BMW E36 Blog

I’ve been looking for a way to fix my windows switches. The switches work just fine, but the problem is that they don’t light up at night. So, I thought they would look great if I could fix them. I did a lot of search for information about how to do that, but all I could find is one solution that is to replace my switches. Of course that was an option, but I wanted to fix the problem myself because I thought it would be very easy and I would have a chance to spend more time with my beautiful babe (I hope my wife doesn’t hear this :p ). Anyway, This DIY (Do It Yourself) will definitely help you fix the window switch light problem. I hope you’ll find it useful.

Disclaimer: Use this info at your own risk!! The author is not responsible if this didn’t work for you :-).

First, you’ll need to pull the switch out of the center console. You can do that by simply removing the gear boot and pushing the switch from below. After that, unplug the light wires attached to the switch. Then, use a flat screwdriver to remove the button cover. It’s very easy, but you should be gentle with it in order not to break it. After that, you’ll be looking at the switch which should look similar to this:

This orange or amber light bulb is what needs to be replaced and that’s exactly what we’re going to do. To get access to that bulb, we need to remove the green plastic that is attached to the switch bottom. Using a flat screw driver, push these carefully to remove that piece.

And on the other side as well

Now that the green plastic piece is out of your way, you’ll be able to see the electronic board that is holding the switch buttons and the light bulb.

Push the board to remove the black plastic case as well. Be careful not to break anything.

Now, we have access to the board itself. This is the light bulb that needs to be replaced.

There’s a plastic piece that is used to hold the light bulb. You should remove that carefully while trying to get the bulb out. Remember to be gentle with it.

This is the light bulb that I’m going to use as a replacement for the original one. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get the part number for it. Anyway, the light bulb should be:

1. As small as possible in order to fit inside the white plastic base that we removed previously.

2. It should not have a strong illumination, otherwise, your switches will look very odd and they’ll start to heat.

3. These bulbs give a yellowish color. You may want to use your wife’s or girlfriend nail paint (red preferably) to change its color to amber (orange).

Using a soldering iron, you can put the new bulb instead of the old one. Don’t forget to put the plastic white base again before soldering the new bulb.

Put the board back inside the black plastic case.

Reattach the green plastic base to the switch.

Put everything back as it was when you disassembled the switch.

Now, connect the switch to your car and test it. Make sure everything is working fine. I know I didn’t paint the bulb using the red nail paint because it was my first attempt. After I saw the result which is shown in the last picture below, I decided to repeat the whole process again and paint it with red.

This is the result I got after using the yellow bulb without painting it. I’m sure you’ll like the switches more if you paint them.

 

Are you looking for more do it yourself procedures (DIY) ? I recommend the Bentley BMW 3 series service manual for you. I got it and I think it’s a gold mine for us -BMW E36 Owners-. If you didn’t grab your copy yet, get it right now! I’m sure you’ll find this book worth every penny you’ve paid for. Get the Bentley BMW 3 series service manual

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Today, I went to replace my car’s horn because the one with the high tone has stopped working recently and my car’s horn has become really annoying and very embarrassing :p . So, I decided to get a new one and while I was looking for some other models (Not OEM, I couldn’t find new OEM horns), I found a car with an ugly backup system. I’m sure you all recall my previous posts BMW E36 Parking Distance Control (Parking Sensors), Parking System With Camera For Your BMW about backup systems. This new system looks ok, but the ugly thing about it is that the owner (or the one who installed it), doesn’t appreciate the BMW E36 AT ALL. I really hate to see BMW E36 cars with such humiliating mods that clearly show that the car’s owner simply has no taste of what he’s driving. Take a look at this picture of the rear camera:

I took photos for the digital screen which works as a mirror in the front. Take a look:

The system works great, don’t get me wrong and it even has a hands-free system as well, but what I’m saying is that a BMW E36 shouldn’t get drilled like that… don’t you think?

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I’m sure the title of this post has dragged your attention and it should because it did the same to me. I’ve discovered that the BMW E36 had an OEM option to get a navigation system with it. It seems the navigation system was a rare option and very expensive at the production time which explains how rare it is. I think it may also have been not very common and that’s why not too many cars have that option installed.

Take a look at this picture:

It’s amazing to find out that a BMW 1993 or maybe older could have this integrated navigation system.

Before anyone asks, I’m not sure if this navigation system is text or image based as I didn’t see it running. All I got to prove the existence of such an option is the above picture and this realoem link. I think it would be very cool if that option could be installed in our cars. Don’t you think?

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This DIY (Do It Yourself) is a contribution from David Mc. I’ve found it on the Bimmerfest forum and I asked David for permission to publish the DIY on the BMW E36 Blog. He was so kind to allow me to republish it here. The procedure shows how the odometer LCD can be fixed. I’ve written previously about how to fix the BMW E36 odometer backlight, but this is how to fix the LCD, not the light, so pay attention to the difference.

Disclaimer: Use this info at your own risk!! I’m not responsible if this didn’t work for you :-).

This is the problem – only the top half of the odometer and trip meter is displayed. It is a backlit LCD device but the two blubs illuminate the odometer and service indicator respectively.

Since only the top half of the odometer is displayed the problem is obviously with the LCD and not the bulbs. Commonly this is an intermittent but annoying problem.

Begin by removing the cluster – the first step is to disconnect the battery, then undo the two torx screws on top of the housing and use a credit card to loosen and wiggle the cluster out of the dash. As soon as it is clear, reach behind the cluster and undo the three electrical connectors by first depressing the tabs then sliding the retainer up until the connector is released.

Make sure that you face your work surface with a towel to avoid scratching the cluster, then after removing the five torx screws from the back of the rear housing, carefully separate the gauges from the SI board.

Mark out the area of interest – I used white tape and then cut carefully with a piece of hacksaw blade. You could use a Dremel or even a hobby knife heated with a torch for this job.

There is a fair bit of clearance between the cover and the board but I would suggest extreme caution as you cut down the side of the housing toward the board as there are a couple of tracks that run across the board at this point and a slip here could cause big problems.

I worked carefully and completed the cut within about half an hour using a hacksaw blade – my modelling saw would have made life much easier if only I could remember what I did with it.

After removing the cut section carefully dress the edges of the cut area with a small file to remove burrs, then use a small paint brush and low pressure compressed air to clean the debris from the board.

Notice that there are also couple of little gold colored torx screws which secure the SI LCD to the board. Check that they are snug but do not over-tighten them. The idea is to make sure that all the electrical connections are firm, not to cause fractures in the board by over-tightening the components.

I used a hot pencil tipped soldering iron to reflow all of the SI board pins, then carefully replaced the cut cover section using 5 minute epoxy. Apply the epoxy carefully to the cut edges of the housing. Then once its back in place use a rag soaked with turpentine to remove the excess.

All that was left was to install the cluster back into the car, reconnect the connectors, battery and re-enter the radio code and it was up and running!

A heck of a lot cheaper than a new or even a used cluster and I didn’t have to worry about recoding or it displaying incorrect mileage.

Are you looking for more do it yourself procedures (DIY) ? I recommend the Bentley BMW 3 series service manual for you. I got it and I think it’s a gold mine for us -BMW E36 Owners-. If you didn’t grab your copy yet, get it right now! I’m sure you’ll find this book worth every penny you’ve paid for. Get the Bentley BMW 3 series service manual

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate BMW E36 information source.

This DIY (Do It Yourself) is for you BMW E36 owners with automatic gearbox. It was contributed by Bernard Gutnick (thanks Bernard). The procedure shows in very simple steps how you can fix the light inside your A/M gearbox switch. I think this same procedure can be used to replace the bulb inside your window switches as well, but I’m not sure if it’s the same bulb. Have fun…

Disclaimer: Use this info at your own risk!! I’m not responsible if this didn’t work for you :-).

If the A light bulb is burned out due to constantly being on, you can replace it rather than spending $70 on a new switch.

1. Gently pry up the window/window lock/window button carefully from the top with a tiny screwdriver.

2. Put hand in and push AM button up until it pops up. Disconnect yellow connector.

3. Put small screwdriver in switch and gently pry up the two side clips. Leave in screwdriver and do same for other side.

4. Light and switch unit can be removed. Gently pull up circuit board.

5. You’ll see the black burned out bulb ( A or M or both ).

6. Now the tricky part. You have to cut the bulb out but only one at a time. Replace it with a Radio Shack RS 272-1092 12vt Micro lamp

7. It’s important to try to get the wires to be the same length as the original and with the lamp in the same position. Take your time. When soldering, only put on a very small drop as it has to fit back into the black housing. 1/16 inch of solder is enough. Use pliers to protect the bulb. Try to get the wire length and shape to be equal to the other one.

8. When you are done, carefully put the wire into the slots of the black housing, and put the cover back on.

9. Reconnect yellow connector. Light will appear when car is started. Congratulations! You just saved $68 in 30 minutes!!

Note: the car will still work with the switch removed. I think it defaults to Automatic, but I am not certain.

Are you looking for more do it yourself procedures (DIY) ? I recommend the Bentley BMW 3 series service manual for you. I got it and I think it’s a gold mine for us -BMW E36 Owners-. If you didn’t grab your copy yet, get it right now! I’m sure you’ll find this book worth every penny you’ve paid for. Get the Bentley BMW 3 series service manual

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate BMW E36 information source.