[MariaT]

Once again, here I am on the forums with yet another problem with my 2009 Malibu 3.6.
Seems my headlights also have a mind of their own..this morning while driving to work, I pushed on the signal light lever to spray washing fluid on my window..my dash lights became very bright, the dimmer switch didn't dim the dash lights either..then I tried the dimmer switch to check out my bright lights couldn't tell if they were on or not..the little indicator that shows if they are on, wasn't present. When I shut off the car and turned the ignition back on all seems to be back to normal for now. I called the dealership and they told me that so far they have not had that problem, but would call around and find out and call me..Will be waiting on this call..

 

[Starship]

Re: 2000 Malibu headlight problem.

I had to read your post a couple times (trying to be mysterious again?) and came up with nothing but questions.

Which lever did you push? The one on the left is the turn signal multifunction switch whereas on the right, windshield wiper/washer switch.

Was it dark or light out? The instrument panel illumination dimms when it's dark enough for the headlamps to turn on. Was there a warning chime and AUTO LIGHTS OFF message in the DIC as if you had turned off the headlamps?

What do you call the dimmer switch? There's the instrument panel brightness knob but it sounds like you tried the low beam and high beam positions on the turn signal multifunction switch.

 

[DrivenDaily]

Re: 2000 Malibu headlight problem.

MariaT,
Going along with what Starship said (what a Trooper he is, eh? ), I can ask more questions as well. Based on your post I would guess the following is what happened.

You needed to squirt your windshield so you used the lever on the right side of the wheel to squirt it. At the same time the ambient light sensor (center of dash at base of windshield) had detected daylight and the BCM (body control module) waited long enough, turned off your headlights, then turned on your DRLs and brightened your dash to full daylight illumination.

When you moved the lever on the left of the wheel (the multifunction switch - MFS) to see if the high beams would turn on you didn't see the blue indicator. That's because the headlights were no longer on and therefore the high beams were not going to turn on, either. Using the instrument illumination dimmer control (located on the dash pad in a panel below the left-most vent) you were also unable to adjust the brightness of the dash illumination, as the headlights were not on. Even if you had turned them on manually, since it was now daytime there is a function built into the BCM's programming called Parade Dimming that was working. During daylight hours, when you manually turn on the parking or head lights the dash remains at full brightness so you can see the instruments without difficulty.

Just some interesting weird stuff on how the car works. Understanding it helps in situations like this. From what you've posted your car is working normally. If we or I have not understood your issue correctly then please add some new details and one or more of us will do our best to help you.

 

[Silver LTZ]

Since this topic doesn't belong this thread about aftermarket HID's for a 2000 Malibu I am moving this to its own thread....