E34 525i Touring

After 5 happy years my 525 seems to have all it's electrical problems come at once.
"Brake light failure - circuit fault " came on today. Both rear br. lights not working but "eye level" light on tailgate is. The dashboard said consult owners manual, which suggests a fuse . Nope, the fuse was ok.
The switch on the brake pedal sounds ok but havent yet ripped the dashboard apart.
Does anyone know if this is a common fault and any remedy, or do I go through the car with a multi-meter and waste a whole weekend?
Thanks............. RG

99% sure your problem is with the "LKM", which is the light control module. There is a glitch in the e34's module that sends false signal to your dash display. These can be expensive (if you shop at a dealer or regular parts supplier). I suggest to try and find one on eBay. I picked up one last year for about 60 bucks (instead of 80-125). It's a very easy swap, the LKM is located by the fuse panel. Good Luck!!

After 5 happy years my 525 seems to have all it's electrical problems come at once.
"Brake light failure - circuit fault " came on today. Both rear br. lights not working but "eye level" light on tailgate is. The dashboard said consult owners manual, which suggests a fuse . Nope, the fuse was ok.
The switch on the brake pedal sounds ok but havent yet ripped the dashboard apart.
Does anyone know if this is a common fault and any remedy, or do I go through the car with a multi-meter and waste a whole weekend?
Thanks............. RG

Hey, I saw your post about your Bimmer 525 Touring. Realizing that it's a month later, you probably found the problem by now. I want to say the tailgate is the problem. The wiring harness gets pinched and wires break from opening and closing the tailgate over the years. I bought My touring version last year and had all sorts of indicators on the dash about lights not working and tailgate open, etc.. BMW supposedly makes a wiring harness to replace the bad one, but it seems more trouble than it's worth. Basically deftly cutting the harness open and revealing the broken wires and repairing them at the bend points is easiest. Let me know if you've fixed the problem.
Norbert

the 'brake light failure' tells you 1 or more bulbs are out....."brake circuit failure' is the brake lamp switch and while the tailgate harnesses are 'repairable' it's only a temp. fix....repairs mean less flexing and breakage elsewhere.. but replacing the harnesses is very time consuming....