Illuminated gearshift selector???

[EonPeon]

Well, that's a very good question!

Mine appears to be painted in (chrome/silver) too, but I cannot believe this is not illuminated! Surely BMW of all manufacturers would NOT have sold a car that you cannot see which gear you're selecting at night?!?

Do we have any friendly BMW dealers in the forum who can confirm this either way?

The gear selected is displayed on the instrument cluster - as is the setting of the Adaptive/Sport switch - which is also NOT illuminated in my car at the moment (I'm hoping they share the light from the same bulb). A similar switch is used for the sunroof and THAT is illuminated... Why would I need my sunroof at night and not my gears...?!?

I'm hoping this is a simple bulb that's gone. Ryan has been fantastically helpful by providing the exploded diagram which does indeed show a light bulb!

If yours isn't illuminated, possibly you have a blown lightbulb as well?

Does anyone else have this problem? Does anyone have an E34 WITH an illuminated shift selector and A/S switch?!?

[EonPeon]

I should just add - the switch next to my gear shift is marked A and S, which according to my manual stands for Adaptive and Sport.

Other E34s out there appear to have the markings A and M - Auto and Manual?

Anyway, if YOUR switch is illuminated - or not - PLEASE TELL US IN THIS POST!

[KurtM]

illuminated gear selector. There is a small light that illuminates the gear your in.

Kurt
95 525ia

[EonPeon]

In that case, I suppose a quick way to tell would be to prise off the selector indicator panel and have a look underneath....

http://www.nmia.com/~dgnrg/console1.jpg

[rps1072]

Perhaps the bulb is gone on yours too. Most every automatic I have ever been in BMW or no) has an illuminated gear selector. The painted letters are probably translucent. If that is not the case, you could order the part and install it.

[EonPeon]

Hi Everyone,

Well, I prised off the P-R-N-D-etc... shift selector plate with a penknife, it pops out quite easily.

Underneath, I could see no immediate evidence of there being a lamp underneath. The shift selector plate is black, opaque plastic, with the letters in relief and painted silver, so I fail to see how a light underneath would make any difference.

Does anyone know of any retrofit that can be done to get that shift illuminated? My car was built in Dec 93 - did later models have an illuminated shift selector?

I would very much appreciate any suggestions people might have about this!

Best regards,



Ian

[uscharalph]

It was later models.

[hubster999]

I have a 94 and mine are lit up. I've had the wood part up and the wire to the bulb runs directly to the plastic around the RND321...........my 2 cents worth

hubster

[Randell]

just had a look at mine... it's non-translucent black plastic, so the light from any bulb underneath wouldn't get through anyway... kinda odd, but then again it's not really hard to remember P-R-N-D-3-2-1 is it?

[upallnight]

You have a blown bulb. The gear shift selector is illuminated.