impala dash lights stopped working

[heather]

not sure why and fuses look fine but dash lights are out, cannot see speedometer

[Technician R]

heather wrote:

not sure why and fuses look fine but dash lights are out, cannot see speedometer

What year and model is the Impala? Base, LS or SS. If you’re not sure you can check the 4th and 5th digit of the VIN. WF (Base), WH (LS), WP (SS). Seems like these days there is always a new issue with the Impala's. Is there anything else inoperative on the car or is it the just the dash lights only? Do the heater and a/c controls light up?

[heather]

no the heater and ac lights don't work either.

[Technician R]

heather wrote:

no the heater and ac lights don't work either.

I still need model information for help on problem. There are diagnostic differences between the three models!

[Technician R]

Technician R wrote:

<quoted text>What year and model is the Impala? Base, LS or SS. If you’re not sure you can check the 4th and 5th digit of the VIN. WF (Base), WH (LS), WP (SS). Seems like these days there is always a new issue with the Impala's. Is there anything else inoperative on the car or is it the just the dash lights only? Do the heater and a/c controls light up?

I still need year and model information for help on the problem. There are diagnostic differences between the three models.

[Diane]

I have same issue with dash lights.. occasionally entire dash blacks out and eventually pops back on. I played with headlight switch and it came on once.. hasn't repeated again to test that fix.. on long dives the radio faceplate by tuner gets too hot to touch, is that related? And now my rear dome lights are out.. fuses are good.. one side won't "click". will 1 bad switch take out both lights?.. 02 impala base model..

[Technician R]

Diane wrote:

I have same issue with dash lights.. occasionally entire dash blacks out and eventually pops back on. I played with headlight switch and it came on once.. hasn't repeated again to test that fix.. on long dives the radio faceplate by tuner gets too hot to touch, is that related? And now my rear dome lights are out.. fuses are good.. one side won't "click". will 1 bad switch take out both lights?.. 02 impala base model..

I will try to investigate the dash lamp issue. The radio face plate being hot to the touch is a normal condition. Check your rear dome light bulbs they may be burned out. As for the one switch that will not click it is faulty and will need to be replaced. The bad switch should not affect the other side.

[Rick]

Sometimes the dash on my 2005 Impala base model does not light up. At the same time you also cannot see the lighted transmission selection gauge on the dash. When you shift from reverse to drive, the gauge does not light up. After you are moving for a minute or so everything comes on and starts to light up. Any ideas as to what is causing this? My 2003 Impala LS has not had this problem.

[Technician R]

Rick wrote:

Sometimes the dash on my 2005 Impala base model does not light up. At the same time you also cannot see the lighted transmission selection gauge on the dash. When you shift from reverse to drive, the gauge does not light up. After you are moving for a minute or so everything comes on and starts to light up. Any ideas as to what is causing this? My 2003 Impala LS has not had this problem.

Some Impala's have had meter panel failures(dash gauge lighting) others have had BCM intermittent failures. The problem sometimes can be difficult to isolate. In your case it's more probable that your experiencing meter panel failure. This is another common Impala faulty component issue.

[Rick]

Technician R wrote:

<quoted text>Some Impala's have had meter panel failures(dash gauge lighting) others have had BCM intermittent failures. The problem sometimes can be difficult to isolate. In your case it's more probable that your experiencing meter panel failure. This is another common Impala faulty component issue.

Thanks for the info. I will look into the meter panel problem. My 03'Impala LS also has a sticking temperature gauge that also rattles at times when it is sticking. This is the rattling sound I hear from the dash and when I hear it, I notice the gauge is not reading what it should. The engine is not overheating.
My cousin also has a 2002 Buick Century which may also have the meter panel faulure problem. On her car, she cannot see how many miles are on the odometer because the panel does not light up anymore. Another GM failure.

We used to buy GM and keep them for 10 to 15 years without any major problems or premature failures. We never had any gauge or instrument panel problems with older GM cars. This all changed in the early 1990's when the quality was slipping and they started to kill off some of their best brands.

[Technician R]

Rick wrote:

<quoted text>
Thanks for the info. I will look into the meter panel problem. My 03'Impala LS also has a sticking temperature gauge that also rattles at times when it is sticking. This is the rattling sound I hear from the dash and when I hear it, I notice the gauge is not reading what it should. The engine is not overheating.
My cousin also has a 2002 Buick Century which may also have the meter panel faulure problem. On her car, she cannot see how many miles are on the odometer because the panel does not light up anymore. Another GM failure.
We used to buy GM and keep them for 10 to 15 years without any major problems or premature failures. We never had any gauge or instrument panel problems with older GM cars. This all changed in the early 1990's when the quality was slipping and they started to kill off some of their best brands.

\Yes! GM did kill off all their good brands with poor quality. Worst yet they refuse to make good on all the crap they made leaving the customers extremely bitter. They ran off thousands of loyal customers that will never buy another GM (Government Motors) car ever again.

[Rick]

Technician R wrote:

<quoted text>\Yes! GM did kill off all their good brands with poor quality. Worst yet they refuse to make good on all the crap they made leaving the customers extremely bitter. They ran off thousands of loyal customers that will never buy another GM (Government Motors) car ever again.

During most years in the 1960's thru the 1980's Oldsmobile and Pontiac were listed in the top six best selling Domestic American nameplates. GM killed Oldsmobile and Pontiac with cars that had premature failures. My grandfather had a super reliable 1977 Oldsmobile 88 he traded for a 1989 Oldsmobile which developed transmission problems at 44,000 miles. In 1985 and 1986, Oldsmobile was the number two best selling American car nameplate. GM killed Oldsmobile. Now they are so far behind in their new product offerings. FORD has better offering now especially with the new 2010 Taurus, Fusion, and Focus. Chevy has an old and stodgy looking Impala that does not even compare with the new Taurus. FORD's new 360 horsepower V-6 option is also more powerful than what GM even has to offer in a V-6 right now. GM has a lot of catching up to do with their Chevrolet division. Are they going to kill Chevy like they killed their other two brands that were once highly successful? The products they offer now are outdated and not innovative like they used to be.

[Bugnuff]

I have a 02 impala 3.8 that I have now for about 3 years. I recently notice that at nights my dash light and my shift lights goes out leaving me in the dark. Also some time my turning signal dosen't work. Please any ideas on how to fix these problem.