probs
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      12-20-2020, 03:37 PM   #15
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Based on the wiring diagram and info from the TIS...the trunk lights (E34 {all white and inside the trunk} + E73 {red & white for safety when trunk is open}) are powered by fuse 154 in the rear fuse box (Z2). And are actuated by the trunk/tailgate lock (S30).

Hopefully this adds something to the discussion.
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      12-20-2020, 05:08 PM   #16
leejak
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Qsilver7 View Post
Based on the wiring diagram and info from the TIS...the trunk lights (E34 {all white and inside the trunk} + E73 {red & white for safety when trunk is open}) are powered by fuse 154 in the rear fuse box (Z2). And are actuated by the trunk/tailgate lock (S30).

Hopefully this adds something to the discussion.
It looks like there is also a relay?.......wonder how different this is in an F13....
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      12-22-2020, 01:46 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by leejak View Post
It looks like there is also a relay?.......wonder how different this is in an F13....
Appears to be “basically” the same across all 3 models (f12/f13/f06)...some may use additional or another fuse number...but the layout is basically the same.
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      12-27-2020, 10:00 AM   #18
leejak
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Hi All:

Well, after much detective work, problem solved.....

As mentioned, I had read online somewhere that the trunk light issue sometimes is related to the trunk latch which has a built in switch that turns on and off the trunk lighting. And as mentioned, I had replaced my latch(not an easy task since you have to remove the felt trunk lid liner, remove the motor that retracts and deploys the BMW trunk Roundel with the back-up camera to get to the latch....and that replacing the latch did not solve the problem....well, silly me, when I looked at my fuse panel(fuse 154) I did not think the fuse was out(fuse looked fine and showed no signs of it blown while in the receptacle)....well upon actually pulling fuse out for inspection, long an behold, the fuse was in fact blown....replacing fuse resulted in trunk lights!.....I did some more detective work because I could not explain why the fuse was blown....so I re replaced my original trunk latch, and long an behold, the original latch was causing some kind of short and blew fuse upon re-install.....so long story short, the latch was in fact the issue, and was causing the 154 fuse to blow....

Thank you all for all of your help and suggestions and wiring diagrams....was really helpful....I hope this will help anyone else in the future if they come across this issue.....
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      12-27-2020, 03:31 PM   #19
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Great news. Glad you were able to find the issue and get things back together. And thanks for updating the thread to let us know how it all worked out. Here’s to a happy New Year!
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