Light dimmer module overheating

[OMitch]

Has anyone experience the interior light dimmer module getting hot? Mine gets very hot to the touch when the headlights and fog lights are turned on.

 

[Bigramguy]

Seems to be a fairly common occurance with the switch. One member posted about drilling a small hole into the plastic tube for the dash vents just below the switch to cool it and it seemed to work well.



What about adding a small fan,like the ones used for a computer cpu. They run off 12V and are extremely quiet. Just mount it below the little heatsink on the switch and turn it on with the headlamps. Just a thought.

 

[CoastyAV8R]

I notice my light switch gets warm when the dash lights intensity is turned down. Try leaving them bright and see if it helps.



PK

2001 QC 4x4 ETH

 

[JKloppe]

heat

Why do think it is over heating? Just because it gets hot does not mean its "overheating" Why worry about it if causes no problems or ill side effects. JMO



JK

 

[illflem]

Some model years have had a recall on the switch. Not sure about yours though, you need to add a signature.

 

[OMitch]

Thanks for the help. The switch is very hot to the touch, Its like touching a 100 ohm resistor shorted across a battery. I am just concerned about it starting a fire or something.

 

[tgbol]

The biggest problem with the dash light switch is that it is a resister rheostat and creates heat when the dash lights are dimmed low. There is a finned heat sink built into the back of the switch, unfortunatly it is dead air. I punched a hole in the top of the A/C duct (5/16). The switch still gets warm but not HOT like before. A small computer fan is also a great idea. Anything that will move a small amount of air over the heat sink. Of course you can leave the panel lights full brightness. But I like mine really dim.

 

[Barnstormer]

Mine stays cool if I set the instrument panel lights to either full bright or just above panel lights off.

 

[juicedcummins]

It's just the nature of the beast!

 

[Stoutscout]

Simple Answer

I posted the exact same question about a month ago, it was easily explained as this:



Resistance = heat.



With the switch somewhere in the middle you create a condition of increased resistance.



Easiest solution = full bright or full dim.



Hope this helps, it did for me.