E30 Zone

I have been told the rear lights on my 325i are brighter than on other e30s, checked the bulbs are 12v 10w, but they have a black tint, voltage across battery with engine running is 14.5 v, is this right.

Well most cars use 5W rear sidelights so thats probably why they look bright on 10's but as long as theyre not as bright as the brake lights then it's fine, the dark tint on them means they are burning out and will pop soon though.


14.5V is fine with the engine running, sounds like the alternator is nice and healthy

10W bulbs are correct.
For some unknown reason, E30s suffer from their rear sidelamp bulbs going black. I've seen several so dark that you can hardly see they are on! This is probably why a lot of E30's rear lamps look less bright. That, and the fact that some will have 5W bulbs fitted!
May just be coincidence, but the shape of bulb where the glass is cylindrical with a domed end seem not to suffer from blackening like spherical ones do.

Thanks for the info, also just noticed stamped on the plastic part next to the bulb holders is the wattage of all the bulbs in the unit.

German manufacturers are great.

Kind of related: why non-halogen bulbs turn black (link)