Strangest thing... (warning light)

[Bmw 325i 7803]

Today after the car sat for overnight I started it up and the dash car symbol is lit and there is a little red headlight symbol on the right front of the car symbol on the dash. It appears to be the one that tells you if a lightbulb is burned out, thing is I tested the fogs and the regular and highbeams and they were working fine. Then after I drove off and put the right signal on to make a turn the turn signal "clicked"and flashed maybe 10 times the normal rate for a second or two and then resumed its normal "tick-tack and flash" and the "light-burned-out-car symbol went away" so I tried the other one and it did the same exact thing only for a second less and also worked normally there after. I tried the right again and it operated just fine. That symbol came on for the third time now, but it never affected the turn signal timing..... Anyone have any idea what the heck is wrong? [???1]

 

[epj3]

That means your turnsignal bulb is burnt out. The faster clicking is 99.9999% of the time caused by a bulb being burnt out. It's a cheap and easy repair... for once!

 

[dm_longhorn]

yep, just happened to me last weeked.. (or was it two weeks ago?) All this drinking has my weekends blending together...

 

[Bmw 325i 7803]

That means your turnsignal bulb is burnt out. The faster clicking is 99.9999% of the time caused by a bulb being burnt out. It's a cheap and easy repair... for once!

The turn signal bulb is burnt out?????? on a car that isnt even a year old? But it works now... Maybe it's a sensor or the bulb is loose?

I just checked and no warning light and the bulb works fine to me.... (this usually happens randomly usually on startup.)

 

[epj3]

The turn signal bulb is burnt out?????? on a car that isnt even a year old? But it works now... Maybe it's a sensor or the bulb is loose?

I just checked and no warning light and the bulb works fine to me.... (this usually happens randomly usually on startup.)

Trust me, it is a turn signal bulb!!! The front turnsignal bulb has DUAL FILAMENTS... one for the driving (aka parking) lights, and another for turnsignal.

I guarantee you it is a bulb. There is no sensor there except for the sensor that measures the resistance to every bulb and lights up if a bulb isnt turning on. It's happened to my car -- bulb worked sometimes, didnt work other times.

 

[Bmw 325i 7803]

Ok that makes perfect sense.... But how am I supposed to prove this to the dealer? If chances are it works when it's brought in.

 

[bmwrocks]

It is 99% likely the bulb is loose. If it was burnt out, I think it would happen all the time. Burnt out bulbs don't work intermittently.

The other 1% possibility is the wiring harness that leads to the bulb is faulty. Way less likely, but possible.

 

[xmas63]

Ok that makes perfect sense.... But how am I supposed to prove this to the dealer? If chances are it works when it's brought in.

What do you have to prove to the dealer?? You can buy a package of two bulbs for about $2 and install it in about 90 seconds. If you've never done it before, maybe it will take 5 minutes.

bmwrocks, I agree that it makes no sense that a "burnt-out" bulb would cause an intermittent type of problem, but I was having the exact same problem, and it WAS the bulb! Everything seemed tight and I even swapped the left and right bulbs to see if the problem changed sides---which it did. I replaced the bulb and the problem disappeared.

 

[bmwrocks]

bmwrocks, I agree that it makes no sense that a "burnt-out" bulb would cause an intermittent type of problem, but I was having the exact same problem, and it WAS the bulb! Everything seemed tight and I even swapped the left and right bulbs to see if the problem changed sides---which it did. I replaced the bulb and the problem disappeared.

I stand corrected. Although I still don't understand how that can be........will keep it in mind though if I ever encounter the problem.

 

[Bmw 325i 7803]

I don't think it is the bulb for several reasons...(input appreciated) There was no problem at all today and both signal lights work fine. When it does happen the sensor says its burned out on the right when at the same time if i put the turn signal on it shuts off the sensor light (car symbol) and it clicks extremely fast for a second or two, I can also try it left and it does the same thing for a second or so and then there are no more problems...

Aside from that the dealer tweaked something with the car back in march and I still don't know what. All I know is that the climate controls intermittently decide to defog the floor instead of the windshield and it blows cold air at me at any setting, infact it sometimes doesn't blow air through the vents facing me at all. Not to mention there is a click sound when I turn on the foglights.

Since I never heard a click from the right side of the dash when turning on the foglights it leads me to believe that they (the dealer) did some electrical work on the car, I can't see how a relay which is supposedly in the dash would start clicking randomly after they take it in.

 

[Kirby]

bmwrocks, I agree that it makes no sense that a "burnt-out" bulb would cause an intermittent type of problem, but I was having the exact same problem, and it WAS the bulb! Everything seemed tight and I even swapped the left and right bulbs to see if the problem changed sides---which it did. I replaced the bulb and the problem disappeared.

I agree it's weird, but I have seen it also a few times. In one case I could see what was happening. The bulb was not really "burnt out" per se, but the filament had broken. When I tapped it hard enough, it completed the electrical connection, lit up and "stuck" together, I'm guessing due to current flow and heat. After I turned it off, a tap would jar the filament open again. I could actual repeat this at will. New bulb solved it.

 

[epj3]

I agree it's weird, but I have seen it also a few times. In one case I could see what was happening. The bulb was not really "burnt out" per se, but the filament had broken. When I tapped it hard enough, it completed the electrical connection, lit up and "stuck" together, I'm guessing due to current flow and heat. After I turned it off, a tap would jar the filament open again. I could actual repeat this at will. New bulb solved it.

I posted the same thing earlier but it either didnt go through or it got deleted. Oh well -- backing up your statement, this exact same thing happened to me a few months ago. Only, i dont have a check light for turnsignals (that makes no sense, because it's pretty obvious that your turnsignals are burnt out...)

 

[Bmw 325i 7803]

So you say it's the turn signal bulb??? And this has nothing to do with computer/electrical issues...

 

[theBMWenthusiast]

if u take it to the dealership a service rep can most likely fix it for u right there right then, depending in your dealership/relationship with the service guy he'll charge you like 3 bucks or nothing...at my center they charged me nothing...but i know the service guy so who knows...isn't big though, takes a few minutes max

 

[Docem2003]

I had the exact same thing happen to my car with only 98 miles on it !!!!!!!!!!!!!.. took it back to the dealer and they said it was the turn signal.. Ordered the part... Then the xenon light on that same side stopped working... and there was water in the casing. Took it back again and they ordered a whole new assembly... After my third visit to the service center, they replaced the whole assembly... It is working fine now.... Except when I turn the hedlaight switch to the Automatic headlight mode.. the green light above the automatic headlight indicator keeps blinking instead of being a solid green. I dont know why... it is working just fine though....

 

[Bmw 325i 7803]

thats the foglights....... did u ask them why it keeps blinking? It's in the dash.

So far it hasn't happened again.... and its been 3 days..... but im pretty sure it will come back again, just as I thought the lightbulb solution would be too easy...

 

[Evermay]

I Think it may be the bulb housing,I changed both my front turn signal bulb housing last year.i dont what caused it but the contacts on the bulbs were breaking off which damaged the bulb housing.

 

[Bmw 325i 7803]

Well as an update.... The turn signals haven't acted up since. I guess I'll say she had a bad day and forget about it. The car has enough problems as it is.