2006 GMC Sierra 4wd - 4wd Indicator LED

[marc1]

Hi,

This may seem petty but the indicator LED's for what state I am in (2wd, 4wd hi or 4wd lo or auto) are extraordinary dim on my GMC. I have to shade the button area to actually see the light. Yes I generally know whether I am in 4wd or 2wd (and 4 lo is obvious of course) but I am not the only person who drives the truck and she was the one who mentioned it. My 1996 had decent clear illumination. Do other 2006 GMC / Chevrolet pickup drivers notice this or do I have a problem perhaps (low voltage to the indicators / ground issue etc.)? Why am I asking this now... the truck is 6 years old... this is the very first winter since I have owned the truck where we are repeatedly switching the 4wd / 2wd modes, we have a lot of snow and unplowed side roads but plowed main roads where I am at. Prior to this year I could count on one hand the number of times I was in 4wd.

Thanks,

Marc

 

[xxch4osxx]

If your running lights are on in the daytime for some reason, the dash lights will be very dim. Check to see if they are on, make sure the sensor on the top of the dash is not covered up.
I made a jumper wire that I inserted in the plug for the dash sensor so the running lights only come on when I turn them on.

 

[Clevy]

No problems with my 99 and its brightness

 

[caseyh]

Seems it's kind of common, on my 03, it'd give me occasional 4wd errors and now that I think about it, one light was out too. You can either re solder it, or take the easy way like I did and order a new one. It's called the Transfer Case Control Switch.

Hope it helps

 

[marc1]

Originally Posted By: xxch4osxx
If your running lights are on in the daytime for some reason, the dash lights will be very dim. Check to see if they are on, make sure the sensor on the top of the dash is not covered up.
I made a jumper wire that I inserted in the plug for the dash sensor so the running lights only come on when I turn them on.


The indicator LED's are not a part of the dash light dimmer circuit. They are a fixed brightness regardless of the ambient light or the dimmer position, unlike the dash lights as you corrctly point out. This was the same as my 1996, fixed brightness. I wish they were on that circuit (not sure how they would do that, LED's do not respond the same as incandescent lamps to increased resistance (dimmer switch).

 

[marc1]

Originally Posted By: Clevy
No problems with my 99 and its brightness


On the 1999, are the buttons on the upper left of your IP or the lower right? If they are lower right, that is just like my 1996 which was fine as well. If they are upper left then yeah... I wonder why yours are fine...???