Dash & Radio display

[redsky@night]

Hey all,

Been having a strange problem lately where my display for the dash and the radio do not initially show up. After some time they will appear but not right away. Sometimes it is only a few seconds but today it was over 20 minutes. Has anyone seen this before and can anyone point me in the direction of a fix, other than just going to the dealer (which I will do anyway) I would prefer to go there armed with the knowledge of what is probably wrong first.

thanks in advance

Brian

[xmicro_Redline]

It is probably a bad sensor on the top of the dash. It probably is not working and thinking it is night time, hence dimming the dash. Are your full night time lights coming on as well? (ie:Headlights at full power, parking lights front and rear)

[redsky@night]

I have not checked if the otehr lights are in working order or not. will do so later when I leave from work. thanks

[lostcause]

Originally Posted by xmicro_Redline

It is probably a bad sensor on the top of the dash. It probably is not working and thinking it is night time, hence dimming the dash. Are your full night time lights coming on as well? (ie:Headlights at full power, parking lights front and rear)

I have the same issue. I've always thought it was normal and the sensor was just a POS. Should I have this looked at?

[xxdjfate76xx]

try pushing in all of your fuses, its been said before that the fuse box is put together at the factory by machines/robots, sometimes they dont get pushed in all the way

[xmicro_Redline]

Originally Posted by lostcause

I have the same issue. I've always thought it was normal and the sensor was just a POS. Should I have this looked at?

My sensor works perfect. Bring it to the dealer, they will swap it out for you.

[08sky]

I have had the same problem for the last three days, always happens when I pull out of a dark garage into the morning light. Off to the dealer we go! UGH

[gadget]

Check the brightness control to the left of the steering column if it gets bumped or set to one of the two limits the dash lights look like they disappear when you go from a dark area to a light area.

[GaryH]

Me too. Had the problem about a year ago. the dealer said they had to reprogram something or the other and it was ok for about a year. I'll have it checked out on my next oil change.

[SkyhighNY]

Originally Posted by redsky@night

Hey all,

Been having a strange problem lately where my display for the dash and the radio do not initially show up. After some time they will appear but not right away. Sometimes it is only a few seconds but today it was over 20 minutes. Has anyone seen this before and can anyone point me in the direction of a fix, other than just going to the dealer (which I will do anyway) I would prefer to go there armed with the knowledge of what is probably wrong first.

thanks in advance

Brian

I have the same problem depending on where I park, i.e., in the shade at my mom & dad's house. Here's my fix...

1. Autolights off
2. Autolights on
3. Info button

Unless of course you want to leave the lights off, in which case skip step 2. Hope it helps.

Let me know what your dealer tells you. Maybe I have an issue also

[redsky@night]

I have not had a chance to get the car into the dealer yet (weather is great anyway) but the problem is still there. It pretty much happens all the time now. It is more rare that my radio and dash dispaly actually show than not. It doesn't seem to matter if I am in sunlight or complete darkness.

I will try the light switching pattern that you suggest to see if it makes a difference

tks

Brian

[JRinKY]

There is a delay between the sensor reading bright ambient light and the display switching to daytime mode to prevent erratic operation, so a delay after moving from a dark place to a bright one is normal. If the DIC and radio displays stay dim most of the time it is probably a bad sensor. I do find that the low sun angles of early morning and late evening, especially in the winter, tend to confuse the sensor, and it goes to night mode more.

[Skip]

There have been a few posts about the dimmer switches having a flat spot or being erratic. This might be the problem..anyway make sure you post as to what is the fix....Skip...

[JRinKY]

Skip : There have been a few posts about the dimmer switches having a flat spot or being erratic. This might be the problem..anyway make sure you post as to what is the fix....Skip...

The dimmer switch should only come into play when the instrument lights go to night mode, which should not happen in the daylight.

[gadget]

Originally Posted by JRinKY

The dimmer switch should only come into play when the instrument lights go to night mode, which should not happen in the daylight.

In darker areas under trees,in garages etc the lights come on when its dark enough to trigger the sensor.so the dimmer switch has a lot to do with it.

[StormySky]

I just started having the same problem this week. It started out one morning and the DIC and radio display did not show up. Today I noticed the same thing happening, but the stereo played--but no display! The dash lights did not work when I turned on headlights either. I'll look tonight to see if the headlights, etc. come on. I just got it back from the dealer for the recall, replacing the top, and a rattle in the door! I don't want to take it back!

[JRinKY]

StormySky : I just started having the same problem this week. It started out one morning and the DIC and radio display did not show up. Today I noticed the same thing happening, but the stereo played--but no display! The dash lights did not work when I turned on headlights either. I'll look tonight to see if the headlights, etc. come on. I just got it back from the dealer for the recall, replacing the top, and a rattle in the door! I don't want to take it back!

In my car, there is no way that I have found to turn the instrument lights on manually. Covering the ambient light sensor will do it, but no switch will. I can turn the instrument lights off by switching the Auto Lights Function off as described above. When the instrument lights are on, the DIC and radio displays are dimmer than when they are off, even if the brightness control is set to maximum.

There is a time delay for the ambient light sensor to turn the instrument lights on or off, this minimizes the cycling on and off that would occur when going under bridges, etc. When I leave the garage in the morning my insrument lights stay on a lot longer than I would like for them to.

I have noticed that early morning and late evening light levels will turn the instrument lights on even though it is quite light.

It is quite possible that one or several problems are occurring with the lighting.:

1) If the displays are blank even after the car has been in direct sun for a period of time, the Auto Lights On system is turned on and the headlights are not being turned on by it, the most likely culprit is the ambient light sensor. It could be a fuse, but in that case other things, like the radio, would not be working either. It could also be the BCM. It will not be the dimmer switch, as it is an input to the BCM, and is ignored when the Ambient Light Sensor is not calling for instrument lights to be on.

2) If the Auto Lights On system is turned on and the ambient light sensor is properly controlling the headlights, the blank display is most likely caused by the dimmer control. It could be a fuse, but in that case other things, like the radio, would not be working either. It could also be the BCM.

3) One thing I have noticed is that the DIC and radio displays will go blank at a higher dimmer setting than the instrument lights.

The dimmer control is not a rheostat that directly controls the instrument lights. It is an input to the BCM. The BCM uses it to set the level of a PWM output that controls instrument light brightness. The DIC and radio display brighness are controlled by those devices, with the control signal sent over the low speed GMLAN.

[StormySky]

I did turn on the headlights to see if the instrument panel lit up...it did after I moved the dimmer. I guess I haven't driven it at night since I got it back from the dealership! It as dim as can be. I do usually have the lights on AUTO, but I normally don't drive it at night, so I just now noticed this problem. When I have been out at night, I thought it was quite dark before the sensor turned on the headlights, but one day I did have a family member following me in their CTS and the headlights on both cars came on within 5 seconds of each other.
I hope my problem doesn't happen again, but I have doubts the dimmer was the cause of my blank display. I guess it's a wait and see situation!

[dark_sky]

Just got back from the dealer they had to reprogram the BCM. Mine started on Monday morning. Interestingly they initially found no problem...I had even researched and give them the info about what we were thinking the problem was. They told me I did not have the rheostat set..We went through the whole diag discussion again and today they found the TSB (though they stated they never got it to act up for them) and reprogrammed the BCM. So far so good. I hope this help you guys.

Apparently that is not the TSB# but rather the SI doc#1851541. this will direct them as to what procedure to perform.