BMW E46S set fire to this stupid headlight switch plate

The BMW E46, the 3 Series of the '00SS, is a great timetable with a healthy aftermarket that can still be bought and built with relatively modest means. They are important cars for culture and we should protect them. This includes that the circuit boards behind their headlight switches are not spontaneously spread. Yes. “LCM Fires” have been discussed in BMW forums and Facebook groups for years, but someone has finally taken the time to articulate and show exactly how they happen. And what is more important how to prevent them.

Most of the problems that E46 owners deal with these days are standard-old car complaints such as oil leaks and bad sockets. But there are some platform -specific problems that I can see in owner groups with a certain regularity. Plastic cooling components like to fail and cause overheating, cracks can occur around the rear underground holders that weaken the integrity of the chassis, and the headlight switch can catch the fire even if the car is not running.

Well, it is not exactly the headlight switch – it is the horizontal circuit board behind the switch, which is known as a light tax module (LCM). In the left E46S, with which most of us are familiar, it is located on the left of the steering wheel above the driver's knee. And although there are a few different types of light switches in these cars (some have an automatic setting, some have a fog light button), they all have the same basic construction.

I could not be able to have a hard number of like many E46s that were actually from an LCM fire with Car-B-Qued, or to confirm whether a more specific equipment is more susceptible than others. But after seeing Tyler O'Learys video on his YouTube channel O'Learysgenuinebmw, I don't think that an E46 variant (hardtop or convertible with or without a sliding roof, automatic headlight mode or not) is completely safe from this potential problem. For everyone who has an E46, this clip should require a view of view, to buy one, or even have an informal interest in the car.

There are some speculations among online owners about clogged sliding areas or the lights in automatic mode, which is the culprit of these fires. The fact is, however, that E46 is pretty much all old enough to buy beer. Cars without a sliding roof could also sneak into the cockpit through old seals.

The problem is, as O'Leary explains and shows us that these LCM conductor plates receive constant tension (so you can switch on the lights in the ignition even without the key). When the moisture arrives, it causes corrosion. Corrosion creates electrical resistance. Resistance creates heat. Heat can be fire. Fire bad.

Interestingly, I could never find a report about an LCM fire while a car drove and drove. I don't know what to do with it, but you believe better, I will check my wife's LCM on my wife's 2003 BMW 330CI with some regular BMW 330CI.

If you have an E46, it is step one when preventing LCM fire prevention. In view of the spread of this problem, however, it is a smart idea to keep an eye on the module itself. The inspection process that O'Leary shows us is pretty simple – the most difficult part is likely to handle the cladding to handle the light switch without cracking it.

As soon as you have removed the module, you will either find that you are clean (beautiful) or a rough (a manure, but far better to find it now than if your dashboard is). You have some options as soon as you get access to the circuit board. You could try to seal it with a kind of moisture prevention, but turn it extremely caution and first do some research, so that you do not accidentally fry things out with incompatible chemical or something. You can also apply a silicone icing device to the outside area of ​​the switch housing. However, check your work again and make sure that you do not make unintentional material contacts.

You can completely replace your LCM – you can use Realoem to follow up the part numbers – but they are not cheap. FCP Euro wants almost 500 US dollars for the headlight switch that my wife's car has. There are many used ones on eBay and in scrap sites for far less, but they would roll the cube again, unless the seller takes the switch apart and shows them the LCM.

If you are paranoid enough to be nervous about it, but too lazy to actually examine, you could pull the battery out of your car and cut the power supply to the LCM and everything else. But that's not a long -term solution, unless you plan to really moth your bimmer for some reason.

Or, I think if you actually hate your E46, rinse this LCM in your sink, install the car far away from your house and get ready to pick up your insurance check. Joking! Joking. Come on, people.

Apart from jokes, there is one thing that is aware of as the owner who deals with this problem. The E46 LCM is connected to the measuring cluster and its VIN. So you will probably have to renew a new light switch to work again and an installation can trigger the so -called “passing point”. This is just a small tiny light that appears near the kilometer knife, which points out that the mileage may be wrong. It is not important on a 10-owner 325i, but if you have a nice clean car, you won't want that.

Fortunately, the BMW coding software called NCS Expert can be used to properly create a new light switch, and another program called PA Soft can be used to delete the mileage manipulation point. I will have her examined myself if you are serious to use you. There can also be other coding methods, programs and coding services, and of course you can always call a BMW specialist in order to fully manage the work.

For those E46 owners who were able to fire this potential fire risk, I am not aware of the new fire risk. But I hope that this post and O'Learys video can help that some E46s do not destroy. Despite their shortcomings, these are really extraordinary cars that come across their weight in terms of quality and driving dynamics. Even a share, non-M E46 is a pleasure to drive if it is properly and properly maintained. You only have to treat them with respect if they enter their older years.

Did you have to deal with LCM-related problems on an E46 bver? Tell me about it! My e -Mails from Andre.Collins@thedrive.comPresent