Those mysterious lights in the dash....
 

I've got an 85 Corvette and I just installed a new rack and pinion system and when I start it up the instrument lights come on and then slowly dim until I can barely see them. It was inside at the time so I grabbed my shop light to look around for a dimmer switch or something. I never found the dimmer I was looking for but I did discover something very strange. When I held the light inside the cockpit, the lights will brighten on their own. When I moved the light outside the car the lights dim again. Move inside..lights brighten, move outside the lights dim. I did this repeatedly and the same result. Strangest thing I've ever seen...on a car anyway.

Has anyone heard of this and/or what may be causing this? Thanks in advance for your help.

Well, I guess nobody is looking so I wanted to let everyone know that YES there is a photo sensor for a dimmer on the dash lights. I never knew this and if I would have bet on it, I would have lost big time. Check out the folks at batee.com for more information.

Very hard to tell what could be the problem.. Were you able to find the solution? If not I will consult my friend he is good with these lights..

Hey Fred, well I can't answer your question because the vette is in my shop getting some other stuff done. I think I need to get it outside to really see if the problem is fixed. Before I had noticed that the dash lights would dim after awhile and that's kinda what got me going down this path. If you want, you can run it past your friend and see what he know's about it. All input is good to some degree. Thanks.