I'd like to say hello to everyone here as this is my first post, and this place looks AWESOME and there's a lot of great info here that I will be sure to use, such as the converting to LED interior lighting.

I have a problem though.

When the automatic headlights trigger, once it's dark enough outside, the headlight will turn on, but then my instrument panel and all other interior lights (except my overhead) will start out bright and go totally dim within 2 seconds. This includes even the odometer and drivetrain lights, overhead info panel, radio LCD, lights behind heating/cooling switches.

Sometimes when I smack the top of the dash they will come back on, but it's so rare that I am not sure if it's what I am doing to make them work again.

Also, in my instrument panel, I seem to have "loose" bulbs in it or something. Some of the lights will be out, put tapping the face of the instrument panel with my fingers makes, say, one light come back on and one will go off.

So, couple topics of discussion here:

1) How to fix the "dimming" interior lighting when the headlights are actuated by low light. (and no, my dimmer is not all the way down :P )

2) The 'loose' bulbs in my instrument panel... what to do?

Thanks in advance and I hope to get some photos of my car up, after I get the front bumper painted.

 

Also,

3) I do not have chimes. All other audio works, but absolutely no chimes for warnings, seat belt, none of that. This is a factory replacement head unit, which worked fine after I had the VIN coded in. Then randomly one day the chimes stopped.

IDK Why this beauty has to have electrical problems... those are almost the worst problems to have

 

they are, and this is the kind of problem anybody dreds, that could be many things but sadly one of those could be a dying or defective BCM, which isn't a good thing

is it just your instiment panels lights? could be a faulty instiment pannel.

you mention the deck but the dimming wire in the deck thats connected to the lights really can't do anything that i've seen but its possible, i'd check to see if its grounding out or something stupid like. um other than you're really going to have to get a professional certified GM mechanic looking at that.

the instrument panel is pretty easy to replace, people have even upgraded them, i really woudln't advise that but a replacement i think runs around 100-250$ depending if its a used panel or something, i'd look for a GM in a junk yard that was in a crash, IE the grand prix is very simaler to us i believe they use the same instrument panel. it is an 11 year old car, these things dont last forever, and sadly GM didn't put all the best electronics in these cars the panel very well could just be dying. i'd replace it since it very much seems like it's dying. i'm sure it would be fixed but it wuold probobly be cheaper to just replace it with a junkyard part. the panel can be gotten at the same way the deck is, that whole dash peice comes off, and its i believe 3 or 4 screws and a wire harness holding it in there.

 

I've had the instrument panel out a few times without a problem, but I am gonna end up having to rip apart everythign in the dash to figure out what the deal is with my lighting.

Also, since you mentioned a possible failing BCM...I DO get a security light that will stay on the whole time I drive it, but it's so random that I cannot predict it. The one time, I parked it on a hill next to my house and I got back in and couldnt start it for a half hour...

I really hope its not the BCM... could that be affecting ALL of the lights inside my car (except for dome - on diff circuit?), as well as the security light and the chimes too???

 

the security light comes on when you stop the car, leave it in aux power, and turn it back on, check if thats when it happens, you could easily be doing that with out connecting the partern, took me awhile to notice it. it will stay on till car is turned off and door is opened and closed than you can start it with out the security light being on. the BCM's in gm's are nortoriously bad though...i mean idk is a dimming interior light is annoying enough to spend 1000$ + on a new computer but it depends on the person, like i said. take it a machanic, hes the only one who can verafy this, the only way to check if its the cluster is replace it.