Dash board lighting

Zitat von Lloyd;57968

Having modified the lighting on the HVAC I turn my attention to the dashboard lights, partly due the the fact that the bulb or bulbs that light the speedo and rev counter are now no longer working. Thus how easy are they to change (and how many are there?) and secondly is there an improvement to the standard bulbs. TT must have upgraded his to LED's

If you have the adjustable steering column you will be able to do this fairly easily. Move the steering wheel all the way up and angle it down to your lap as afar as it will go to give the greatest clearance for the instrument binacle. You need to remove the plastic surrounding that goes around the front panel part of the instrument panel and the light switches - be careful with this and go slowly, it's held in place with plastic clips that can break off. You will need to remove the lighting switch - it just pushes out the back, so that you can swing this front panel out of the way. Next you need a stubby cross head screwdriver and you need to remove the two small screws that hold the binacle in place, they are quite small and set into the upper part of the plastic, have a look and you'll see them. Once those screws are removed, tilt the instrument binacles from the top edge down towards you slightly, it will probably drop towards you slightly anyway. You can now pull the binacle through the dashboard towards you and gain access to the lights. They are twist-fit bayonet caps for capless bulbs and they come in differing ratings. Here's the Realoem link below.

I've done this job twice now.

This is a relatively easy job but you need patience and go steady. If you don't have an adjustable steering column I think (not 100% sure) you may have to remove the steering wheel - disconnect the batteries before touching the airbag and DON'T re-connect the batteries before reconecting the airbag or you'll then need to get the airbag warning lamp reset.

realoem:
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/sho…&btnr=62_0084&hg=62&fg=05

Bulbs are listed 10 through to 14.

Sorry Lloyd, I don't know the code off-hand, I just asked the local friendly stealers and took a few of each. I'll have a look and see what I can find but I doubt that LED would a huge difference to be honest.

Cheers,
Jason

Zitat von Lloyd;58775

Job done took about 20 mins including cleaning the binacle and surround and the result is very pleasing I hand not realised how dim the bulbs were so the change is excellant

The bulbs were £1.70 each from the stealer so I changed all the main bulbs 5 in total

Well done, glad to hear it went well. Was my description any use? Did I forget anything?

Excuse my ignorance.......but.......do the dash bulbs illuminate the gear light ? ie D, S D, M 1 etc

thanks, Alex

Thanks lloyd, it is the gear indicator light on the dash to the left of the current mileage that seems to have dimmed, strangely, the left hand mileage digits dimmed also but are now shining brightly again, the trip digits to the right of the mileage are shining ok, are these backlit through the binnacle ?
cheers, Alex

Zitat von Lloyd;57978

Argonaut do you know the code for the bulbs i.e. T5 etc as there seems to be quite a few LED versions on the bay which should help to brighten up the bash.

The LEDs would probably cause the light to be patchy, as they're too directional. You made the right choice getting OE replacements.

Zitat von Alex McDonald;58794

Thanks lloyd, it is the gear indicator light on the dash to the left of the current mileage that seems to have dimmed, strangely, the left hand mileage digits dimmed also but are now shining brightly again, the trip digits to the right of the mileage are shining ok, are these backlit through the binnacle ?
cheers, Alex

Good question Alex - you mean the little window at the bottom of the dash I believe. I'm not sure but I suspect this may be backlit in the same way the clock is backlit. I have a little look see and let you know what I can find out.....

Thanks Argonaut

The gear indicator, trip and odometer are backlit by two bulbs. Same B8.4D style bulbs as the OBC/MID and most of the rest of the instrument cluster, but different power rating: 1.5W (color code: beige/tan).

Thanks very much Revtor
cheers, Alex

Excellent Revtor, many thanks

Zitat von Lloyd;58792

Alex I was refering to the binacle, as for the gearshift this is a question I have asked before because mine does not have any lights only the plastic orange strip that moves up and down

Lloyd, just driven home in the dark and the orange strip on mine is illuminated (backlit), I would hazard a guess the bulb/s are tied in with the ignition circuitry, the P,N,R,D M/S, are not illuminated unless sidelights are on, hope this helps you track down blown bulb or broken wires, cheers, Alex