Mini R57 Cooper S - failure of the lighting

In the above-mentioned vehicle series, an error message may suddenly appear, signalling the failure of a light source in the rear lamps. This series has a self-diagnosis function that checks the status of the light sources after the ignition has been switched on. It is therefore possible that after switching on the lighting and carrying out a visual function test, no abnormalities are visible in the vehicle lighting.

One possible cause may be a transition fault in the electrical cables of the lamp holders. With the help of a diagnostic device and by reading out the error memory, it is often possible to determine which piece of lighting equipment is responsible for the error message. If a failure of the lighting in the rear lamps has been recognised in the error memory, special attention should be paid to the two lamp holders of the rear lamps. Contacting problems between lamp holder and bulb holder may occur here caused by the diminishing spring force of the bulb holder. This results in thermal deformation of the lamp holder and also of the bulb holder.

The lamp holders of the rear lamps should be checked in the event of a fault occurring. To do this, please proceed as follows: - Release the lamp holder from the rear lamp by undoing the retaining clips

The lamp holder and also the holders of the bulbs concerned should be checked for contacting problems. If thermal overloads are visible on the affected lamp holder, then the lamp holder, the bulb holder and also the bulb all have to be replaced. In certain cases, this information can also apply to other vehicle series.