Touring model. Why do instrument lights turn off when I turn on headlights?

My 2006 kia Sorento ex .Instrument panel lights up when the headlights not on .I notice it when applied the brake mostly at night when park it in my driveway with engine off .

look for a illum fuse not dimmer. im sure it is a blown fuse or the switch is broken. the dimmer can go.

are u talking about ur headlights?? My headlights go on and off at night i cant even drive my car when it gets dark people think im flashing my lights at them

I did see where there is a fuse under the hood for the dash lights.
Other than that the dash light rheostat could be bad. In my old model cars the light switch on the dash, you would turn it clockwise to increase illumination of dash lights. The cars I have had since has button which you can push in to lock/unlock and turn clockwise to illuminate the lights. This is my best guess at this time. If someone has done any work under the dash need to make sure nothing is loose or not plugged in.

Is the dash dimmer turned down all the way. It's part of the headlight switch. It maybe the slide type, or the dial type. You didn't say what make and model it was.

You need a new headlight switch. The headlight switch runs the instrument lights in addition to the parking and headlights. There is a rheostat that wears out over a period of years causing the instrument lights to fail. Thank you, Dana.

The Body Control Module is the problem.Models with black faced gauges are most noticeable. Also,on rainy,foggy,or overcast days, the headlights will come on,but the instrument panel lights do not.GM states these condition are "normal" and refuses warranty service-Document ID# 1530511

Hiya--the green headlamp logo on the instrument panel comes on automatically after you start up the engine.
The green light comes on when your headlight switch is on 'auto' until you turn it to 'parking lights' or 'full on' function, that'll turn off the green light...it's normal.
The other thing is if one of 2 headlight bulb reach the end of bulb life, the green light will flash on/off a few times then stay off....until you or the garage shop put in new headlight bulb.

Does it go completely black or just dim? Most displays dim when you turn the lights on to make the display darker so its not too bright. GPS and other displays do this. Do you have any problems with any other of the car's electronics?

Hi there,

When you say you 'lose instrument panel', does that mean instrument panel lighting or the gauges go dead?

When you flip off the headlights, does the instrument panel come back? If it does, forget the fuse box.

If it's the instrument lighting, I'd be looking at headlight switch itself. In Safari's, the headlight switch and panel dimmer switch reside in one assembly. Coincidence? I think not.

I recommend replacing the switch. You can find one at a salvage yard for $5.00.

When you do the replacement, inspect the plugs and wiring attached to the old one for anything suspicious (loose wires, frayed insulation, bare wire, charred wire, etc.)

Let me know how it turns out.
Good luck,

If this works out for you, please take a sec and rate my solution.

Thanks
Mike