Comments on: Fixing BMW E36 Light Switch Illumination . . . DIY!

By: tiny316i

tiny316i — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 03:16:28 +0000

The light was working OK but the light switch itself was beginning to wear. I thought this was a complicated procedure but you showed just how easy it was.

I wasn’t sure about how to remove the light switch dial but Daniel’s reply confirmed it was just a matter of clipping it out.

Now I have a brand new light switch! No more turning on the lows when all I wanted was to turn on the DRLs.

Thank you guys! Thanks Tony.

By: Tony Sticks

Tony Sticks — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 07:13:53 +0000

@Daniel: Hi Daniel, I’m afraid it won’t work. You see, after you remove the switch buttons (the plastic buttons) and be able to see the light bulb, the place is very tight and I don’t think you would be able to do it from top. Also, the bulb is soldered from below, so, to do a clean job, the best way IMHO is to reach the bulb from below.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 20:26:22 +0000

Hi mate,

Great, great job!

Am I correct in thinking that you can ALSO replace the bulb by clipping the light switch dial out and eplacing the bulb from the front? Therefore, you don’t need to take the unit out?

Your way worked great though!

Thanks,

Daniel.

By: Tony Sticks

Tony Sticks — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 20:37:39 +0000

@SauberE36Mexico: I’m glad you successfully finished this DIY . Good luck with the gauge ring DIY too!

By: SauberE36Mexico

SauberE36Mexico — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 18:53:05 +0000

Hey Tony,

Excellent write up thanks, including the time it took me to run to the parts house this simple and effective d.i.y took me thirty minutes…i’m diving into the face gauge rings next…

By: Angelo

Angelo — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 18:53:47 +0000

hi, i just see a car with all this light cahnged to a blue, i think his using led, but not sure how he did it, just puting led on the back or you need to clear the ambar color that all the button have, not really sure but the finish look great

http://www.cardomain.com/member_pages/show_image.pl?bg=6666FF&image=http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/8/web/260000-260999/260366_129_full.jpg
or
http://www.cardomain.com/member_pages/show_image.pl?bg=6666FF&image=http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/8/web/260000-260999/260366_170_full.jpg

thanks

By: Tony Sticks

Tony Sticks — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 07:39:28 +0000

@COPYRIGHT: No problem Alan. I’m glad that you fixed it.

By: COPYRIGHT

@ Tony thanks, you’re the man, I recently bought a black E36 saloon and this was one of the first things that I noticed wasn’t working, So I asked a friend if his E36 coupe had this problem, he didn’t know that it was supposed to illuminate.

I just thank the Good Lord we did’nt have to remove the steering wheel & half the dashboard like some cars I’ve had in the past, to do this fix.

SWEET

By: Tony Sticks

Tony Sticks — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 06:23:10 +0000

@Dima: You’re most welcome!

By: Dima

Dima — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 20:58:30 +0000

Cool, thanks!

It burned out after 12 years of driving but now I’m enjoying the light again!