I was not aware until someone told me my right rear brake light wasn't working. (no warning lights on dash). I tried a new bulb... no joy. I then swapped the entire assembly from left side to right side. The side that was not working on the right worked fine on the left.. of course the former right side wasn't working on the left side. Any Ideas

 

This usually indicates a defective body control module.hile some attribute this to the famous 'brake light mod' that turns unused upper fog lights into brake lights, it's just as common on unmodded setups. If your car is covered under warranty still, take it to the dealer to be fixed. If you have done a brake light mod, remove all signs of it being in place before you take the car in, even though the mod does not overly increase the risk of blowing out the module, most dealers will see the mod and attribute the failure to it, thus denying coverage and leaving the owner with a big bill.

There is a slight chance that it could be caused by defective wiring as well.

 

Thanks for your quick reply. A friend of mine in VA. had the same thing happen to his Mini about a year ago. Both our Minis were made a week apart. His dealer wanted to charge him around $600 for the repair (BC-1 Module) but after much bitching they did replace the module under warranty. Hopefully my dealer in Pittsburgh will be easier to deal with. BTW: I did the brake light mod plus the center brake flasher. Have since removed both before taking to dealer.

 

I just started a thread on a new idea for a brake light mod. My idea is to tape off the contact for the brake light on the dual element bulb and then use the jumper to the fog light. When the brakes are applied only the top fog light would go on. But the lower would still work for the running lights.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=90459

 

Some sunroofs leak. the water can run down the passenger side A pillar, and get into the connector for the BC1. Messes it up!

John