When I pull the knob to turn on the headlights, the lights in the instrument cluster do not work. The only working light is the combination shift/odometer(bottom center of the instument cluster). The rotating dimmer does not respond either. The fuse is good and the headlights work. The light on the radio indicating time/station appears dimmer than usual. Do you have any thoughts on how to correct this problem? Thank you!
It’s possible the instrument panel lights are burned out. They are accessed from the rear of the cluster, which must be removed to replace, or even check, the bulbs.
There could be a wiring problem, too, or the switch itself could be bad.
If the radio is dim, it sounds like the dimmer dial thing failed and it’s turned all the way down. The radio stays lit, but dim when the instrument lamps are off.
I have a 2003 buick century with exactly the same problem. It is not just the manual switch that does not work. When the headlamps turn on automatically, the lights in the instrument cluster do not work either. I have tried turning the dimmer switch all the way to the right. The last detent just turns on the courtesy lights, but the dash lights stay off.
Update: I did some research at the library and determined that the likely cause was the light/dimmer switch on the left side of the dash. There must have been a loose or corroded connection as when I took out the switch, cleaned the contacts and put it back in, everything worked fine again. Access to the switch is easy. Just pry/unsnap the panel on the far left side of the dash. If it goes bad again, now I know a new switch will fix the problem.