please help. no inside lights
1 - 20 of 22 Posts
Joined
·
313 Posts
The instrument cluster in a vehicle is where you would find your tachometer, speedometer, fuel gauge etc. That's universal.
The lights in the instrument cluster are linked to the lights for other buttons like radio, HVAC etc.
So my point was to check and make sure the lights are not dimmed all the way down, to where it turns them off.
If the brightness is up and the buttons are still not lighting I said to check if when you start the vehicle the needles for tachometer, speedometer, fuel gauge etc move as well because if they do not move and there are still no lights for the buttons and instrument cluster there is a possibility of a blown fuse.
Let me ask you this. Do the lights light up in the instrument cluster but not the buttons below the navigation?
The lights in the instrument cluster are linked to the lights for other buttons like radio, HVAC etc.
So my point was to check and make sure the lights are not dimmed all the way down, to where it turns them off.
If the brightness is up and the buttons are still not lighting I said to check if when you start the vehicle the needles for tachometer, speedometer, fuel gauge etc move as well because if they do not move and there are still no lights for the buttons and instrument cluster there is a possibility of a blown fuse.
Let me ask you this. Do the lights light up in the instrument cluster but not the buttons below the navigation?
Yes I did. It is all the way up. And the speedometer and tachometer are very bright. The navigation is ok. But the buttons under are not light up. When press on AUTO the orange light goes on. But thats it. And parking gears next to shift knob are also not light up. Amd the Eco STD ans Storts knob is also out.
Joined
·
549 Posts
You were replacing all your factory bulbs with LEDs right?
Do the LED bulbs draw the same Amperage? Sounds like you may be drawing too much current with these LED's and it blew a fuse...or perhaps you shorted a circuit.
If you can't find the cause, check the warranty before you bring it in to ensure you didn't void it by installing these LEDs. (you may need to reinstall the factory bulbs if you have to take it in for a warranty repair)
Do the LED bulbs draw the same Amperage? Sounds like you may be drawing too much current with these LED's and it blew a fuse...or perhaps you shorted a circuit.
If you can't find the cause, check the warranty before you bring it in to ensure you didn't void it by installing these LEDs. (you may need to reinstall the factory bulbs if you have to take it in for a warranty repair)
Joined
·
549 Posts
Sorry, I should have said "bulbs of the same ohm rating"...it was late.
Fuse yes, they just pop out and you replace them with a new one with the same amp rating. The way they work is simple. For example, if the license plate circuit has a 5 amp fuse (guessing here), and the LEDs you installed on that circuit combined draw more than 5 amps, then a thin wire in fuse will melt and open the circuit to protect the wiring. (keeps it from getting too hot and damaging the wiring). To fix it, make sure the LEDs have the same ohm rating (or less) than the factory bulbs on that circuit and replace the fuse with a new one of the same rating.
A short will draw very high amperage and burn out the fuse instantly. A Short happens when the positive and negative wires touch each other, and circuit has no resistance.
It starts getting complicated from here. V=iR, so i=V/R, where i=current (amps), V=voltage, and R = resistance in Ohms.
To find a short You will need the circuit diagram to know if the lights are in series or parallel, and an amp meter to locate the short.
If this is Greek to you, replace the LEDs with the factory bulbs and take it to the dealer. If the LED are drawing to much current, the fuse will keep blowing. If the tech doesn't know you replaced all the bulbs and they are the cause, they could spend hours trying to figure out the readings they are seeing until they trace it to the LEDs. When they figure out you replaced all the bulb and caused the problem, it will likely void the warranty repair (I don't know for sure). Just my 2 cents.
thanks. That is very helpful. So here is what I did today:
My friend has his own shop that does cars audio, car security systems and so on. I took my car to him this morning. He checked all fuses inside the car and under the hood. Everything looked fine. I was right next to him. He even disconected my battary and we waited 10 min. Nothing helped and seemed like all fuses were ok.
My next step I took the car to the dealer. And got a call back in 10 min stating that they replaced the fuse and everything is fine. I came there in 5 min and everything was fixed.
My friend has his own shop that does cars audio, car security systems and so on. I took my car to him this morning. He checked all fuses inside the car and under the hood. Everything looked fine. I was right next to him. He even disconected my battary and we waited 10 min. Nothing helped and seemed like all fuses were ok.
My next step I took the car to the dealer. And got a call back in 10 min stating that they replaced the fuse and everything is fine. I came there in 5 min and everything was fixed.
Joined
·
549 Posts
Good news. If the fuse they replaced burns out again and the lights go out, it means the LEDs you installed are drawing too much current. The most likely culprit is the ohm rating of the LEDs are not correct (their resistance is too low), and are therefore allowing too much current through the circuit.
Joined
·
549 Posts
Ohms = volts ^2 / watts. According to page 8-13 in my 2014 QX60 hybrid owner's manual supplement, the license plate light bulbs are 5 watts (W5W Bulb No.). Thus the system is designed for a bulb with 28.8 ohms of resistance.
Ohms = 12^2 / 5 = 28.8
The short answer is the LED bulb you use should be a replacement for a W5W bulb.
Ohms = 12^2 / 5 = 28.8
The short answer is the LED bulb you use should be a replacement for a W5W bulb.
1 - 20 of 22 Posts
