If you feel there is little risk of a dashboard fire, I would suggest just replacing the fuse before getting into any serious labor. There's always the possibility the fuse just snapped, out of age, or some other factor. I'm definitely not suggesting you overlook the situation completely, just merely cover your bases before jumping to conclusions. Always (well almost always) replace the cheapest part first, and fuses are cheap.

Who knows, could be a freak accident caused by who knows what. Demonic possession maybe, in which case you've got bigger problems.

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Year: 1990
Model: 525i
Transmission: 5 speed
Mileage: 250k