Even though there are very few new cars without push button start, Porsche will try to cost costs because it just makes sense to do so as a business.
In practically any car, there is a ton of light in both the interior and exterior.
For the interior lights, you have the dome lights, map lights, door lights, dashboard— and this is just a partial list.
Newer cars or more expensive cars should have more features, not necessarily more lights.
In this article, we will discuss why your Porsche 911 dash lights are not working—
- Light switch failure
- Connection issue after car maintenance
- Check your fuses!
- Light sensor failure
- Human Error During Maintenance
Light Switch Failure
If your light switch fails, it controls the following components in your Porsche 911—
- Rear running (both sides)
- Rear fog
- Number plate
- Instrument cluster
- Lights on warning buzzer
- Front low beam
- Front hi beam
- Front fog
- Front running (both sides)
- Front & rear park (both sides)
For your Porsche 911, your switch is on the dash, instead of on the light switch, which controls those other light functions as well.
Connection issue after car maintenance
There are a set of wires and connections behind your clock that may have been disconnected after your radio or stereo swap/maintenance.
A missing or malfunctioning connection will not allow your dash lights to function properly.
Check your wires!
In your car manual, you would just pull every fuse connected to your dash lights and assess them for two things—
- Visual assessment for overblown fuses
- Functional assessment to see if the fuses are functioning properly
This is tedious but if you cannot pinpoint the issue, this is necessary to prevent unwanted expenses.
If you don’t know where to start, it is difficult to just say check fuse 9 or fuse 44 because there are so many different years with slight differences.
Your car manual will be your best friend for this task.
One example of this is the green wire syndrome, related to stereo installation for Porsche’s. The easy solution, after identifying the faulty green wire, is to replace it.
Secure connections would be the next thing to check for after you replace any non-functioning wiring with new ones.
Another example is that your wires could be shorted going to the ground.
That would be an easy error to correct and spot. Just annoying though that these electronic issues are common.
Light sensor failure
Above your gear indication lights, you will have a light sensor that controls your dashboard lights.
A failure here would not register the proper sequencing for you to have your dash lights turned on.
So, once you find the light sensor, shine a flashlight onto it. Your dash lights should dim and if they do not, your light sensor needs to be replaced.
For example, if you suspect this is a dimmer issue, you can also bypass the dimmer to see if your lights just turn on.
And if they do, you know that your dimmer has to be replaced; unfortunately, this could be a bit tedious to have to disconnect a bunch of stuff in order to get to the actual dimmer and do a reinstallation and recheck.
Human Error During Maintenance
When performing any installation of your stereo or close to that headlight switch fuse area, it could be an accident that certain connections get shorted or disconnected during maintenance.
Although your car does get personalized attention, it is only one out of the many vehicles that are checked into the shop and worked on.
Sometimes, mistakes can happen and it will cause issues with your Porsche 911 dash lights.
How do I turn my dash lights on?
Turn your headlights to the run position.
You should also have a dimmer either on the light switch or the dash, on the dash for a Porsche 911.
Your dash lights should respond well to these controls to be functional.
If only one side is being lit, it is a high chance that you have a lightbulb issue.
You will be able to clearly tell where light is emitting on your dash to make this repair.
Wrapping It Up
There are not too many things that can go wrong with Porsche 911 dash lights.
Ranging from fuse issues to light switch failures, these two would be the most common issues.
If your dash lights are not powering on, a basic understanding of electronic circuitry will reveal that there is a loose, damaged, or missing connection relating to—
- Fuses
- Wiring
- Switches
- Sensors
Fortunately, it is a good thing that these are all visible and that there are no hidden tricks to be aware of.
But even with these minor issues, why are Porsche 911s so expensive?
At least it is much better having a Dodge Charger interior lights issue.
But enough about having issues with your cars.
Let us focus on better and brighter aspects of history— like the best Thunderbird cars.
