Dash Lights Out

[Fred1948]

I posted earlier in response to a dash/instrument light out problem that I had fixed my problem by cleaning the contacts in the headlight switch. Well, it turns out that the fix was only temporary.

I did some troubleshooting and found the dimmer to be the culprit. No amount of wire wiggling, contact cleaner, or even resoldering the large connections would bring it back to life. I put in another switch (from my other car) and the dash lights work as they should. The dimmer switch has a lot of electronics in it.

As a temporary fix you can remove the dimmer and jumper contacts 3 and 5 on the connector and the lights will work at full intensity. The power will be coming through the headlight switch but the current is low enough so that it should not be an issue for a temporary fix.

My symptoms were intermittent at first but rapidly progressed to non-functional. by the way if your dash illumination lights do not work but the turn signals do work then there is a good chance that this is the problem. This switch is much larger than you would think; it is about 3 inches deep and I found that the best way to remove it was to remove the fog light switch directly below it and then make a puller by bending a piece of coat hanger wire to form about a 3/4" long 'L' on the end. Use this as a hook to reach to the back of the switch and pull straight out. Either insulate the end of the wire or disconnect the battery to prevent any unwanted sparks!

[Guest AlvinL]

I posted earlier in response to a dash/instrument light out problem that I had fixed my problem by cleaning the contacts in the headlight switch. Well, it turns out that the fix was only temporary.

I did some troubleshooting and found the dimmer to be the culprit. No amount of wire wiggling, contact cleaner, or even resoldering the large connections would bring it back to life. I put in another switch (from my other car) and the dash lights work as they should. The dimmer switch has a lot of electronics in it.

As a temporary fix you can remove the dimmer and jumper contacts 3 and 5 on the connector and the lights will work at full intensity. The power will be coming through the headlight switch but the current is low enough so that it should not be an issue for a temporary fix.

My symptoms were intermittent at first but rapidly progressed to non-functional. by the way if your dash illumination lights do not work but the turn signals do work then there is a good chance that this is the problem. This switch is much larger than you would think; it is about 3 inches deep and I found that the best way to remove it was to remove the fog light switch directly below it and then make a puller by bending a piece of coat hanger wire to form about a 3/4" long 'L' on the end. Use this as a hook to reach to the back of the switch and pull straight out. Either insulate the end of the wire or disconnect the battery to prevent any unwanted sparks!

I had this exact problem you describe and found one of the surface mount resistors solder had eventually failed at the one solder end. It was a challenge to find the problem but I'd pick at every component until you find the one that pops loose. Ieven de-soldered the connector looking for the problem! This rheostat, although small, is expensive!

[dkdevin]

I started the other thread a week or so ago and now the issue is worse. I had not yet messed with the light switch and now it sounds like I won't bother. Before, I could turn off the car and restart it and the dash lights would stay on. NOW I do that and the dashlights come back on, then about 20 seconds later they fade to black.

Is there any more detail you could share on the repair? Fred's description of pulling out the switch is good, but not having taken this part out before, I want to have some idea of what I'm looking at when I get it out.

Thank you. I just want to say that since I found this forum, I've found new love for my Volvo!