Hmmmm... I only started this thread because I thought that at one time this thing did actually light up .Maybe I am wrong and all along I just imagined it.
carson 356 : Well, in my car , when the knob is pulled (toward driver) only the center orange dot thingy lights up (Not the white arrow or light symbol ). When pulling you feel a spring type resistance rather than a klick.When you release it, it snaps back into place.
If you turn the knob left it activate the parking lights as it should.Still - the knob stays dark.
Hatterasguy : perhaps in your car the lamp is missing. It is the tiny mb type lamp sitting in the center of the metal tube that holds the Knob.You just pull it out.

Thanks guys. I realize this combination light switch is somewhat more complex than breakfast cereal, so perhaps on mine some of these functions are just lost in time and I need to live with that.