dashboard and centercontrole lights help

[10dclarke]

hi i just bourght a 1999 bmw 318ti and it has one of thoses dials that read the oil temprature but doesnt realy just lights up it has a light behind it which u can get from halfords well i took it out cus it dident actualy do anything and then the wires touched and a spark went off and now all the lights behind the dashboard and the centerpannel have gone off to i have checked all the fuses and tested the fuse and where the fuse goes in with a voltmeater and when i turn the lights on which should light up the dashboard i get a reading on the meater but no lights come on

every thing else works like the radio the clock all inside and out side lights the milage on the dashboard everything except the backlights on the dash and center unit

plz help cus i now have to drive home ay night with a tourch on the dash to see wat speed im goin

[CirrusSR22]

Hmmmm. That's weird that something sparked! Where did it spark from? Maybe you blew more bulbs when something shorted?

[10dclarke]

well i was taking out the dial thing and i took out the bulb from the dial and the the red wire in the middle poped up and touched the out side metal bit which was the black wire and since then i have had no lights

[10dclarke]

also i tested if any voltage was coming out the wires that had just touched and sparked and there is no reading

[cooljess76]

Do your window switches, climate controls and cigarette lighter illuminate?

If not, then you blew your dimmer rheostat inside of the headlight switch.

[10dclarke]

Where is the rheostat located is it built into the back of the switch because i have found the pull out light switch and on the back looks like some kind of boxthing will that be the rheostat or is it another bit seprate to the switch

this is the one im looking at is the rheostat built in this one

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BMW-E30-316I-3...item19b41738d4

[cooljess76]

You didn't answer my question. This is a common problem on our cars and the cause is exactly as you mentioned, shorting out a dimmer circuit wire on the chassis. I've already diagnosed this problem for about 10 different members since it happened to me. The switch you posted is for an e30 and will not work on the Ti. It wouldn't hurt for you to search a little:

http://www.318ti.org/forum/search.php?searchid=1159388