Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
The dashboard lights in my car go off sometimes, then on for a while, then off again or flicker. Do you know what is causing this and is there a cheap way to fix it?
Sounds like a loose fuse
Is it just your lights (dashboard)? I brought my car to a so called mechanic, and the guy forgot to hook my negative cable (or something) back, and my lights would flicker, and every now and then my car would just die. Check that. Relatively simple to fix, and even if a mechanic did look at it, if he were a decent fellow, he would not charge you anything. Just an idea.
We had this happen and it was our alternator going out....which can be spendy...good luck!
I have a 2006 Hyundai Elantra and 1 headlight, the turn signal/headlight switch, and dash lights act as if they have a short. When I turn my lights on, most of the time my driver light won't come on. I get out and smack it and it comes back on, but will sometimes or several times keep doing it as I drive. If I touch the switch, my dash lights go off and on too. Any suggestions on what may be happening?
This is an electronic short in the ignition wiring of the car. This needs to be diagnosed with the use of a computer system or a volt meter to determine where the short is and the board that needs to be replaced.
This could be bulbs on there way out, along with a short in the system. Also there could be somethings loose, that needs adjusting.
I have a 2008 Land Rover Discovery (3) and the dashboard lights shut off and occasionally including the indicators, but it still drives, why is this? It is like the engine doesn't cut out. It's very dangerous as this shuts off the indicators.
Answers greatly appreciated.
You have a short in your electrical system. You need to bring your car in for servicing.
This is too dangerous for you to be driving as it could cause a short and shut your car down (on the freeway?) or maybe even cause a fire.
I would suggest you take your Land Rover to one of the large auto parts stores - AutoZone, Advance, NAPA, O'Reilly, Pep Boy, CarQuest - Google auto parts store with your zip and take it to any one of these as most all of them will have someone to check it out for you.
They have testers that can tell you what is causing this to happen and even help you install a part if that is what is needed.
You can also take it to your dealer (soon) but you will have to pay a service fee along with the part. Service fees have gotten very expensive.
I am in the process of replacing the car radio of my 2014 Subaru Forester. At one point I started the ignition on second position (acc) then off again, the display was on then off immediately and all features and buttons were not working. I restarted the ignition it happened again. I checked all the possible fuses, but could not find any broken fuses. Any suggestions for troubleshooting is appreciated.
This is a symptom of a short in the system.
Thanks for your suggestion. I was working on replacing the car radio and installing the rear view camera. I think I turned on the ignition twice and the system went short.
I have a 2000 Nissan Altima. The dash lights come on once in awhile and cut off once in awhile. Suggestions on solution?
Intermittent problems like this point to faulty wiring, or a short in the wiring. You will need to have the car serviced.
My old Chevy, may it rest in peace, used to do this and it was always some wiring issue. It used to drive me nuts! I would drop by your mechanic or dealer and have them check it out. Don't ignore it, as it can lead to bigger issues and more expensive repairs down the road!
I have a 2004 Chevy Impala and when I'm driving it makes a squeaky scratchy noise and the dashboard lights turn off and turn back on. The fuel temp & rpm things go up and down.
And following that the service traction system lights comes on. What could that be? And would I be able to make a 6hr trip back home with it like this?Certainly sounds like an electrical short but these can be very difficult to find the source.
I have a 2008 Chevy Silverado 1500. My dash lights and the lights around my radio and heat and air knobs flicker at night when I hit a bump in the road, but the lights on my dash cluster are on durning the day. They will go off and eventually come back on but they won't attempt to come until I hit a bump in the road what could be causing this?
Sounds like a loose connection to me, the only way you can find out just what is causing the problem is to have a car mechanic check it out.
I have a 2001 Chevy Suburban with what sounds like a similar issue, every time I would hit a bump all the dash lights and gauges went haywire and cycled like I was starting the vehicle up. I remember this starting after driving on a washboard dirt road so I figured it jarred something loose. I've been driving it this way for a while saving my money for what I assumed could be a pricy repair. I bought a bluetooth OBDII reader for my other vehicle to check a code and the crazy thing is that when I plugged it into my Suburban and drove it all the dash lights worked perfectly. I have no idea why this resolved the flickering dash problem, but it did and so I thought I should share it. I can hit bumps again with confidence and all I had to do was purchase a 30 dollar OBDII reader, which is a useful tool anyway.
I own a Mercedes clk320 amg. Sometimes after turning off the ignition and opening the boot, the dashboard lights up all lights flickering and the light warning says turn off the lights. The lights are already turned off.
It may be that some part of the electronic system is faulty and this triggers off a wholesale warning. This happened to us when a particulate filter clogged up and did not respond to high rev driving to clear it. One by one the warning lights came on, and did not disappear. We had the filter checked but it still happened. Now we have to change the filter. If it happens when you open the boot, it may be something to do with the boot interior light.
Cars are computerized now. It could be nothing. Bring it in to a reliable shop and they will test out the car. If you don't have the equipment you can't do this yourself.
On my 2006 PT Cruiser the dashboard lights will go off than back on. What would cause that?
I have a 2006 nissan quest and it is very hard to get an accurate oil check unless it sits overnight If your oil is low that last thing to get oil is the timig chain tenshioner and it will make te chain loose and it will rattle when it does this I add aquart of oil and the noise goes away
I have a 2006 nissan quest and it is very hard to get an accurate oil check unless it sits overnight If your oil is low that last thing to get oil is the timig chain tenshioner and it will make te chain loose and it will rattle when it does this I add aquart of oil and the noise goes away
My dash lights flicker intermittently, at idle or at speed. When at idle, the engine revs a bit and if I listen closely, it sounds like there is an old tape rewinding, no joke. It is becoming more frequent.
By Charlie
My dashboard lights go on and off, my does the same thing and it also sounds like a tape is rewinding
