Hi,

My 2021 Cooper started smoking rubber last night. I traced it to the side marker light on the passenger side. It stopped when I turned the car off, but then started smoking up right away when I turned it back on.

Is there an easy way to disconnect this light so I can drive it? I'm not sure what happened, but I know it's the wiring or something in that light. It's the one right over the front wheel.

Thanks in advance,

Mike

 

Are you talking about the one on the wheel arch, which is in front of the front wheel, or the turn signal on the scuttle above and behind the front wheel?

And yes, it can be disconnected in straightforward fashion. Particulars of how-to depend on which you're talking about, but yes.

 

I dug it out and managed to pull it out. Then I tried to start the car again and the plug caught fire. I had to pour water on it. I cut the cord and separated the wires, then the smoking stopped and I could drive it. Drove to a garage like 15 minutes and no smoke but that horrible burnt rubber smell kept coming through the vents. No idea what caused it. See what the garage says.


This spot here was smoking like crazy.

The culprit. Was literally on fire for a few minutes.

 

Holy cow. Well, I think the short answer (no pun intended) is you had a short circuit. How and why, well, there are a million ways, could have been the bulb or the socket, but the whole thing is gone now. The connector is replaceable (not "easy" but doable, esp by your dealer's service department). That's the front wheel arch light, and if it is LED, the bulb is not separable -- meaning that whole orange-reflector-yadda would have to be replaced too (since yours is split in two now you'd have to do that anyway, of course, d'oh). Also doable by the service department.

I notice some pretty solid scuff marks on both the light and the plastic wheel arch it sits within, with top edge being where the light is split in two. Something take a swipe at that corner? Damage from whatever caused that *could* be your root cause.

Separately, this isn't exclusively a service department thing. I know I could fix this on my car, and there are independent shops, and and and and. But you get the idea. Whatever you get done, you'll obviously want it to be done well.

Glad you & the rest of the car are ok.