Dash Lights have me stumped

F

flynfrog

Registered
Ok Ive been fighting this for a year now.

It started when I was driving the dash lights sudenly went out. Restarting the car made them come back on. NO problems for a while then they started to go off alot more. Now I am at the point the message center and radio dim for an instant when the lights first come on then go back to full bright with no dash lights. Then sometimes I will have dash lights till I start to drive or smack the dash.

I have replaced the dimmer switch. I have cleaned the contacts on the switch the fuse and any other thing I could think of. Any ideas?


Also may or may not be related. some times when I shut the car off the heater will go on full blast until the battery is dead or a drive down a bumpy road knocks off whatever was shorted.
 
I forgot to add it does it with or without the autolamp switch or the normal light switch both have the same result
 
I also just took a drive with the AC on and then after about 45 minutes the AC shut off along with the message center. After about 3 minutes it just started again. Maybe this is a similar issue?
 
flynfrog said:
Restarting the car made them come back on.
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You have a short somewhere (obviously, lol) but by restarting the car, you send a surge of power to where the short is and thats why they worked again. Have you checked the fuses at the fuse panel and the power distribution box? Any small white corrosion build up? Make sure you pull the under dash panel and check the back side of the inside fuse panel as well. With the lights on, reach up in there and start wiggling stuff around.

You could have something as simple as a fuse with a weak connection or as bad as a broken/shorted wire.
 
J said:
You have a short somewhere (obviously, lol) but by restarting the car, you send a surge of power to where the short is and thats why they worked again. Have you checked the fuses at the fuse panel and the power distribution box? Any small white corrosion build up? Make sure you pull the under dash panel and check the back side of the inside fuse panel as well. With the lights on, reach up in there and start wiggling stuff around.

You could have something as simple as a fuse with a weak connection or as bad as a broken/shorted wire.
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Ive cleaned all the fuses ive taken out the cluster cleaned the contacts on that.

One though I could check resistance to ground but since I don't have a clue what it should be it would be hard to tell if its high or low

Also unplugging the cluster and turning the lights on does not keep radio message center ect dimmed.
 
Have you cleaned/removed and inspected the headlight switch? ALL power to the dimmer/cluster/dash lights go through that switch first.
 
You jumped it with power or ground? Maybe the switch is failing internally....a used one should be cheap.
 
J said:
You jumped it with power or ground? Maybe the switch is failing internally....a used one should be cheap.
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I forget now its been a few months id guess I tired both. Im starting to think it the EVTM or the harness going to it. The lights on it started to fail at some point and it could also explain my heater coming on with the key off problem.

but I also seem to remeber trying it with the evtm out of the car.

sigh more tearing out of the dash.

Or I could just find a new mark :D
 
Atleast make sure you have full coverage insurance, that way when it catches fire you're covered. :D
 
ok played with it a little bit more today I don't even get the flash of the panel trying to dim now. When some of the snow melts Ill mess with it some more. either that or buy another one and gut this one for a track car.
 
Is the battery weak? Its been my experience that when the battery starts to get weak, even while the car is running, the electrical gremlins are just waiting...

My, 94 used to randomly pick one corner of the car and drop it to the ground for no reason, the 98 likes to set the side mirrors to wild angles without my prompting... all signs that my batt is toast, new batt, no problems...

It could also be that 'my' cars are just a special kind of crazy, who knows...

:D -J
 
every thing was working today!! then I slap the dash to see if it was a short and everything stopped working

so looks like Ill tear the dash apart again
 
flynfrog said:
every thing was working today!! then I slap the dash to see if it was a short and everything stopped working
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That sounds like car abuse... :D

Did you buy it a gift after you struck your car? :D

We may have a MK8 suffering from battered car syndrome here people... :D :D :D

:D -J
 
BadSax said:
That sounds like car abuse... :D

Did you buy it a gift after you struck your car? :D

We may have a MK8 suffering from battered car syndrome here people... :D :D :D

:D -J
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I did flog it up the canyon a few times too

With all of the new parts it has gotten in the last month it doesnt need any more gifts for a while.
 
well i know that when my alternate was going on.... my car was doing kinda the same crap... my traction control would turn on and off.... and then just stay off.... my environmental would turn on and off.... my radio was freeking out... dashboard lights would freek out.... my air ride wouldn't pump... it just went flat.... when the car doesn't get the power it needs things go hay wire...you name it......... did your bat go dead at any time....
 
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