Instrument Cluster Brightness

[WhuGmiT]

Fellow Ram truck owners -

I am the proud new owner of a 4th Gen, 2017 Ram 1500, 5.7L V8, Crew Cab, 4WD, Laramie truck. Woohoo!

Spent the last couple of days trying to familiarize myself with the many systems, features, bells & whistles this vehicle has to offer. My next "newest" vehicle is a very basic 2005 Ford Ranger with about 300k miles on it, so there is a lot for me to learn!

I have a question regarding the brightness of of the instrument cluster (in dash, just forward of the steering wheel; not the 8.4" LCD panel in the center of the dash).
Here is an illustration of the instrument cluster from the truck user manual:



I would like to dim the instrument cluster a bit from what it is now during daytime running (with headlights and running lights OFF). But the horizontal dimmer knob to the left of the steering column does not affect the brightness when the headlights are off. The dimmer knob functions as expected when the headlights/running lights are on.



I talked with the Mopar guys and consulted the user manual. Both seem to indicate that the brightness of the instrument cluster should be adjustable when headlights & running lights are off. Local dealership service advisors & techs shrugged their shoulders - they seem to have no clue. No help there.

My wife's 2013 Honda Civic has settings for instrument panel brightness for both day (headlights off), and night (headlights on). I would expect this fancy 2017 Ram to have the same.


Would any of you kind folks with a 2016 - 2018 truck please do a quick test for me?
--- -
Fire up the engine on your truck
Turn headlights/running-lights OFF
Rotate the horizontal dimmer knob that is to the left of the steering column

Please let me know if the brightness of the instrument cluster in the dash just forward of the steering wheel changes.

--- -
That's it!

Much appreciated all.

 

[duckman631]

Fellow Ram truck owners -

I am the proud new owner of a 4th Gen, 2017 Ram 1500, 5.7L V8, Crew Cab, 4WD, Laramie truck. Woohoo!

Spent the last couple of days trying to familiarize myself with the many systems, features, bells & whistles this vehicle has to offer. My next "newest" vehicle is a very basic 2005 Ford Ranger with about 300k miles on it, so there is a lot for me to learn!

I have a question regarding the brightness of of the instrument cluster (in dash, just forward of the steering wheel; not the 8.4" LCD panel in the center of the dash).
Here is an illustration of the instrument cluster from the truck user manual:

View attachment 552830

I would like to dim the instrument cluster a bit from what it is now during daytime running (with headlights and running lights OFF). But the horizontal dimmer knob to the left of the steering column does not affect the brightness when the headlights are off. The dimmer knob functions as expected when the headlights/running lights are on.

View attachment 552831

I talked with the Mopar guys and consulted the user manual. Both seem to indicate that the brightness of the instrument cluster should be adjustable when headlights & running lights are off. Local dealership service advisors & techs shrugged their shoulders - they seem to have no clue. No help there.

My wife's 2013 Honda Civic has settings for instrument panel brightness for both day (headlights off), and night (headlights on). I would expect this fancy 2017 Ram to have the same.


Would any of you kind folks with a 2016 - 2018 truck please do a quick test for me?
--- -
Fire up the engine on your truck
Turn headlights/running-lights OFF
Rotate the horizontal dimmer knob that is to the left of the steering column

Please let me know if the brightness of the instrument cluster in the dash just forward of the steering wheel changes.

--- -
That's it!

Much appreciated all.

First, I keep my lights on Auto. When the headlights are off, I can adjust the brightness of the instrument cluster with the dial. At night when lights are on, the normal instrument lights are crazy bright so I’ll turn down the brightness, when I get back in when it’s daylight, I have to turn the brightness back up.

 

[WhuGmiT]

Thanks for the response Ken.

Interesting... so when the head/running lights are in auto mode, you are able to adjust the brightness of the instrument cluster in the day (headlights off) with the dimmer knob. I wonder if that means that the running (parking) lights are always on when control is set to auto... Hmmm. I'll have to check that once I get the truck back from the dealer service center.

When you get a chance, would you please try setting light control to off and tell me if you are still able to adjust the brightness of the instrument cluster with the dimmer knob?


Thanks again.

 

[duckman631]

Thanks for the response Ken.

Interesting... so when the head/running lights are in auto mode, you are able to adjust the brightness of the instrument cluster in the day (headlights off) with the dimmer knob. I wonder if that means that the running (parking) lights are always on when control is set to auto... Hmmm. I'll have to check that once I get the truck back from the dealer service center.

When you get a chance, would you please try setting light control to off and tell me if you are still able to adjust the brightness of the instrument cluster with the dimmer knob?


Thanks again.

I will next time I’m in the truck. I do not have daytime running lights so with the knob on auto, during the daytime no lights are on at all.

 

[SitKneelBend]

Fellow Ram truck owners -

I am the proud new owner of a 4th Gen, 2017 Ram 1500, 5.7L V8, Crew Cab, 4WD, Laramie truck. Woohoo!

Spent the last couple of days trying to familiarize myself with the many systems, features, bells & whistles this vehicle has to offer. My next "newest" vehicle is a very basic 2005 Ford Ranger with about 300k miles on it, so there is a lot for me to learn!

I have a question regarding the brightness of of the instrument cluster (in dash, just forward of the steering wheel; not the 8.4" LCD panel in the center of the dash).
Here is an illustration of the instrument cluster from the truck user manual:

View attachment 552830

I would like to dim the instrument cluster a bit from what it is now during daytime running (with headlights and running lights OFF). But the horizontal dimmer knob to the left of the steering column does not affect the brightness when the headlights are off. The dimmer knob functions as expected when the headlights/running lights are on.

View attachment 552831

I talked with the Mopar guys and consulted the user manual. Both seem to indicate that the brightness of the instrument cluster should be adjustable when headlights & running lights are off. Local dealership service advisors & techs shrugged their shoulders - they seem to have no clue. No help there.

My wife's 2013 Honda Civic has settings for instrument panel brightness for both day (headlights off), and night (headlights on). I would expect this fancy 2017 Ram to have the same.


Would any of you kind folks with a 2016 - 2018 truck please do a quick test for me?
--- -
Fire up the engine on your truck
Turn headlights/running-lights OFF
Rotate the horizontal dimmer knob that is to the left of the steering column

Please let me know if the brightness of the instrument cluster in the dash just forward of the steering wheel changes.

--- -
That's it!

Much appreciated all.

When the headlights are off it is not possible to dim the cluster or radio. I believe there are some police package settings that allow this to occur though, but they must be programmed with a tool like AlfaOBD.

 

[WhuGmiT]

Thanks Duckman, RamDriver, SitKneelBend & Ken.

Duckman,
Looking forward to hearing what you find with the headlight control in the OFF position.

SitKneelBend,
Ok, so on your truck, with the headlight control in the OFF position, it is NOT possible to dim the instrument cluster with the dimmer control.
Thx for the report.

 

[WhuGmiT]

My confusion stems from conflicting info I'm getting from my truck, Mopar, and the user manual. User manual plainly states:
-
The brightness of the instrument panel as well as the ambient lighting can be regulated by rotating the dimmer control right (brighter) or left (dimmer)
-
No mention of this only being true while head/parking lights are ON.
Then Mopar tells me that yes, the instrument cluster brightness is adjustable when the headlight control knob is in the OFF position.
Dealer is useless, surprise surprise.


I appreciate your replies gents.

.

 

[SitKneelBend]

Thanks Duckman, RamDriver, SitKneelBend & Ken.

Duckman,
Looking forward to hearing what you find with the headlight control in the OFF position.

SitKneelBend,
Ok, so on your truck, with the headlight control in the OFF position, it is NOT possible to dim the instrument cluster with the dimmer control.
Thx for the report.

Correct, I tried it after reading your post. When off, the dimmer is completely non-functional but when on it functions as you'd expect. Mine is a 2014...

 

[WhuGmiT]

Thank you very much SitKneelBend !

Would someone with a 2016-2018 please confirm?
Thx.

 

[David H]

Thank you very much SitKneelBend !

Would someone with a 2016-2018 please confirm?
Thx.

Same thing on my '17

 

[Hanover Fiste]

Just confirmed it on my 2018. The dimmer is not operational when the lights are off.

 

[ricky_bobby]

Adding the same for my 2018 - only operational when headlights are on

 

[duckman631]

Thanks Duckman, RamDriver, SitKneelBend & Ken.

Duckman,
Looking forward to hearing what you find with the headlight control in the OFF position.

SitKneelBend,
Ok, so on your truck, with the headlight control in the OFF position, it is NOT possible to dim the instrument cluster with the dimmer control.
Thx for the report.

Hi. Cannot control dimming when lights are totally set to off. Confirmed.

 

[Marshall]

Turn the switch to auto if you have it, then try it.
The daylite running lights are always on in Canada, you can't turn them off.
I don't think I have ever tried to adjust the dash in the daytime.
Mine is a 2014 as well, I think yours would be the same.

 

[WhuGmiT]

Very much appreciated David, HanoverFiste, ricky-bobby, Marshall & duckman.

I can now now mark this question as "answered".

-- -
Dimmer control does NOT adjust brightness of the instrument panel when headlight control is set to the OFF position.
-- -

That means the dimmer ctrl on my truck is functioning as now expected.


Thanks again all.

 

[kobie907]

I have a 19 classic 4th gen
My dimmer switch does absolutely nothing with the headlights are off
But when I'm in auto it works but my headlights are on.
Does anybody know how to turn the dash lights off and the headlights off cuz right now I turn my headlights off and my dash lights get brighter than ever I have alpha OBD and I tried the police lighting that only made it to where I can completely black out dash lights (not the radio) with the headlights on.