Hi all. New member, but I see others have posted what seems to be the same problem I'm having. Regardless if headlights are on manual or automatic, once they come on, the dash lights sometimes dim by maybe 70%. At some point they may suddenly brighten back to normal as tho the truck was just started. If this is all related to the light sensor on top behind the tray, it really is poorly designed. I notice little or no difference in external lighting yet they pop back up to normal brightness at some point. I've found no way to disable this in the owners manual and my dealer has suddenly decided not to answer my inquiry Is there a defect or is this normal operation based on the sensor ?

 

When you turn your Parking/headlights on, the dash sensor will turn On/Off the Dash Lights as it senses the presence of light or lack there of! You can adjust the Brightness of the Dash/Gauge lights with the push button dimmer below headlight dial! Ive never noticed the dash light come on dim, then brighten up on their own!

 

I don't have any issue with them going bright, then dark, then bright again. Once it is dark enough for headlights, it usually stays that was with the auto. I do think the dash is too dim even with the dimmer on the highest setting, I wish I could make it brighter.

 

I think its Plenty Bright You can always replace you Halogen gauge bulbs, with leds for Much Better light output! Cheap upgrade as well...

 

OK, so they are designed to react to the external lighting conditions and dim/brighten accordingly based on the light sensor. My concern is that they will dim and sometimes brighten back to full intensity when I don't see any change at all in the outside lighting. We've had a lot of rain and the lights will stay dim for a while and suddenly pop back to full brightness, even when the outside lighting is still very overcast. Could the sensor be bad (or is it adjustable at all ) ? I saw that by covering it completely this will keep the cluster at full intensity, correct ?

Thanks all

 

If your headlights are in AUTO, they will obviously turn on and off according to brightness. When they are ON, the dash lights will also dim/brighten accordingly (if it is dark, the dash lights will dim to allow better night time visibility). Also, an important note is that when the lights are in AUTO, they also turn on automatically if you leave/have your windshield wipers on. When you turn off the wipers and leave them off, the lights MAY turn back off as well if it is bright enough. If it isn't dark enough for the headlights to think they need to be on, they'll turn off, thus also brightening your dash lights. This sounds like what you're experiencing due to your rain comment.

One thing I've noticed about the AUTO lights is that it is getting pretty dark before they turn on. A lot of other vehicles will already have their lights on before my truck turns them on (still plenty bright, just seems other vehicles come on sooner?). Doesn't bother me, just an observation.

My point is that I think your lights and instrument lighting are functioning as designed, if I understand your situation of course. Hope that helps!