Brake light is collecting water. '95 325i - United Bimmer Community

**Jetty** · 03-27-2010, 09:04 AM

Brake light is collecting water and corroding the bulb fixture. Does anyone know of a quick fix? How is the water getting in there? Also the trunk won't open. I think the linkage came unlatched. Can I drill a hole and re-attach linkage.

**3050rpm** · 03-27-2010, 11:42 AM

Regarding the brake light, the seal around the light fixture could be misaligned or has deteriorated. Check for that obviously by pulling out the whole fixture, whick would also allow you to see if there's any metal corrosion, I noticed that on my car and fortunately was able to catch it early enough.

As to the trunk latch, search the forum pages, maybe it was a couple of months ago that someone posted the same problem, and I believe the ultimate remedy was to drill through.

**Jetty** · 03-28-2010, 02:21 AM

About the trunk; I saw that post. I think it was a 318? Probably the same on the 325i. Pretty cool fix. I'm hoping I can find the exact spot to drill the hole and then re-attach the linkage.

I still need to get in there and look at the tail light assembly and see whether I can remove the whole thing without opening the trunk. I might end up with both problems solved as a result.

Thank you 3050. You helped before when my car simply wouldn't start. To this day I'm pretty sure I put cheap gas in the tank instead of Shell, BP, or Sunoco. Hasn't done it since. A couple of months ago I was on empty and put some cheaper brand gasoline in it and it sputtered a bit upon starting. That convinced me. Use Shell gas or the equivalent thereof.

**3050rpm** · 03-28-2010, 07:10 PM

1) I think you're right, it was someone with a 318i, but the body style is still the same. If you have fold-down rear seats, you might be able to finagle the latch without resorting to surgery.

2) You do need access from inside the trunk to remove the rear light housing.

3) Quite possible it was the gas, possibly with water contamination. You might want to move up the time for replacing the fuel filter, or put in a bottle of dry gas and a couple of tanks later a bottle of injector cleaner.

**Jetty** · 04-17-2010, 11:51 PM

The rear seats do fold down. I can see the latch. If that trunk opens I might start jumping up and down. I've not had the trunk open since purchase.

I cleaned the contacts on the socket and the light assembly, then applied conductive "bulb grease". Brake light is now working with no immediate re-occurrance of original problem.... yet.

I have not replaced the fuel filter since owning vehicle. 32,000 miles since purchased. How do I replace the fuel filter? Is it something I can do easily?

**3050rpm** · 04-18-2010, 07:47 AM

I want to think you can open the trunk without taking drastic measures. Be aware that the trunk lock can also act as a central locking system for the doors as well as the trunk, locking and unlocking depends upon turning and pressing in the latch in different directions. Experiment.

So far so good on the bulbs; removing the entire light assembly allows you to see if any corrosion has set in in areas not readily visible. This happened with my car, I found out about it as a fluke, but was able to catch it in time to avoid further problems.

Changing the fuel filter is a DIY job, no special tools required, but you do have to put the car up on jackstands or on a lift to get sufficient access and workspace, and you need to be prepared to catch some inevitable spilling of gas. By all means pick up a Bentley manual which shows how to do this and other tasks.