Fuse #46 blows on the e36 when brake pedal is pushed

[BMRBOI 8]

Hi Guys,

So my fuel and temp light stopped working the other day on the 325i and my OBC displayed the tail light failure message.

Apparently its pretty common (googled it) but with various causes. Anyone had this happen to them? I read somewhere the tail lights can short from corrosion and cause this situation, so I unplugged both of them and pushed the pedal with a new fuse and it blew it straight away.

Looks like it will be a weekend of wire searching… any ideas??

[BM WORLD 1283]

brake light switchesw are a comon fail on e36 e34 etc.

but normally they just dont work when the fail not blow fuses.

also check if it s got a high stop light wired in that the wires are not shorting to the car body .

also the wiring going to the number plate lights often fail and short out where they bend just under the boot lid left side.

[BMRBOI 8]

Cheers Brent! I will also check the boot lid wiring loom, common place of shorting.

brake light switchesw are a comon fail on e36 e34 etc.

but normally they just dont work when the fail not blow fuses.

also check if it s got a high stop light wired in that the wires are not shorting to the car body .

also the wiring going to the number plate lights often fail and short out where they bend just under the boot lid left side.

[elmarco 56]

You don't have a tail lamp full of water do you?

[BMRBOI 8]

I'm pretty sure I dont. I checked my boot lid wire and it has a few cracks in the coating but I can't see anything rubbing. At least today is sunny so I can have a good look.

You don't have a tail lamp full of water do you?

[KwS 2424]

Did you pull the boot on the wiring well up and clear of the cables? My old low k E36 was in great condition, only issue was the boot central locking stopped working one day. Checked the wiring, had to pull the boot up a fair way, and sure enough had one wire completely snapped and another 3 bare.