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Dash lights go out when I turn on headlights??? - Resolved

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Blu

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Discussion starter · #1 · (Edited)
**Quickly Resolved See Below**


When driving the car this evening, the dash lights werent working. Upon further review, they only stop working when the headlights are on, the dash goes totally black. When I turn the car on with the headlights on, the dash lights up like normal for 2-3 seconds then goes black. Weirdest thing. Then when I turn the headlights off, the dash lights back up.

I checked the most likely fuses based on what I could find in the owners manual and all those fuses look ok. What could this be???

BTW, battery is about 3 years old, but shouldnt be going bad yet. There is a little bit of dusty-fuzz around the negative side of the battery cable.

My car is a 2006 V6 4WD with about 95-96k miles.
 
#2 ·
Is the dash board dim switch set to the lowest setting? Or even off?

The clue was when you turn the on the headlights. All cars have this dim switch to let the driver adjust glow from the dashboard and interior lights while driving at night.

This switch should be near the headlight switch. On the left side of the dahboard
 
Discussion starter · #3 ·
OMG!!!

I'm soooooo embarrased, thats all it was - the dimming switch.

I thought of it when driving my other car to work this morning, but it doesnt dim to nothing - - - The RAV4 will dim all the way to turning the lights off. Good to know. Neither the wife, nor I, know how it got dimmed. Oh-well.

Thanks Gremlin
 
#4 ·
This Old thread saved me a headache tonight

:)
Gremlin72 said:
Is the dash board dim switch set to the lowest setting? Or even off?

The clue was when you turn the on the headlights. All cars have this dim switch to let the driver adjust glow from the dashboard and interior lights while driving at night.

This switch should be near the headlight switch. On the left side of the dahboard
Click to expand...


Thank you...thank you....thank you...


Got this same problem tonight on our 2012 Rav4 V6 AWD 45K miles. I guess wife accidentally hit the dim switch and turned it off all the way (it's pretty easy to do w/o even knowing it). After checking it out, my first thought of solution was to check with rav4world.com and I'm glad I did find the simple solution using the search function.


Thanks again!
 
#5 ·
This topic brings up one of my pet peeves about newer cars. Years ago, probably before many of our members were driving :shrug:, dash lights were off until you turned the headlights on. Was an easy way to know if you had your lights on at dusk or later, or if driving on a well lit street. Now with the dash illuminated during the day unless you have the dimmer turned way down you'll think your headlights are on when they're not. I'm reminded of it every time I see someone driving in the dark w/o headlights.
 
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#6 ·
Dr. Dyno said:
This topic brings up one of my pet peeves about newer cars. Years ago, probably before many of our members were driving :shrug:, dash lights were off until you turned the headlights on. Was an easy way to know if you had your lights on at dusk or later, or if driving on a well lit street. Now with the dash illuminated during the day unless you have the dimmer turned way down you'll think your headlights are on when they're not. I'm reminded of it every time I see someone driving in the dark w/o headlights.
Click to expand...
Totally agree...many people never bother to learn basic info on their cars...
 
#7 ·
Dr. Dyno said:
This topic brings up one of my pet peeves about newer cars. Years ago, probably before many of our members were driving :shrug:, dash lights were off until you turned the headlights on. Was an easy way to know if you had your lights on at dusk or later, or if driving on a well lit street. Now with the dash illuminated during the day unless you have the dimmer turned way down you'll think your headlights are on when they're not. I'm reminded of it every time I see someone driving in the dark w/o headlights.
Click to expand...
Agree...


I still prefer all interior lights (dash lights) off until ligh switch is turned on. It just makes sense and probably saves energy and prolongs components' lifespan. I would hate to pull out the instrument cluster just to change a light bulb.


In my case I knew the dash lights were working because they all turned on when the light switch was in off position. But they would go away when the light switch is turned to On or Auto. I thought my day/night sensor was acting up. Glad it was just a simple overlook.
 
#8 ·
I think if manufacturers are going to equip a vehicle with daylight lit dash gauges, there should be a requirement to also include automatic headlights. there's an absolute epidemic of cars driving around at dusk, if not full darkness without their lights on. Usually there's some kind of DRL from the front on newer cars that have daylight lit dashes (not all of them) but there's no tail or side marker lights and certain color cars almost completely disappear viewed from the rear and the side.

Dumb, dumb, dumb....
 
#9 ·
Blu said:
OMG!!!

I'm soooooo embarrased, thats all it was - the dimming switch.

I thought of it when driving my other car to work this morning, but it doesnt dim to nothing - - - The RAV4 will dim all the way to turning the lights off. Good to know. Neither the wife, nor I, know how it got dimmed. Oh-well.

Thanks Gremlin
Click to expand...


OP, may not be a bad idea to update your first post and note that it is resolved
 
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#10 ·
kyoo said:
OP, may not be a bad idea to update your first post and note that it is resolved
Click to expand...
Wasn't the OP Blu and didn't the post you quoted resolve it? I think that's how it's supposed to work.
I have my posts come up latest first so if someone edited their first post I'd never see it.
 
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#11 ·
Dr. Dyno said:
Wasn't the OP Blu and didn't the post you quoted resolve it? I think that's how it's supposed to work.
I have my posts come up latest first so if someone edited their first post I'd never see it.
Click to expand...


yes - and I see - I go oldest to newest here
 
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#13 ·
Blu said:
OMG!!!

I'm soooooo embarrased, thats all it was - the dimming switch.

I thought of it when driving my other car to work this morning, but it doesnt dim to nothing - - - The RAV4 will dim all the way to turning the lights off. Good to know. Neither the wife, nor I, know how it got dimmed. Oh-well.

Thanks Gremlin
Click to expand...
From this post of 5-18-2012 guess we have to trust he figured it out four years ago!
 
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#14 ·
Gremlin72 said:
Is the dash board dim switch set to the lowest setting? Or even off?

The clue was when you turn the on the headlights. All cars have this dim switch to let the driver adjust glow from the dashboard and interior lights while driving at night.

This switch should be near the headlight switch. On the left side of the dahboard
Click to expand...
Thank you from me too!! my interior lights are fine! Saved me an unnecessary trip to shop
 
#15 ·
Blu said:
OMG!!!

I'm soooooo embarrased, thats all it was - the dimming switch.

I thought of it when driving my other car to work this morning, but it doesnt dim to nothing - - - The RAV4 will dim all the way to turning the lights off. Good to know. Neither the wife, nor I, know how it got dimmed. Oh-well.

Thanks Gremlin
Click to expand...
Blu said:
Quickly Resolved See Below


When driving the car this evening, the dash lights werent working. Upon further review, they only stop working when the headlights are on, the dash goes totally black. When I turn the car on with the headlights on, the dash lights up like normal for 2-3 seconds then goes black. Weirdest thing. Then when I turn the headlights off, the dash lights back up.

I checked the most likely fuses based on what I could find in the owners manual and all those fuses look ok. What could this be???

BTW, battery is about 3 years old, but shouldnt be going bad yet. There is a little bit of dusty-fuzz around the negative side of the battery cable.

My car is a 2006 V6 4WD with about 95-96k miles.
Click to expand...
Checking in, it's 2023! This thread just saved me from a panic attack! Thanks team!!!
 
#16 ·
Funny related story. A colleague and I often shared our weekend warrior stories during the work week. One day Matt came in and described all the testing he’d done trying to get his dome light to turn off when the doors were closed and locked. He removed and tested all the door switches, tried bypassing them, pulled door panels and traced the wiring looking for a short or something. In the end he gave up and just disconnected the battery. I asked him if he’d checked the dimmer switch as many designs will turn on the dome lights when you turn them all the way past maximum. He seemed surprised at my question.

I was looking out the window later and noticed Matt fiddling with his car out in the parking lot. When he came back in I asked him what he’d found. He looked at me a little embarrassed and said “well there’s good news and there’s bad news, the good news is that it’s fixed, the bad news is that I’m a moron!”


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
#19 ·
I tried turning up my dimmer switch (the knob to the left of my steering wheel) and it still doesn't work. My headlights turn on but the radio light stays off and so does the clock light. But when I turn off the headlights, the clock light goes on but not the radio light either. I have a 2012 rav4. I wonder if I have a bad wire now. My husband checked all the small fuses by pulling them out and he found nothing wrong with it but can't get to the big ones
 
#20 ·
Possibly a defective dimmer switch?
 
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