[BMWCSRegistry] Lights out!

[gary.jane]

Well, Happy Holidays!

I traveled about 10 miles from home to attend Thanksgiving dinner at a fellow BMW lover's home, and, upon leaving, and/or arriving home, I was so joyed to discover that the following lights were inoperable in my coupe:

- side marker lights: left and right, front and back
- tail lights: left and right
- under-hood light
- instrument cluster illumination
- custom guage set illumination (lighting wired into stock cluster lighting)

I have been laid up with a severe cold/sinus condition for some 7 weeks now, and today was the first chance I have had to even look at my coupe since Thanksgiving. Here's what I have verified as working:

- head lights: high and low (low/high)
- tail lights: left and right
- directional parking lights (operated by turn signal stalk when car is parked - European delivery option): front and rear 
- back-up lights: left and right
- trunk light
- brake lights: left, center (I added one to my package shelf), and right
- instrument idiot lights
- fuel guage
- water temp guage
- custom guage cluster guages: oil pressure, water temp, ammeter
- heater blower fan
- wipers: intermittent, low, high
- wiper washers
- cigar lighter
- radio
- interior courtesy light

The coupe starts and runs per normal, which is very well now, as I added a Pertronics ignition in August.  All fuses (all glass) pass smell, sight and continuity tests.  Looking at my wiring schematics, I have deduced:

1.  The inoperable lighting is all driven off fuses 1, 2, and/or 3.  But, these fused are all "OK".
2.  Many, but not all (front marker lights, under-hood light, instrument lights) lights share a common ground in the rear trunk wall.
3.  ALL, as in ALL, of the inoperable lights are controlled by the main light switch (first detent), and none of the working lights are!!

So, methinks that I have a faulty light switch.  The switch is original (125K on the car).  Can't say I have operated this switch but maybe two dozen times since purchasing the coupe in 1999. What do you people think about this situation?

TIA,

Gary Burke
1973 3.0 CS
+2240356+






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