Wiring problems of the 2002 BMW 330

The contact owns a 2002 BMW 330i. While the vehicle was parked, the contact was advised that the front passenger side caught fire. The contact extinguished the fire and called the fire department. The contact was unsure if a fire report was filed, but stated that the fire department advised that a fault in the wiring harness may have caused the fire. There were no injuries. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000.

This car is 2002 BMW 330ci. I noticed that the warning light illuminated, which indicated that a tail light or brake light was not working. I replaced the bulbs, however, the warning light remained illuminated. I also noticed that the wiring harness plug had some damage in the middle and lighting assembly on the right had a connector in the middle gone. My mechanic stated that there was a recall on this problem. I contacted the recall center who stated my car was not covered. I noticed a lot of the BMW models were covered including 330i and the 330xi. I also went to a BMW dealer who again said my car was not covered. I don't want to be pulled over for a problem that should be covered by BMW. Updated 8/7/12.

After the recall, NHTSA action number: ea09019 , I brought in my car and they added a ground wire that was to fix the issue with an intermittent lights-out warning at the dashboard. After several months, the issue was still there. I brought the vehicle back to BMW and they said that they already added the ground cable and that's all they could do. The same issue still exists. Upon reading further regarding this issue, it appears the wiring harnesses had "melted" due to excessive heat created by a faulty ground cable. The damage has already been made and BMW refused to fix the issues caused by this faulty design. They quoted me over $800 to replace the entire harness and charged me 1 hour of labor @$195/hr to find that out. The faulty ground cable created the excessive heat creating issues with the wiring harness to the rear of the car lights. BMW should pay not just to prevent issues but to pay for issues already created by this faulty design.

Failure of the turn signals, brake lights and rear parking lamps of the 1999-2005 BMW 3 series ("e46"). Also noted are forward turn signal lighting failures. The problem may involve two unrelated component failures: chronically overheating/partially melted 7-pin wiring connectors (at the rear lamp cluster) and corroded bulb sockets (at the front turn signals). (the first problem may be more common in warm weather states. ) by way of background, I have owned three e46 model BMW's, all purchased new. All have had repeated, yet intermittent turn signal and exterior lighting problems. Most recently I noted another intermittent failure of all the lights in the left rear lamp cluster of my 2002 BMW 330i with ~48,000 miles. After another careful inspection, to include removing each bulb and checking its filament, resistance and connection cleanliness, I found something I had not previously noted--the 7-pin wiring connector was melted at terminal #2, the terminal that appears to be the common ground for all the lamps in the cluster. The car's wiring harness connector (female) and the male pin (#2) both show excessive resistance/heat damage. I have removed it from my car and taken some photographs for submission via an email account to mr. Ajit alkondon at dot. The part as installed in my car has the following identification: 63. 21-6 907 935 date code: 19. 9. 01 (for September 19th, 2001) time code: 15:54 as an aside, a local BMW dealership has previously replaced the rear bulb carrier on the right side of the car. While it has helped, I am still left with chronic, yet highly intermittent, lamp failures, (as indicated by the car's warning system) for _both_ rear lamp assemblies. At the front of the car, all three e46's I owned have had forward turn signal sockets replaced for corrosion, usually within the first few years or months of ownership.

Safety related defect with BMW e46 models; petition for formal investigation pursuant to 49 u. S. C. 30162 and 49 cfr part 552 the consumer stated the e46 models as well as his 2002 330i had problems with taillights, brake lights and/or turn signal lights.