Interior not dimming when headlights set to Auto

[RichSNJ]

So I noticed this once before, but I was able to confirm the issue on a trip I took yesterday. I never touch my headlight knob and leave it set in Auto, I did this on my '19 GC as well. I've discovered that the headlights work as expected, the read whatever light sensor there is and automatically turn on or off as needed. The drivers cluster and the radio stack however, only seem to read the sensor when the Jeep is turned on.

So, normally its not an issue, but if you're taking a longish trip, and you're driving from daylight into darkness, as it starts getting dark out, the radio stack never dims and it's not long before it's super bright. If you turn the headlight knob from Auto to On it dims the interior as expected, but when you turn it back to Auto it gets full bright. I waited about 30 mins yesterday to see if it would eventually figure it out, but it never did. Finally I pulled over to the side of the road and turned the car off and back on, and then it went into night mode with the headlights in auto.

Anybody else have this issue?

I made an appointment with my dealer to have them check it out, but it sounds more like a software problem then a something they can fix problem, unless nobody else has this issue but me...?

 

[ElijahCart]

So to simplify…
When headlight switch is in auto the adjustment wheel next to the led strip dimmer is ineffective unless headlight switch is changed from auto.

 

[king]

The dimmer switch mentioned above for the cluster and the radio on the left side of the steering wheel, when adjusting the brightness all the way up you will feel a click. I found that this keeps the cluster and radio in daylight mode so it doesn't dim or turn to night mode. If you adjust the dimmer just below the click it might fix your problem. I had the same thing happen to me and it fixed it, a good way to verify is with the navigation, if the map goes to the darker color it is in night mode regardless of brightness.

 

[wowsa]

What I have found works is you have to scroll the dimmer wheel all the way up until it clicks then it will start working.

 

[RichSNJ]

So to simplify…
When headlight switch is in auto the adjustment wheel next to the led strip dimmer is ineffective unless headlight switch is changed from auto.

Yes, but also it doesn't ever dim as it gets dark like it's supposed to.

 

[RichSNJ]

The dimmer switch mentioned above for the cluster and the radio on the left side of the steering wheel, when adjusting the brightness all the way up you will feel a click. I found that this keeps the cluster and radio in daylight mode so it doesn't dim or turn to night mode. If you adjust the dimmer just below the click it might fix your problem. I had the same thing happen to me and it fixed it, a good way to verify is with the navigation, if the map goes to the darker color it is in night mode regardless of brightness.

I can't say for sure, but I think I did try this several times last week. I definitely switched it back and forth between auto and on a bunch of times, I think I also tried going up and down too, but can't remember now. I'm dropping it off at the dealer tomorrow night, so I'll let them play with it.

 

[GCOverland]

Ha, why does this sound so familiar to me?

https://wljeepforum.com/index.php?threads/navi-screen-too-bright.637/

 

[miles5241]

fwiw, I noticed this behavior as well. I just stayed patient and as it got actually dark the dash and screen did eventually dim. Its almost like a different sensor for the interior lights vs the headlights. Which I'm ok with, because my Ram has the opposite problem as if its the middle of the day and raining and the headlights turn on with the wipers it dims everything making it hard to see from all the glare.

 

[wowsa]

fwiw, I noticed this behavior as well. I just stayed patient and as it got actually dark the dash and screen did eventually dim. Its almost like a different sensor for the interior lights vs the headlights. Which I'm ok with, because my Ram has the opposite problem as if its the middle of the day and raining and the headlights turn on with the wipers it dims everything making it hard to see from all the glare.

This. The screen and car lights are on different sensors.

 

[The_Patriot]

fwiw, I noticed this behavior as well. I just stayed patient and as it got actually dark the dash and screen did eventually dim. Its almost like a different sensor for the interior lights vs the headlights. Which I'm ok with, because my Ram has the opposite problem as if its the middle of the day and raining and the headlights turn on with the wipers it dims everything making it hard to see from all the glare.

Same here. I have a 2019 Ram and I’m annoyed that the interior lights dim when headlights are on during the daylight. My 2013 Ram 1500 had it correct like the Jeep does now. They probably decided to leave a sensor out due to this chip shortage….

 

[TShepp]

So I noticed this once before, but I was able to confirm the issue on a trip I took yesterday. I never touch my headlight knob and leave it set in Auto, I did this on my '19 GC as well. I've discovered that the headlights work as expected, the read whatever light sensor there is and automatically turn on or off as needed. The drivers cluster and the radio stack however, only seem to read the sensor when the Jeep is turned on.

So, normally its not an issue, but if you're taking a longish trip, and you're driving from daylight into darkness, as it starts getting dark out, the radio stack never dims and it's not long before it's super bright. If you turn the headlight knob from Auto to On it dims the interior as expected, but when you turn it back to Auto it gets full bright. I waited about 30 mins yesterday to see if it would eventually figure it out, but it never did. Finally I pulled over to the side of the road and turned the car off and back on, and then it went into night mode with the headlights in auto.

Anybody else have this issue?

I made an appointment with my dealer to have them check it out, but it sounds more like a software problem then a something they can fix problem, unless nobody else has this issue but me...?

I noticed this immediately in the first days of owning my GCL. I left my friends house late in the evening with headlights set to Auto and the radio was ridiculously bright in my face. I checked the radio setting and it was also set to Auto along with the headlights. When I turned headlights to ON the radio dimmed but with headlights in Auto it turns back fully bright. My only solution was to set the radio setting to Dark or a night or whatever the dimmer option is and left it in that mode since. It is a bit dimmer during the day but hasn’t bothered me too too much.

 

[RichSNJ]

Setting the dim knob to full (click) does not fix the issue for me, tried it tonight...

 

[king]

Setting the dimmer to full click for me keeps the interior in daytime mode regardless of it being night time or not. When I move the switch just below where it clicks everything works fine. It does work like mentioned earlier where it doesn't dim at the same time as the lights come on, I think it is a dawn/dusk setting from the sensor.

 

[RichSNJ]

Setting the dimmer to full click for me keeps the interior in daytime mode regardless of it being night time or not. When I move the switch just below where it clicks everything works fine. It does work like mentioned earlier where it doesn't dim at the same time as the lights come on, I think it is a dawn/dusk setting from the sensor.

I tried it up and down the full spectrum of travel after clicking it to max and back off - no go.

 

[jmfixitman]

I had the same problem until I fiddled with the dimmer switch and overhead light switch by the headlight switch. That fixed it.

 

[RichSNJ]

I had it again last night, and this time switching from auto to on fixed the stereo, but it didn't fix the cluster

 

[wowsa]

So what I have determined is that

1) there is a different sensor for the headlights auto on/off vs the interior dash brightness. The dash seems to go to full daytime brightness early while the headlights are still on. Then a few minutes later as the sun continues to rise the headlights turn off. The same thing happens in reverse at dusk where the lights turn on first then the screens dim.
2) only when the interior screens go into dim mode that is when you have to do the trick where you turn the wheel to max then down and now it works.

In the end, it is all silly and I wish it didn’t have the strange disconnect between the two sensors and activating separately.