1989 BMW 525i Dash Lights

[delussional77]

I am new to this board, but certainly not new to BMW. Dad races his m5 and lightweight M3. We just bought an 89 525i for my sister to drive only to discover that the dash lights do not work. Checked the fuses and they appear to be fine. Any ideas where to start in fixing this? I have no clue how to get behind the dash. It makes it pretty hard to drive at night, especially for a 16yo girl. I might just install a few dim LED's that will turn on when the headlamps go on to illimunate the front of the board. Any suggestions on where to start troubleshooting???

[Torque]

welcome to the boards:
here's the topic from the same question that was asked awhile back.

http://www.bmw-forums.com/forum/index.php?...4&hl=disclaimer

you most likely do not have to replace capacitors that i talked about in the topic... however you have to pull the dash out completely (two screws at the top of the glass that covers it and then it pulls out). replace the bulbs and see if it helps, if not then replace the capacitors.

once again I (or the websites mentioned) cannot be held responsible if you mess something up...

good luck

[delussional77]

yeah, i dont' know if i'd feel comfortable going around the airbag. I might take it to an authorized BMW mechanic and see how much they'll quote me. Everything but the lights work. Odom works, speedo, tach....everything else works. Just the lights. Are there several bulbs or just one? If there is just one then easy enough to replace....

[Torque]

There is either three or four bulbs... temperature and fuel level have separate 1.5w (i think) and the center has either one or two 3 watt bulbs.