Help! Interior lights all just went out (Harness pix)

[bzaster]

I was disconnecting the harness to my old oem illuminated shift knob and now all my interior lights are out. Not sure if I shorted something or if some other wires ended up disconnecting.
Here are some pics of the harnesses I found.

This is the harness from the actual knob wires. My thumb is touching the actual connection to the shift knob harness


This 2 wire harness has a grey/red wire and a brown wire


This 3 wire harness has a grey/red wire, brown wire, and yellow/red wire.


sonofabitch

[TArsen]

Fuse?

[bzaster]

Fuse?

I hope so. Will check that tomorrow.

[TArsen]

I hope so. Will check that tomorrow.

I remember one time I was messing with my e30s radio and then the next day my cluster, radio, and windows were out. It was just a couple fuses.

Hopefully that's what happened to you

[bzaster]

Just did some searching, did I bust my rheostat? What do I need to do with my old shift knob harness so it doesn't happen again? (My new knob is not illuminated)

[cemalakcal]

Just did some searching, did I bust my rheostat? What do I need to do with my old shift knob harness so it doesn't happen again? (My new knob is not illuminated)

The fuse is inside your headlight switch so rheostat is broken I guess (I did the same before). You can try to weld it. If weld is not an option then let me know, I have a new one for spare

[bzaster]

The fuse is inside your headlight switch so rheostat is broken I guess (I did the same before). You can try to weld it. If weld is not an option then let me know, I have a new one for spare

Thanks, I'll let you know about that.
Besides replacing the rheostat, does anything have to be done to my shift knob harness now that nothing is connected to it? ...I don't want this to happen again.

[Scarceas]

My rheostat went out when the lighted shifter shorted. The knob had been loose, coming off sometimes, and some of the wire became exposed.

I soldered a jumper on the rheostat to bypass it. VERY cheap fix. I didn't mind losing the rheostat function b/c I always keep it full bright anyway.
I used this guide:
https://sites.google.com/site/turbo1...eadlightswitch


I removed the shifter harness clip and tucked it up out of the way, no problems since.

[fmcfad01]

Make sure there are no exposed wires that can short out on the selector rod. I did this shortly after buying my first 99 m coupe and it's one of the most common issues people have. You fried the dimmer switch inside the headlight pull knob. That must be replaced, but fix your short first.

[bzaster]

I have no exposed wires but I do have those un-used harnesses shown in first post. Are those ok? What should be done with them?
Thanks for the help

[jacksails54]

Is it possible to add an inline fuse to the shift knob harness to help protect against shorts? If so, what size fuse and to which wire is it added?