Mini F56 low beam malfunction

Issue

This Mini F56 Cooper is bright orange and otherwise in excellent condition. However, the car repeatedly displayed a lighting malfunction: “Right low beam defective” and “Right high beam defective.” The headlights were on, and the high beam also worked flawlessly. The car’s owner is the wife of a local garage owner. He had done all the inspection himself and checked everything on the right side: the bulb, connector, and wiring were good.

Working method

We first scanned the vehicle with BMW ISTA. We found error code 805B19 – FLE_R: Low-beam headlight 2: Short circuit to ground. This often indicates a software malfunction in the control system. The lighting is controlled by the BDC control unit. This is a common problem, and we were able to resolve it with the software. Fortunately, we didn’t need to install a new expensive bulb costing hundreds of euros. While we were working, we discovered that the map version was from 2017. We immediately updated the navigation maps to a recent version.

Result

After our software work, the lighting problem is gone. The right-hand low and high beams are working and are recognized correctly. The navigation system is up-to-date and navigates smoothly again. Two birds with one stone for this Mini F56 Cooper. Enjoy driving!