DIY: Glove box light

Several threads talked about the lack of a glove box light. So far, none of the solutions offered have been worth considering, so I tried to tackle this problem myself. I do a lot of work on my BMW's, and I had some spare parts lying around which happen to be perfect for this project.

The first two pictures are the parts with part #'s. They can be had at any BMW dealership or BMW parts vendor. Just supply them with the part numbers. The parts are relatively cheap, even though they are BMW. I think $20 would cover it, maybe less. A regular incadescent bulb will be supplied with the BMW lamp, but I used a LED replacement to match the rest of the LED bulbs in my Element.

After getting the parts, find out a suitable supply of power. I used a add-a-circuit to the #18 fuse box location with ground being the common ground on the way right of the glove box (bolt).

Undo the two glove box stops on the sides (snap out)

Remove the passenger side dash board garnish right above the glove box. There are 2 fillister head screws to the sides of the metal U latch that you need to access from up and behind the glove box. Then push from below/pull from the top straight up and it will come loose. Two more screws way to the sides hld the metal rail with the metal U latch. U need to take this off also.

Measure the openeing of the BMW light (roughly 6.9 cm x 2.9 cm) and cut a hole in the location shown. You can drill a bunch of small holes and use an exacto knife to cut the plastic. ***DO NOT make the notch that you see in the picture. That was my mistake, but fortunately, the metal rail was cut properly and the light snaps into place***

The metal rail with the U latch needs to be cut. Put it back into position and hold it there and using the hole you just cut in the plastic, take a marker and mark what needs to be cut. A dremel cutting wheel makes this easy. Paint the bare edges with black paint to prevent rust.

Now do the same for the glove box light switch. The switch itself needs to be modified by cutting off the plastic around the pins. The pins need to be bent upwards slightly. These modifications are done to clear the metal bar just behind the switch location.

Reassemble everything, making sure that the light and switch fit snugly.

Wire it up, making sure to cover the female switch pins with shrink tubing or I guess a generous helping of electrical tape. They just can't make metal to metal contact with each other or worse, the metal frame sitting just behind (see short circuit, blown fuse).