I searched before posting, so I apologize if this has been discussed before.

Got in the car last night and something seemed strange. I finally realized that most of my dash lights weren't working! I had my gauges and all the radio lights, but no overhead blue light and no lights on the temp controls, steering wheel buttons, shifter, door lock buttons, or window buttons.

I pulled every single fuse today to make sure they were seated and functioning. Everything was fine. I'm thinking maybe a connector has come loose somewhere, but I'm a girl and I have no clue about that kind of stuff. Any ideas? I've driven out my warranty so I'd really like to avoid going to the dealer if I can.

You did check BOTH fuse panels, right?

One under the hood...one on the console, passenger side.

Sure did. I'm a girl, not a stupid girl. :lol:

Please don't think I meant to embarass you. Many people did not know the HHR has 2 fuse panels. You would be surprised how many times that has resolved an issue.

Sure did. I'm a girl, not a stupid girl. :lol:

Then why the user name? :confused: :lol:

There`s no way that you could`ve turned the dash lights down with the dimmer by the emergency flashers, could it?

There`s no way that you could`ve turned the dash lights down with the dimmer by the emergency flashers, could it?
I have mine on the lowest possible setting, and the dash is still lit up.

I have mine on the lowest possible setting, and the dash is still lit up.

Same goes for mine. Dimmest setting and the dash and halo lights still come on.:thumb:

It has been discussed here before, potential problems with Dash Lights, not real sure the outcome or if a definite fix was identified.

My dash lights, do change, intermitely, bright/low/on/off, but never has stuck just off.


Below is link to another discussion of issues with Dash lights, that may help:

http://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/showthread.php?t=5358

Later,
Markiemark

I searched before posting, so I apologize if this has been discussed before.

Got in the car last night and something seemed strange. I finally realized that most of my dash lights weren't working! I had my gauges and all the radio lights, but no overhead blue light and no lights on the temp controls, steering wheel buttons, shifter, door lock buttons, or window buttons.

I pulled every single fuse today to make sure they were seated and functioning. Everything was fine. I'm thinking maybe a connector has come loose somewhere, but I'm a girl and I have no clue about that kind of stuff. Any ideas? I've driven out my warranty so I'd really like to avoid going to the dealer if I can.

Are there any other non-functioning lights? I ask because I had a similar problem when I blew a fuse and, in addition to the interior lights you listed, none of the exterior parking lights/rear license plate light worked. Headlights and brake lights did work because they are on a separate circuit.

Issue I had on 11/1/06, after messing with the the electrical system:
I had a similar problem last night. I noticed no lights on steering wheel, HVAC, or the roof LED. Unfortunately, the tail lights and front parking lights were out too. Turns out I blew the parking light fuse (pleading the 5th on how ). It is fuse #69 (10 amp) under the hood. Once I replaced it all was well.

Just throwing it out there...

Edit- OOPS - I just pulled my old post from the thread that Markiemark referenced above...didn't realize it was the same one.

Thanks to those of you who responded. Didn't mean to post and run - it's been a crazy week! I checked every fuse myself, so I know there's no blown fuse. I don't know what to think about this. I guess I'll have someone else look at all the fuses because there's always a chance I missed one. :(

Had the same scenario with lights going out. Turned out to be the 10 amp parking light fuse. Thanks for the post. That would have probably been the last thing I would have thought to check. Have no idea what blew the fuse, and hopefully it won't go again any time soon. DW :bow:

On my 2006 LT1, I had a very similar problem -- the ENTIRE dash was dead, including the gauges and the stereo, but the car was otherwise working without problem (all external lights worked fine). This happened intermittently two or three, maybe four times. I traced the problem to the dimmer switch on the dash being pushed TOO FAR to the right, a tick beyond the last setting for maximum brightness. Once I brought the switch back in to its normal range of operation, the problem has never occurred again. This was about three or four months ago that I resolved it, so it appears to be a permanent fix for my particular situation.

i might have the same problem that brainless has. this is it. i can only notice it at night. i have an 09 hhr with the dimmer switch in high. so my speedo and radio lights are bright, but the lights of the temperature unit under the radio are low as well as my shifter light and the lights on the switches of each door. funny thing, when i turn my dimmer switch off, i get now the opposite. speedo is low with the radio. but the temperature control unit is in like the middle brightness as well as the door lights. anyone have an idea of what it could be? i bought a new dimmer switch and as soon as i disconnected the other one, all the lights came on and bright. but the dimmer switch is not it. put the new one in and still with the problem. any help?!