Well I have had ours for 2 weeks now.

Some odd behavior. Let me know if anyone has any info on this:

I have lately noticed that my dash lights will dim. This includes the big speedo, radio, OBC area, and the gas light (which is the most noticeable since its so bright to begin with). This occurs randomly. I am in gear, usually high though and just taking it lightly (5th gear). The satellite radio also drops and says "Acquiring" The climate control display doesnt seem affected.

After a few seconds, the dash will brigthen up, the satellite radio will tune in, and all seems fine. Then it will happen again randomly. Not too often. Just enough to make me second guess myself.

It seems the alternator is not putting out enough juice. When I hit the pedal, it takes a couple of seconds, but then it lights up. I started wondering whether this has something to do with the fancy alternator config to save energy in the R56.

Anyone had anything similar? Any known issues here before I go calling the SA? Any help appreciated.

 

+1 Anyone with any knowledge?

 

When it's daytime, dash lights will sometimes dim cuz the light sensor is adjusting the intensity of the instrument display illumination. With regards to the sattelite radio, I don't know what the problem is. But dimming of the instrument panel is normal. it's just adjusting according to the available sunlight

 

If the Sirius radio is saying aquiring, it has lost its signal. I find this does happen when going under a lot of trees, in any covered area, through an underpass or by some tall buildings as they will block the signal.

 

I am just taking a guess, but the dimming could be the cooling fan kicking in.

 

So, it would seem a consistent hypothesis is forming. Aonach, is this completely random, or only under the conditions described above?

 

Mmmm.

As for the dimming adjusting for lighting conditions, I have never heard of this as a feature in a car. Dimming the display during daylight? This is not simply the LCD changing tone in direct sunlight. This is dimming of the tach, OBC, speedo, & gas light "carrots" simultaneously.

I called an SA & my MA and they didnt seem to think that the display dimming in this fashion was normal, but they had heard of no other complaints.

As for the satellite radio dropping out, I do notice that happening under lots of trees or bridges, but this symptom actually occurs when I am in the open & is CONCURRENT with the display dimming.

The cooling fan coming on is an interesting hypothesis, since this problem does seem like a power / voltage drag on my electrical circuit for the upper dash (auto climate control display remains bright). However, since it occurs while driving I am unable to know when the engine cooling fan kicks in.

Maybe I should leave it running and parked to experiment.... Will test tomorrow.

Thanks for the help. Any other suggestions appreciated.

 

Im currently experiencing the same problem with my new cooper s . All of my dash lights dim at random intervals then brighten up. Most noticable on the fuel display gage . I took my car to the dealer and had it checked out and they could not find the cause . Spoke to a BMW tech today and he said that other people here are having the same problem and advised me to contact Mini again and see what they can come up with from their tech dept .

 

I know this is an old one, but I have the same problem with my MCS. Haven't said anything YET to my SA, any solutions/answers?

 

Same thing happened to me this morning in my MC. The dash lights slowly rise to full bright and then, just as gradually, fade back to dim. These are the dash panel lights that aren't controlled by the brightness button on the tach (i.e. the fuel guage and climate control display). Maybe they are just the ones most notable though...not sure. Has anybody had a solution for this yet?

 

I have never seen my fuel gauge do that. It doesn't sound normal at all. I have had my radio volume seem to adjust itself but I think it only occurs when I am using the Ipod and may be related the Ipod doing some syncing with the stereo.

It's interesting that the BMW tech seemed familiar with it, but, the MINI SAs were not. It would be helpful to hear from some of the people who originally posted on this thread back in September and October of 2007 to see what has happened since then. CC, you might want to IM these posters and see what they have to say.

BTW, this is another example of how nice it would be to be able to access the Service Bulletins like so many other manufacturers allow.

 

Thanks richs10, I'll try that. Someone must have gotten a fix because they haven't been back asking about it since.

 

In my MC I noticed this once where the speedo OBC controls and fuel gauge dimmed then came back up to full. Not sure why. Only noticed it once in a year and a half.

 

And maybe that's the answer. This morning on my way to work was the first I had seen it, and haven't tried restarting and checking it again. With any luck the problem will be gone this evening, leaving me wondering if my eyes or my imagination were just dimming. I can live with that...

 

There was a post about this a couple months ago. This is normal and it is caused by the sensor on the top of the dash that detects the amount of light. If there's a lot of light, it will brighten up the controls and if the light gets less, it'll dim them so that they don't "hurt" your eyes. You will notice this most when you're going in and out of shaded areas.

You should not notice this at night when your headlights are on as the sensor will detect no sunlight and not make any changes.

 

+1. My E46 BMW (which I've had for 8 yrs now) does this as well. It freaked me out at first, but I realized I could reproduce the "problem" by shading the photosensor (dash lights get dimmer) and then uncovering it (lights go back to normal). I've noticed the same thing in my MINI when driving at dawn/dusk but never at night. I didn't see where the photosensor was so did not try the experiment, but you should be able to do it yourself. Let us know what happens.

 

Surfblue says: I've mentioned this scenario from the day I picked up my car elsewhere. (I sent you a msg outside the group with more detail)...this is an old school response... When I got my 07 MCS in 04/07, I drove it 80 miles home and put my battery charger on it that day. It took nearly 45 minutes to TOP OFF the battery with the charger on it's highest charge setting. I put the charger on it every 30 days to prevent "low charge memory" from developing, and it generally takes 15-20 mins to top off unless I'm driving daily. Whether this fixes your prob or not, this will increase your battery life if you do it every 30 days. IF you're constantly driving long distances and not running everything that draws power, the time to top off may be short, but if you drive short distances and intermittently, you may be surprised at the charge time. Just tryin' to help.

 

So, you can cover the sensor with your hand and make this problem reoccur?

 

Yeah.

 

Yeah, my apologies. It is normal. I just now noticed "problem", searched for another "victim" and found this thread without a posted resolution. Unless my car is having a major laugh at my expense, the sensor is in the tachometer just above the odometer reset button. It's that little round dot that has no described purpose in the users manual. I put my finger over it and the lamps dimmed and stayed that way until I removed it.

Oh well, for the next person who gets wrapped around this axel....

 

Sounds like you're just going through an area with tall trees which provide shade (causing your dash lights to dim) and also block your Sirius signal.

 

Yeah, I forgot to mention that I knew what the issue was with the satellite radio and knew it wasn't related to the dimming thing.

I checked the dimming again and the sensor is definitely that little dot on the tach, between the OD reset button and the "8" (8000 rpm) digit. If you park in bright light and watch the display, it will stay steady bright and won't fluctuate. Then cover the little dot with your thumb or hand and you will see the display dim and stay that way until you remove the cover. I did a search and there is no mention about it in the "FM". I guess this should go in the "Things I didn't know about my Mini" thread.