dashboard gauge lights all black

[RVD]

i have a 2013 leaf.

i always leave the headlights on auto.

today i was driving in the afternoon and went through a few tunnels. the weird thing was that a few seconds into each tunnel, the entire dashboard would just go black. so i couldn't see how the GOM, battery % remaining, etc. a few seconds later when i got out of the tunnel and into sunlight, the dashboard lights came back on again and i could see the gauges.

it was a little scary to see the blacked out dash and with some fiddling around i realized that if i turn my headlights off, the lights would all turn back on again even in the tunnel.

did i inadvertently push a knob or something to do this or is this a fault with my car?

 

[BrockWI]

Yes you can set the dash brightness with the headlights on and a different setting with the headlights off. You must have somehow set the dash light all the way down or to "off" with the headlights on. In normal or daytime you can't turn them down so far they actually go off, but you can with the headlights on.

So just manually flip you headlights on and adjust the dash brightness level to where ever you like it, other than off

 

[mwalsh]

did i inadvertently push a knob or something to do this or is this a fault with my car?

It's been a long while since I've encountered this, but it sounds like you've got the brightness control all the way down. I'll have to go to my car and play to tell you for sure. BRB.

 

[RVD]

thanks! i went down to the car and found the button to push to change the brightness setting and that took care of it. thanks everyone.