Mysterious dash backlight and right sidelights failure

[autobackup]

Had a bit of a strange failure driving back to my house in the dark on Wednesday evening.

Suddenly the RT2 dash backlight died, when I got hime I discovered that the right LED sidelights, front and rear, were also not working.

Ah ha, I thought must be the fuse so got the manual out to check and discovered that fuse B11 was the likely culprit but MUCH to my surprise the fuse was ok when I checked it.

I am assuming that the dask backlight is on the same circuit (I've emailed Steve at the factory to check).

Anyone have any ideas as to what the problem might be?

[hamtt]

Is the back-light not working both with the headlamps on and headlamps off?

The dash2 uses a signal from the headlamps to determine what the back-light should do. I cant recall the settings on the dash2 as we used the dash2 Pro in our dash and that has different settings, but on that you could set the brightness levels for each scenario.

I have a feeling on the dash2 standard version the back-light is meant to be off when headlamps are off and only comes on when headlamps switched on. In that case there will be a wire coming out from the loom at the back of the dash2 that will be tapping in to headlamp light wiring on the atom. Check this.

The user manual for the dash2 should tell you what coloured wire it is. I think it's yellow but not sure.

[hamtt]

Just re-read your post. Fixing the led issue should fix the dash2 back-light, it's probably tapping off the signal after where the failure has occurred.

[autobackup]

hamtt

The Dash 2 backlight comes on with the sidelights and has 2 selectable brightness settings in the menu however, unfortunately, the LCD contrast is not adjustable

The headlights and brake lights (both sides) work fine but the rear right red LED and the front right sideligh is off during normal (non braking) driving

[Karl V]

I think the suggestion Paul was that maybe the dash illumination comes on when the lights come on (side lights or dipped beam) - which they do - and if the lights aren't coming on, MAYBE that's why the dash isn't illuminating.

Wouldn't surprise me as a right hand drive that the dash taps into the right hand light circuit.

Maybe get the lights sorted first and see if that fixes the dash? Odd that both bulbs (LED at that) went at the same time, but fuse is OK. Is there maybe a break in the wiring?

Did Rookie have any advice?

Good luck!

[autobackup]

Yes for some reason Rookie sent me troubleshooting advice for the left side sidelight failure

Yes I have come to the same conclusion - but the question is where to start looking - my nightmare scenario is that a power supply wire has failed buried somewhere in the loom.

Having spent 2 days trying to track down the problem with a meter I think that it is probably time to admit defeat and take it to an auto electrician with better diagnostic equipment than I have!

[Karl V]

Do you have a mirror?

Sorry - bad joke.

Does it mainly consist of checking connections? That's what I would expect.

[autobackup]

Yup - checked all the plug connections all seem secure but I can't find where the power is injected into the circuit

[hamtt]

The wiring circuit for the lights isn't complicated, you can see most of the wiring for the front if yiu take the nosecone olamd dash panel off.

The front bulbs are halogen, not led. Have you tried removing the bulb or swapping it over with other side to make sure it's not popped and shorting the circuit?

I'm pretty sure the whole issue will be fixed by getting the front sidelight working. I think the feeling s for the rear sidelight will come off from the same circuit

[Karl V]

Hey Paul,

Sorry to drag up an 'old' topic, but how did you get on with this? This thread could be golden in years to come if anyone has a similar issue.

Hope you got it sorted Sir!

[autobackup]

Hi karl

As yet I haven't sorted it out yet as I have been away from Cyprus in Poland for dental treatment - just 'escaped' just in time on the BA flight today and am now back in my UK house in Newbury for next 7 to 10 days.

However it's booked into JMC Power for a full annual service on the 19th and Mike Charalambous is going to troubleshoot it for me then.

Mike always liaises direct with Steve Rooke at the factory over any issues that crop up with my Atom.

Mike builds rally cars and dragsters for the racing fraternity in Cyprus