Bulb light keeps popping up whilst driving

[Alfiedog]

Hi so I seem to have a problem with the “bulb” warning light appearing on the dash regularly as I’m driving along almost every 2 or 3 minutes. Noticeable more when I applyI the brakes ! checked all the bulbs and all working fine, I’ve plugged a fault OBDII reader in and that doesn’t bring any fault codes at all, has anyone had this problem, would be grateful of help/ advice , many thanks

[Pondrew]

Probably a bad connection somewhere. Check all the plug connectors to all lights and make sure they are seated with no damage to any of the cables.

[Alfiedog]

Will do thanks

[B21]

The rear light cluster has an unusual bulb, holder, mount relationship..

It’s quite easy to get a duff connection between the bulb holder and the rear light..

Probably worth splashing out on a new set of bulbs to remove that as an issue.l

[Rockhopper]

BMWScanner will tell you which bulb is turning the light on even if the bulb hasn't actually failed.

[Alfiedog]

Appreciate the advice, where would I be able to purchase a BMW scanner, the OBDII scanner I have isn’t throwing any fault, I imagine though my scanner is not tailored to that individual make and model ?

[B21]

Foxwell 510, Protool amongst others for both dedicated and app based solutions..

[matsmith749]

Most of the higher spec scan tools have a facility that reports codes that 'were thrown' even if they are not currently present. Really helpfull in tracking these sort of problems. As a general rule, if something triggered a light on the dash (even for a second), it has stored the reason why somewhere in an ECU on the car.

Mine is an Autel 808bt, it tells you when a problem was first registered, how many times it has happened (& when - full history), and if the problem is currently present.

Worth paying a bit more for, so you can track those things that never seem to be a problem when you get the scanner out

I hear often that it's not worth paying a couple of hundred pounds for one of these higher spec scan tools - but in perspective - how much does a single garage visit cost? Mine has paid for itself many times over.

[Alfiedog]

Thanks for all the responses to this problem, I noticed when I bought the car a year ago that a couple of the LED indicator lights didn’t work on the bottom strip and now 5 don’t work and in general the rear light was looking tired and grubby so I’ve bought a brand new replacement ( not cheap but it needed it ) and I’m thinking if maybe this could be the issue ( I’m doubtful) so I’ll get that fitted this weekend as the weather is going to be good. I’ve also got a mate who’s a mechanic with an expensive diagnostics bit of kit , we shall see what happens

[matsmith749]

Lol.

Started out as 'All bulbs working fine - no idea at all what could be causing this mystery fault'.

Truth 'Knew the rear indicator bulbs had dead segments, has been getting worse over time'.

Mystery solved - you don't need a code reader or any advanced diagnostics.

[Alfiedog]

lol well that’s where you’re wrong because even with the failed LEDs it never used to throw up the bulb warning light on the dash and also now I’ve fitted the new light cluster which is a huge improvement it still throws up a warning bulb light on the dash so I guess a pro scan tool is going to be the next step

[matsmith749]

Let us know what it turns out to be You did well getting hold of a replacement tail light unit TBH - congrats!

I had the failed LED issue in the tail lights (as have many others before us) - I cannot speak for everyone, but on my car it did indeed throw the warning light on the dash.

But at the end of the day, your scanner will just say in black & white what it thinks the problem is, so no need to guess.

lol

[Alfiedog]

Something I’ve found out that nobody has mentioned is the fact that if you scroll through the dashboard menu and click on check data when you get the bulb icon click on it and it gives you the code CC-ID136 in this case it was saying there’s a problem with the rear near side brake light. So I investigated and what do I find………2 wires not connected to one of the brake light bulb holder/ housing . ( you may be aware there are 2 rear brake light bulbs so it seems) so from the outside it isn’t obvious one bulb isn’t working and even when I did a brake light test it appeared to be working ( relying on someone at rear telling me brake lights work ) So there we have , take a look at the fault code on the dash

[Alfiedog]

Probably a bad connection somewhere. Check all the plug connectors to all lights and make sure they are seated with no damage to any of the cables.

Basically I should of done exactly what this member said at the beginning, although in my defense the 2 wires in this case were tucked away behind the bulb holder almost out of sight So PONDREW great advice

[B21]

Probably a bad connection somewhere. Check all the plug connectors to all lights and make sure they are seated with no damage to any of the cables.

Basically I should of done exactly what this member said at the beginning, although in my defense the 2 wires in this case were tucked away behind the bulb holder almost out of sight So PONDREW great advice

The tags on the light bulb adaptor often come adrift when previous souls have tried to change a bulb..