‘04-’07 GM Instrument Panel Lighting Problems

Posted By Greg Basich, April 17, 2009 in NEWS

A few issues back, Installer Central reported on some backlighting problems in Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice vehicles and that problem has been reported on other GM vehicles. The problem is that that the instrument cluster backlighting doesn’t work when the headlights are turned on manually during daytime driving.

According to GM, the backlighting for the instrument cluster is not controlled by the headlight switch, but rather through a photocell that determines the ambient light conditions necessary to turn on the backlight of the cluster.

Owners of affected vehicles can have GM dealers reprogram the BCM with an updated service calibration. The new software update switches the daytime input trigger from the photocell to the headlight switch to activate the backlighting to full intensity during the daytime hours.

This list of affected vehicles has been expanded to include:

  • 2004-’06 Chevy Malibu & Malibu Maxx
  • 2005-’06 Chevy Cobalt
  • 2005-’06 Pontiac G6
  • 2006 Chevy HHR
  • 2007 and earlier Saturn Sky
  • 2007 and earlier Pontiac Solstice

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  • P.
    Checked with 3 Chevrolet dealerships about instrument lighting on my 2005 Cobalt and showed them this article, all basically said this is b.s. Each one quoted service bulletin Document ID#1530511(one even game me a copy), which states replacing headlight switch, sensor, or body control module(all 3 have been replaced on my car)WILL NOT cure the problem, because it is NORMAL, and warranty service will be refused.
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