why won't my dashboard lights including heater, radio, speed, etc. come on when I turn on my head lights?

Asked by LEEON Sep 29, 2015 at 11:14 PM about the 2006 Toyota Camry

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Tonight for the first time, (this was after it was dark out..) I turne on my
headlights..they work, but the dash board lights went out..all across the
dashboard...all except the green drive light and the directional arrow.  When I
shut the headlights off (camery still running) the dash lights all came on!

6 Answers

103,655

The next time it happens, locate your fuse box under the dash and wiggle it. See if the lights come back on. If no luck with the fuse box under the dash, wiggle the one under the hood as well. I have read where on some Camrys, the fuse box gets corroded from the back side causing a short. This is what causes all of your dash lights and accessories to cut off. In some cases, the only fix is to remove the fuse block and replace it with a new one or one from a salvage yard. You may also just have a bad ground at either fuse box as well.

8 people found this helpful.
165

You may have to replace the switch all together. And the Dodge Caravan that would do this and it wasn't the fuse it was the actual switch it would turn on the headlights but it would not turn on the interior lights. So you want to check the switch itself and have that replaced should be able to get it at a junk yard for a reasonable price.

2 people found this helpful.
60

i try to use usb on 04 corolla cigaret fuse pup out change fuse i saw all power on ac,signal,wiper,&,,,, gone and not shifting pls help me out,thanx

2 people found this helpful.
70

It is your alternator going bad. I can almost guarantee it. The exact situation happened to my camry as well not long ago. Your car isn't producing enough electricity so it's prioritizing your headlights at night, and is prioritizing your dashboard in the day.

6 people found this helpful.

same with my 2014 Prius. drive an hour or so, turn on headlights, and all is well at first. then, the lights begin to go out, except the green ones. i shut headlights off, then dash lights come on, but just for a while. they go out again, and I can keep doing this for a while, until it doesn't work at all. did you fix it? was it the alternator as mentioned by Guru?

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