Dash Rheostat Sick

[as400]

Touch it and it all goes dark, touch it again and springs back to life albeit rather dimly.

I like twiddling with it so not after a wire jump fix, worth buying a replacement unit off the Bay or do they all do that Sir?

 

[Althulas]

Why don’t you remove it and inspect? Maybe a bit of electrical contact cleaner spray might sort the problem out. Worth a look before buying a replacement.

 

[Rudyrov]

It's a good practice to wipe those reostats occasionally back and forth to keep them clean.

 

[as400]

I'll have a go at removing it then, maybe a spider has died on it or something obvious.

 

[mwpe]

Worth reading this thread. https://zroadster.org/threads/headlight-switch-be-warned.18748/

 

[as400]

Worth reading this thread. https://zroadster.org/threads/headlight-switch-be-warned.18748/

After reading that I think I will leave it to my garage, have bought a replacement from Ebay, not a big issue as don't drive the car at night.

 

[Nodzed]

If you are replacing I would bite the bullet and get a new one from BMW, I did this for my M following the thread by @pgunter, it was cheaper from BMW than online, was about £95 fourish years ago.

 

[mwpe]

I second what Niall has said, you are never sur what younare getting from e bay. BMW do sell on e bay though. It is a simple enough job.

 

[137699]

That sounds like the internals are crumbling - that switch quickly becomes a fire hazard. Don't just spray it with contact cleaner, replace it.

 

[Pingu]

Either replace it or modify it. It is quite easy to modify it and bypass the dimmer with a solid wire. It just means that your lights are at full brilliance all the time.

 

[Lee]

As Nodzed suggests it's worth a peace of mind getting a new one. Mine actually caused a fire in my zed filling it with smoke while driving.

 

[t-tony]

Worth bearing in mind that a rheostat is basically an adjustable short circuit. If in any doubt, bin it and get a new one. That’s what I did.

Tony.

 

[Scotty597]

New price from Sopers £150, just changed mine.