1996 BMW 840CI problems

Filed Jul 17, 2022 · Electrical, Lights · SC · fire

The Lighting Control Board Module (LKM) of the 1996 BMW 840Ci failed in a manner that caused it to catch fire even though the vehicle was not running at the time, and in fact had not been driven in several days. The fire damaged surrounding modules and wiring inside the passenger compartment of the car, and filled the garage with smoke, necessitating dispatch of the local fire department. The failure happened in the early morning hours and was only discovered by chance that allowed the fire to be put out before the car became fully involved, which could have burned the house down and killed the sleeping occupants. The failure appears to involve the electromechanical relay for the Fog Lights that actuates the lights and powers the board uncommanded - requiring fully disconnecting both batteries in the trunk to remove power from the board, and has been reported on user forums multiple times, including at least one other fire with similar burn patterns reported. No spare parts for this board are available from the manufacturer, so all existing vehicles may eventually see this failure The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer or insurance (no policy covers this failure, and the vehicle is out of warranty), and there were NO warning lights or behavior given by the vehicle in the time before the failure.