2014 PIP Advanced with Tech Package. I was playing with the Instrument Panel Light control (Page 262 of the owner's manual) and I noticed that it goes from full-dark to full-bright and back the other way. It might as well be a toggle switch.... It reminds me of an old rheostat that is badly wound (for those of you old enough to remember those sorts of things...). Anyway, wanted to know if any other PIP owners are experiencing this kind of issue? I am planning on having it replaced as the car is still under warranty. Thanks, Phil
i will check mine. from memory, it works, but i keep it at full bright. it is a rheostat, isn't it? or have they developed an electronic control with old fashioned wheel?
I have tried it with the lights on and the lights off. Jim N is correct...as I move the wheel, it goes from very dark to very bright...and there is no gradual increase or decrease in lighting adjustment... Thanks...definitely sounds like a dealer to replace item at the next service... Phil P.S. I will try it when it is dark outside just to be sure that it doesn't make a difference.
No need to wait for nightfall. You can cover the ambient light sensor on the dashboard with a dark towel.
I don't use the auto light option. I use the day lights, and then on. The dimmer works the way you say, either full or light, this way. I have to manually switch it. If you have your lights on the auto setting, I believe it does the auto dimming as well.
I like my backlighting as dim as is readable so that I can preserve my night vision. Several times I have dimmed them to the point that the HSI screen isn't showing anything, and the first time I thought something had fried.
I would guess a potentiometer versus a rheostat. Much less electrically noisy, and brightness is probably a function of an ECU somewhere using the reference resistance provided by that thumbwheel.
Okay, to satisfy my own curiosity, I conducted a test last night and this morning. I left the light stalk in "auto" position in both cases. At night, the thumbwheel acts as a variable dimmer. During the day, the thumbwheel is either fully dimmed or fully bright, no variable dimmer. That's the way it works on my Prius.
