Headlight and Foglight switch Questioin

[DerbyCity]

Are the headlight and fog light switches suppose to be illuminated when the lights are turned on. Mine don't and I can't find any bulb.

[1996 328ti]

Yes. Unscrew the knob. Pop out the plastic piece with the light emblem. You will find a screw behind it. Remove. I'd suggest having the proper bulb before your replace it or better yet, pop the bulb out and bring it to the dealer. They usually get that bulb wrong for me.

[Phil Marx]

My recollection is it's a bit more than just that:

Tools needed:
T20 TorX bit or driver
paper clip
small knife blade

Parts needed:
(1) bulb with base: p/n 61 13 8 365 617 (about $4)

Procedure:
Remove headlight switch knob by rotating counter-clockwise
Bend paper clip to small hook on end and insert behind switch cover plate between plate and shaft of switch.
Pull off cover plate
If equipped with factory fog lights, repeat procedure for fog light switch cover plate, or, if no fog lights, insert small blade in slot at bottom of cover plate opposite headlight switch on instrument housing and pop off plate.
Using T20 TorX tool or bit, remove one screw behind each of the now-removed cover plates. A magnet helps to prevent dropping the screw. Using T20 remove two screws at top of instrument housing. An angle tool such as Skewdriver PRO helps here if you don't have a short handle for your TorX bit. A great tool to have, regardless: http://tinyurl.com/4p86t or:
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-uH5KcbvLhIs/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?s=0&c=11&g=820&I=180SPK4040

Once you have all four screws removed, gently pull the entire instrument cluster forward. It might act a bit stuck after 5+ years in place but once it wiggles loose, tilt the top of the cluster forward (towards the steering wheel) until you can easily see the gray light bulb base.

Wiggle the bulb base out of the light switch toward the nose of the car, then pull enough of the wiring out to allow you to wiggle/pull the plug out of the bulb base. Plug in new bulb, insert back in the switch and turn the key on to the "run" position to see if the bulb lights up. If all's well, push the instrument cluster back into place and replace the four screws, two cover plates and the headlight and/or foglight switch knob(s). You're done.
I still can't say that it's worth bothering with but some of us can't stand having something that's just not 100% right!

-Phil

[DerbyCity]

Thanks for the reply. I'll try them this afternoon and let you know how they it turns out.