dashboard lights not working - help please

[Ian]

I realise that this inst a vectra-c issue, but some members on here may well of owned one of these and may have come across this problem, so as well as posting on an astra site, I thought I would post here and ask for some friendly advice from the friendly Vec-C crew.

My mate has a 53 plate Astra 3 door 2.0DTi SRi and has found a buyer for it.

The only thing wrong with it is the lights for the instruments and dash arent working. They started to flicker a while back and then started to go off, but with a firm wallop to the dash came back on. Now they dont work at all.

We are going to attempt to fix this, thinking a loose connection somewhere is to blame.

Has anyone had the same/similar problem and if so where was the fault? I reckon its either behind the instruments or at the light switch, but could it be anywhere else?

Cheers

[willc01]

Not quite the same make, but I had this problem on my wifes Sierra a couple of years back. The only cure was a new dashboard so i sold the car to the scrappy instead and he charged me £25, the cheek of it.

[Duncan]

My mate has a 53 plate Astra 3 door 2.0DTi SRi and has found a buyer for it.

Just a thought..is it not still under the 3 year Vx warranty if it's a 53 plate?

[Gsi3.2]

has it got the dimming switch for the dashboard lights found under the headlight switch??

the resistors in them break down and cause the lights to fail, and a whack will normally fix it for a short while. if that is the case, then the only longterm cure is a new lightswitch block..


or is it ALL the dash lights including the heater/stereo backlighting?? that is via the headlight switch as well

[Swatty]

I could not be bothered to change the headlight (and dimmer) switch in the 96 Vec B (or was it the Calibra?) and as Mark says I kept banging the dashboard to keep interior lights on. I got P1ssed of with this eventually and fitted a new switch unit – no probs after that (you would have thought that Vaux would have re-engineered the weakness).

[rorycarz]

I Had A Proble With Mine (03) The Needles Started To Drop & The Warning Lights Came On . The Cause On Mine Was Bad Connetion At Abs Plug Under Bonnet Behind The Battery Hope This Helps

[Gsi3.2]

Rory,

this is an astra question from Ian, not a vec one..

no canbus on them.. and a better system

the failing dashboard dimmer is as old as the hills.. been swapping them since the early 90's.

[Madgunner]

Hi mate I take it you mean the dash illuminations lights- if so I know it's not the same but had a vectra b 150 sri & the bulb on the right hand side done the same flickered on & off for a little while then went out all together. I took the dash out & replaced the bulbs with blue led one's they worked fine for a while & i changed my m8's dash etc with blue bulbs too. These failed in the dash after a couple of months in mine & my m8's. I put the white bulb's in & my m8 who bought my vec b of me has had no probs since. I would take the dash clock out & replace the bulb m8 its an easy enough job to do...

[Ian]

Cheers guys, I've had more replies off this site than off two astra sites combined!!