ThomasD650

I have a 2002 Coach Edition with Nav. In the last month or so I have been noticing something odd about the navigation screen.

Sometimes it seems dim and dull, not very bright. I mean it is not like I can't see it or anything, but it is a noticible change. It may be this way for a couple of days. Then it will go back to being "Bright and Vibrant" for a couple of days.

I have never seen it physically change from dull to bright or vise versa... it is one or the other when I start the car and it stays that way.

I constantly am checking the display settings when this happens as well as the dimmer switch in the car, but it is always on the same setting.

The only thing I can think of is - is it possible that the cold weather has an effect on this? It has been below freezing here in NY for the last couple of months and the problem started after it got cold out. However this does not explain why sometimes it starts back at it's normal brightness.

Has anyone else esperienced something like this?

Thanks,
Tom

ederny

....but I notice (and am mildly annoyed at) recent days on which the sun is so bright up here in the northeast because of this dry, clear air that's "too cold to snow," I sometimes get in, start her up, and find my display looks so dim compared to all the sun light, glare and reflections.

I don't think I've noticed the light intensity sensor having any effect on the display setting intensity. Too bad.

Chuckieb

the screen is definately dimmer in the cold weather, and with sunglasses on I have a difficult time reading it at all. It does get better as the vehicle warms up.

my screen actually blanked out totally last month - dealer coudn't find anything wrong but is replacing it uinder warranty.

DJ SprinklesNJO

Thomas, Im in NY as well, but i havnt noticed any change in my nav screen yet, but i will keep an eye out for it and let you know if it happens to me too.

Goncookoo

its the way the liquid crystals work in cold weather (does the nav come with a LCD screen or do they have a new type of display system??).

as the name indicates, the crystals are more liquid than solid like. thus they take on properties similar to liquids in cold weather. in most lcd screens the crystals are agitated by changing the temperature of the crystals. changing the temp of a very cold lcd screen can be quite difficult.

there isnt much that can be done about it. the same thing can be seen on almost all lcd screens (i.e. cellphones, try putting it in the freezer for a few hours. youll see the screen dims a bit and takes a while to change numbers etc).

i live in boston and last night it was supposedly in the -20's. my screen this morning was dim and a sloth!

hth

AsianGirl007

iTrader: (1)

Since you are in colder climate, it might be possible that on darker, cold days the automatic headlights come on. When this happens, the screen goes on nighttime mode. I only say this because when I had my RX, I noticed it a couple of times before realizing the auto lights had kicked in. It was difficult for me to tell because of the daytime running lights which were on all the time anyways. Could that be it maybe??

Goncookoo

hehe i stroll into work at 10 am and its a 10 min drive. its pretty bright out by then and the lights are not on.

i never noticed this in texas where i used to live. its never as cold as it is here.

i hate cold weather.

steevr

Thomas,

Here in Chicago, we're having the same cold spell that you are. It hasn't been above 25 for the last two weeks. Every day when the car is cold, the Nav Screen and the white Instrument Lighting (Speedo, Tach, etc.) is much dimmer than normal, and yes, the headlights are NOT on. I notice it the most on the Nav. Once the interior warms up, everything comes up to full brightness. The reason being is that the Nav and the Instruments are lit via florescent lighting (just like a laptop screen). I don't know if you've ever seen florescent lights in a garage, but they are very dim when it's cold out. The light on the side of my house is one of those screw-in florescent energy saving types. You have to see how dim that is when you turn it on in the winter. After about 5 minutes, it comes up to full brightness.

At night when it's cold, I'll sometimes turn the dimmer **** until it clicks (full brightness - same as no headlights on). That helps make up for it until the car warms up. I'll also use this "Clicked" position during the day when it's raining out and I have my headlights on. If I don't, the instruments are just too hard to read in the nighttime "dimmed" mode.

ThomasD650

Thanks for all the feedback, I am glad at least that I now feel like it is not a exclusive problem with my system.

It is possible that some of the time my lights are on during the daytime, yet the problem does go beyond that I am sure. Because it is also noticable at night, in the past it used to seem like the interior of my car had a "glow" to is caused by the nav screen.

Hurry up Spring!!