electrical and ignition Instrument Cluster Lighting

[pete7602]

have replaced 9 bulbs for cluster, what lights up the climate control sliders?

they used to light up. thanks for help.

 

pete7602

[John_in_VA]

On a '74-'76, gently pry out the face plate to reveal the bulb, after pulling off the black knobs.

[KFunk]

Oh, well I'll be damned.  Never knew they were supposed to light up.  This could be an exciting new luxury in my car.

[OriginalOwner]

+1 KFunk.

 

So, I just ran out to check:  my lights work !!  If I noticed that, I certainly don't remember.  I gotta learn to pay more attention to the obvious.

 

Cheers,

 

Carl

[jgerock]

The slider faceplates were first illuminated in some 72's and then all the 73's....

 

You can find the little bulbs at any major auto parts stores.

Edited August 18, 2013 by jgerock

[KFunk]

+1 KFunk.

 

So, I just ran out to check:  my lights work !!  If I noticed that, I certainly don't remember.  I gotta learn to pay more attention to the obvious.

 

Cheers,

 

Carl

Booooo, me too.  Shoulda ran out to the garage before I posted.  I had no idea.

[Mike Self]

"The slider faceplates were first illuminated in the 73's...."

 

Actually it was sometime in mid-1972, when the factory replaced the three lever, non-illuminated heater controls with four illuminated levers--one of those factory mid-year, unannounced changes.  They did that a lot.

 

mike

[jgerock]

Thanks for correcting me Mike.  I should have consulted with the December 2002 Roundel before I responded

[MoBrighta]

have replaced 9 bulbs for cluster, what lights up the climate control sliders?

they used to light up. thanks for help.

 

pete7602

Instrument cluster lights- did you replace with clear bulbs? 194, correct?

 

When I did this, I was loving the red glow in (then brand new) E28 clusters, so I had myself a tint-festival and dipped them all in red theatrical gel.  Turns out this stuff is no longer sold, toxic fumes or some such nonsense like that

 

It worked like a charm, by the way.  VERY slick, just like a 'modern' BMW or aircraft instruments.

 

WARNING- THREAD-JACK

 

I still have the jar, 99 % still left, as itty bitty instrument lamps don't take much to coat. It's called 'Amber' but is really closer to red.

I used it in a pair of Taiwanese rear lights w/clear/smoke lenses, for an E30 in Canada.  He wanted help making them brighter, since it came with purple lamps-- dim, wrong color, just plain idiocy in plastic.  This 'amber' tint made them almost perfectly red, just like stock BMW lenses might.

 

Meanwhile, I came across some factory-coated 194NA (Natural Amber) lamps, a nice improvement over clear.

 

Anyone insterested? I have a few left over...  and could do more 'red' if anyone wants to try them out, upgrade the dashboard lighting.