Dear friends, This may be related to rodent damage, but my instrument panel light is dead. I get the turn signals and the temporary security and check engine lights, the MFD, but I don't get the odometer, speedometer, transmission location indicator, or bright lights on. I have checked the fuses and the manual. Everything else works, except the radio antenna cable, which was severed in two places. But, the antenna wire routing/splice is another question. Thanks, Jay
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jaysjr @ Oct 30 2006, 04:11 PM) [snapback]340851[/snapback]</div> which fuse is the instrument console on? i have a similar problem
Just to be sure, check your dimmer wheel...only time I had this problem was after a dealer service and they'd turned the dash all the way to the dimmest setting.
Calm down. 99.9% sure it is a fuse. I blew one a few weeks ago when I shorted out my anytime camera mod while switching buttons. It is a blue 10 amp under the driver’s side dash. A real PITA to get to. The Prius comes with a fuse puller tool. That tool is located in the hood area. Open the hood and it is on the drives side of the car in the engine compartment fuse box. Open the fuse box and near the bottom of the box is the white puller. The puller really helps. Finally, go under the dash and pull another blue 10 amp fuse like the one for the tail light. Now I can't remember the name, but it is there are two fuses that sound nearly like the same thing like "instrument panel", and "gauges." Sorry I don't have my book with me. Swap out that fuse with the one you just pulled and put it in. Your dash should come on now but you still need to replace the one for the tail lights. There are three spare fuses in the engine compartment but if I remember correctly none were the blue 10 amp. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Oct 30 2006, 03:27 PM) [snapback]340868[/snapback]</div> 9 will get you 10 that Efusco is right.
Dear Friends; I have tried the fuse check/swap route with all the locations that may remotely relate to the gauge lights. Apparently, everything else works. I can drive the car. Other than already stated, when double pushing the power button, the within power button led is red; and when I first came upon this problem I opened the door and the car alarm went off. I started the car and the alarm turned off. This is a 2004 Prius. Thanks for you help.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Oct 30 2006, 03:27 PM) [snapback]340868[/snapback]</div> may be the dimmer wheel......it freaked me out once when i was cleaning inside the car....the dimmer wheel was all the way down......
Dear Friends, I have tried the dimmer wheel. The instrument cluster remains black/blank. Thanks again.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jaysjr @ Nov 3 2006, 02:47 PM) [snapback]343349[/snapback]</div> Hi there my '05 just did the same thing It's at the dealer now it's a real problem not fuse and not dimmer, on mine I started it and the only thing on was the gear indicator and then I stopped restarted no display at all and no idicators
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Duck Dodgers @ Nov 8 2006, 02:29 PM) [snapback]345635[/snapback]</div> Folks, sorry not to have not gotten back to sooner. Indeed, it was rodent damage; over $2000.00 worth. The technician reported that the now departed pack rats chewed through almost all the harnesses but the high voltage wires. Rodents work fast and don't mind going along for a long road trip. Witness gray squirrel and emergency landing of trans-pacific flight. Thanks for your help, Jay
I have a Prius 2008 with 7000 miles. Several times when the power button is pushed to start the car the instrument panel does not light up. The ready light is on and the car runs perfectly. When my wife started the car the other day the instrument panel did not light up, but when she started driving the panel came on. The other day I drove to town from our home and the panel did not light up the entire way. After I parked, stopped and did some shopping, I started the car and the panel lit up. This instrument panel problem has happened erratically three times in the past week. The dealer checked everything out and said there was nothing wrong with the system. Any suggestions? Any advice is welcome. Thanks, ndej
My 2005 has done this intermittently for about a year. Definitely NOT dimmer or fuse - it's off and on. The dealer has looked it over twice and found nothing wrong, but it's on record so in case they ever figure it out, it will be (hopefully) under warranty. When it happens, it usually works to turn the car off for a bit, and then back on - then the panel lights up again. It's perplexing. I know I've seen this problem mentioned elsewhere on this forum, too.
yeah im having this problem too, i had this problem back in the past and now its haunting me again!! I turn on the car, the check engine light comes on and then dissapears, and then i get no speedo, what gear i am in, nor figures from the MFD. I get the energy flow meters but no numbers to speak off and the wheels aren't animating on the energy flow screen. Sucks driving without a speedo but the stereo worked fine, and the engine feels the same, no misfires or anything. Drove it for half an hour on the highway before stopping the car, hmmmm.... I guess i'll check that fuse, but if not oh boy. It seems sometimes the problem goes away for months then come back to haunt me... every since I slammed my hatch trunk down agaist a fork this happened!! At one point I had problems trying to turn off my car, super embarrasing in the parking lot as people are wondering, "how long is that guy stopping there for with his DRL on like that." What I did find out though if I hold the poewr button long enough (at least 10 seconds) the car will finally shut off. I did suspect my battery at one point but it reads 12.5 volts after sitting cold for 8 hours or so hm...
argh another case yesterday, drove the car then went to pick up the wife. When i turned on the car again the engine light only appeared and no speedo and the MFD was zombiefied meaning the arrows were there but the wheels were not animating and you get no instant mpg display. On the 5 min interval screens all the blue bars were filled to the rim (worse mileage you can get not sure how it would react with US cars) and the mileage and odometer were blanked out on the MFD. But where your speedo sits its blanked out too along with the little icons like rear defroster or front defogger... but at least the turn signals were working!! now this morning as i went to plug in the EBH i turned it on and everything lights up again! Wth is a wire in there just getting loose and somehow reconnects itself after a 20 min drive? Man how I wish I didn't lose my prius bentley manual... that wiring diagram should help by now... too lazy to look up at TIS since i got free access lol. Did anybody had a finalize fix to what the problem is? My car was salvage from before so maybe I hvae to order the $2500 worth of wiring harness that galaxee DH did before? Oh boy... driving with no speedo makes me feel naked, its hard to feel how fast your going let alone not knowing whats your mileage and instantaneous display.
i am having the same problem.i will be posting a video of it when i get back home today.it is driving me crazyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
We have a 2007 Prius in our cab fleet, and it just did this to me yesterday, I had been running all day with no problem, and then at the end of my shift, about 11 hours into it, the instrument cluster went out, and there was nothing I could do about it, dimmer switch, all that and nothing worked. So I was going to shop it and let the mechanic look it over this morning. When I went out to check it, all the lights were back on. So, unless it has something to do with maybe heat kind of like the high intensity bulb option needing to cool, because the dash soaks up a massive amount of sun in these cars, as my meter and c/c printer are mounted to the dash were very hot, I think it could just be one of those things Toyota has to figure out and fix with future models. :glare:
