The lights on my dashboard...the control panel lights...clock lights...radio/cd player lights are very dim. How do I fix this...I can't find the control to adjust them...and I've never had this problem before.

Is your clock part of radio assembly? There is usually a dimmer control for interior lamps, you rotate it to brighten or dim interior lamps--dome--instrument cluster--radio illumination. The same thing should work for the clock. If clock is part of radio assembly, I guess you can remove radio and dig into it, see if you find the wiring for clock illumination.

Sorry to hear the display is blank even though the cd radio appears to function. The display is usually an LCD with back panel lights that makes the characters visible. Most likely the small rice globes behind the panel are blown. Usually needs some sort of desoldering and resoldering to replace. If you can take the player out from the dashboard and take it to the local audio repair shop you will save quite a bit of money to get this fixed.

I am assuming your CD radio looks something like this.
http://www.beckerautosound.com/pdf_guides/om43-4462.pdf

there is a regulator for the display brightness, you may have it turn'd down or it has stopped working;. it controls the brightness at which the dash lights are. usually has a speedo sign on it. goes up and down. it works with the main light and is conecter to them on the same lighting board if it has gone then a new light swtch control switch will be needed.

You have a loose wire. Will require removing the radio to get to the wire that keeps constant power to the radio ,,,this allows the clock to keep time. An interuption in this power source equal reseting the clock. Good luck

Is this for a 1999 Forester or for a 2004 forester, the title lists both years. If it is a 1999 model then the problem most likely resides within the clock itself. Unfortunately, many clocks of this vintage go bad over time. I offer a reasonable repair service and many clock removal instruction sheets at www.autoclockrepair.com
I'd be happy to assist.

The switch that you are talking about... the dimmer switch, must not be working. If you have warranty left, i suggest you take it in. If not, maybe find a good auto wrecker, and replace the switch yourself. I'm guessing they'll be expensive.

The circuit board in your radio has fried. This circuit board powers not only the radio but also the lights for all of climate controls. Honda is aware of the problem and has extended the warranty on the stereo to 107K miles. Your local Honda dealership can get the replacement circuit board that also has modified resistor placement to eliminate this from happening in the future.

1 -Check your head light switch and turn signal switch by taping them lightly - Common problem with fords to short signal light switch/head lights and they also have radio lights/clock lights control(lights dim for Radio/clock when you turn the lights on)

If you have checked all the fuses and switchs, possible that the light bulbs have burned out. Check with a local radio repair shop and they can remove the radio and install new bulbs.

I had intermittent instrument light problem that went dark for months, until today. :o) I read somewhere that it could be the dimmer switch and didn't think that was my problem as the dimmer worked (dimmed the radio and transmission indicator light) and playing with it never seemed to help with the problem. I did find it odd that dimmer was not completely linear, as it would get brighter up to a certain point and get slightly dimmer with the last little bit of travel.

Today, I took the instrument cluster apart to fix a broken clock, sticking gas & voltage gauges, and to explore the instrument light problem. I took apart the dimmer switch, and to my surprise (was expecting a simple POT), it was a very complicated PCB with some IC's, resistors, transistors, etc. I thought, "all this just to dim the light???" Anyway, I found the POT (potentiometer) and gave a few squirts of WD-40 and found it turning smoother. After putting it back together, the instrument light came back and the dimmer is now perfectly linear. Apparently, less than perfect POT causes some sort of funny logic through the network of IC's and transistors and can cause the instrument light to go on or off randomly at certain intervals.

Anyway, I'm so happy to have the light back along with a working clock and not having to punch the instrument cluster to see how much fuel I have. Not really a posting type, but wanted to help someone else out there with a similar problem with same cause.

1989 740 Turbo

call your dealer to confirm. i believe there is a problem with the whole console. i had dim lights on the heat / air section, they fixed under warranty, major teardown not just a bulb. now i have a jammed cd changer and dim lights like you. out of warranty, no help $1200 =++++ fix. it seems like a power supply and chronic problem but call first.