I posted this before but could not find the orig post......

When driving I notice my dash lights "dim" automatically the speedo, OBC area, radio, and the gas light (which is the most noticeable since its so bright to begin with). And then it'll get dim if I go in the shade then when driving in a bright area it'll get super bright again, all wile driving down the road.
I think it does that so when its really sunny out you can see the guages then when your in the shade it dim's. It's very constant, but isn't that just a random really silly feature to have? Just never heard of it on anyother car.


Does anyone else notice this?

I believe there is a sensor on the TACH. I'ts a little round black dot on the right below the 8 on the RPM's and above the trip reset button.

I didnt see anything in the manual about it and MINI dones not know about it either.


If you have not niticed it pay attention to the brightness of the gas guage. If your going under shade covered trees then back into sun, or even on a cloudy day, watch it dim back and forth its kinda crazy....

 

MMM... i'll have 2 try that out in a little bit

 

I'm no expert, but I believe some might consider it a safety feature. I think it goes from a lighted state to an LCD when sunlight hits it. I read something about it on the very long thread about the "Things I didn't know about my Mini".

 

Also, if you have the built-in nav system the range of brightness needed to make it readable in both direct sunlight and at night makes a system like this pretty much necessary. It may just be cheaper to build the same system in both cars, rather than design and build a different dimmer for other models.

 

Never recognized this either, will definitely have to check it out.
My laptop screen does that and I always found it to be a really cool feature. Granted it's a lot more necessary for an LCD, but it's cool to see the same feature in our MINI's.

 

Do you have the automatic headlights? If so, maybe its just them turning on and off as the light changes?

 

I thought of this as well, but he says that they're constantly adjusting. Too bad I won't be around my MINI for 3 weeks, so there's no way to try it out!

 

I never looked for this either, but will try now that it's been been mentioned. I'm sure everyone has noted how the orange numerals on the tack turn white when the light is on them directly, but I never noted any difference in the brightness.

 

I'd just assumed that the sunlight was so bright in this case that the orange backlight is overpowered- since it seems that the LCD is reversed compared to a display like a calculator, with the blacked out portions of the display being the background instead of the numbers.

I've noticed the Nav display changing brightness, hadn't thought to watch the rest of the dash- I'll be looking too

 

I have the nav and haven't noticed this. I don't use the daytime driving lights. I'll take a closer look today and see.

 

for clarification I do not have auto headlights.....I notice this when the "headlights" are on OR off. You can really notice the gas Guage becaue its so bright and when that dim's it dims the rest of the OBC.

I didnt notice it as much yesterday because it was overcast. Wait until it's sunny or partly sunny. You'll really notice it

 

I think the black dot on the tach is the tampering warning light for the odometer.

 

Yeah? Thats weird....anyone else ntice the ODO and Gas guage dim?

 

the lights auto adjust there's indeed a light sensor at the tach

 

My mother noticed the fuel guage lamps dimming first, and I contacted my dealer and they did not know anything about this. I thought they would use the same sensor as headlights, and wippers and tried holding my hand over it. Wrong sensor.

Thanks for the info, I won't worry about it any more.

 

I have a mini s two door hatchback 2009. Dash lights for radio/phone, etc. were on brightly, but after traveling for a few hours, they dimmed and went off. Does anyone have any advice about this. Thanks in advance.

 

Check your battery. Is it the original one?

 

Battery ?

 

I finely figured something that's been troubling me ever since I purchased my 07 MCS almost 2 years ago this March, just the gas indicator would start to glow, dim, glow and dim.

It was like a pulsating orb of light, my MCS just spent 1 month in the paint shop () and I guess they had to remove the sunroof, long story short, they went to start my MCS and nothing dead as a door nail. So the shop went down to the dealer to pick up a new Mini/BMW battery, now that pulsating orb of light is all but gone.

Strange things really do happen when your battery is on the fritz! That was my original battery from 2007 and probably could have lasted longer...

 

The pulsing could be an indicator that your charging system is not up to snuff. Have it checked out, or check it yourself if you can.

 

You know what I did just that using my Galaxy S5 and Bluetooth adapter and it was showing in the upper 14.4 volts when the light show was happening, so that's ruled out. It's nothing new for BMW, they have been having cluster issues as much as Octimom has had children!

I guess enjoy the show is in order if it happens again but I seriously doubt it.

 

As a side note - in this video I made.. you can see the lights change as the sun crosses over the dashboard. -