no reverse lights...

EricBuzz

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Location
North Jersey
#1
ok... i have a 99 323IC Automatic, and when i put it in reverse the lights never come on...
the bulbs are fine and the sockets are fine as well.

any ideas?
 
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Location
Detroit, MI
#5
Besides how did you know your bulbs are fine? what i do to test it is put the tail bulbs in the brakes and check them. Actually mine just died two day ago and am using my reverse light till i get a chance to go to the store.
 
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glyndon maryland
#7
Do you have aftermarket tail lights?? Because If you do sometimes the socets do not line up like the oem tailights. I also figured this out. Place your car in the on position but do not start it, and then move your gear selector lever to reverse. Now when you have it in reverse wiggle it back and forth and you probably will feel some play in it a little bit while it remains in reverse thw whole time. If all your wiring and bulbs are ok, then you reverse lights should flicker on and off while you are wiggling the gear knob back and forth a little, It will also do this while the car is on, I just figured that you would want to get out and look and see if they come on or not. You should get a mirror or a park near a window where you can see the bum of your car, and while sitting in the drivers seat wiggle it back and forth like a said, and if the do not see them coming on and off when you do that then you have a bad sensor that is built into the gear selector, and if you do see them come on and off when you do that then you have a sensor that is going bad, mine currently does that. If i put the car i reverse and puch the lever a hai forward while remaining in reverse than my bulbs will light. I am not worried about it though because I drop my car off on the 24th to have it converted to a manual tranny. Well I hope this helped some. Good luck. Oh yeah one more thing did you check the fuses in the trunk?? I know your ganna say that their aren't fuses in the trunk.....but there are!! take off the cover to your drivers side tail light and look on the body of the car inside the trunk. you will see some wires and I think a weird box, and those are the reverse light fuses. At least that it what I have been told, and my old VW's were like that. Anyways they are notorious to failing due to moisture. But I could be wrong about it but I am pretty sure that when I replaced my tail lights I saw them their. They are mounted right to the body of the car right under the taillight cover under the light in the trunk. I could deff be wrong tho. But good luck.


Patrick
 
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Location
glyndon maryland
#8
just went out an looked at my car. 97 328is. driverside tail light (only one I checked) there are two yellow wires with red slashes on them that go to a little black box. I believe that that might have something to do with the reverse lights, but don't quote me on that. I don't know if it is on the pass. side cuz it is wicked cold out and I didn't check.
 

EricBuzz

New Member
Messages
5
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Location
North Jersey
#9
ok... all fuses are intact, but for the sake of throughness i replaced anyway...
all bulbs are working fine.
but still when in reverse the reverse lights dotn turn on....

any other ideas??

i've even wiggled the shifter in R but nothing.

-eric
 


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