Hi everyone,
In December, I noticed suddenly my car seemed real dark inside. The "top dash lights", like speed, fuel, etc were still lit, however the bottom three (mileage, etc) were not. I also noticed my gear shift light was out. This lasted months until I finally made an appointment with my mechanic, however the Saturday before, it magically started working again. That was roughly a month ago. Now, it's the exact same situation as before. Everything seems normal otherwise. We did get a real hard rain the night before (unusually heavy rain) but I'm not sure if this would have anything to do with it. Of course, when I took it to the mechanic, all was working and nothing out of the ordinary was found even though I did pay for the "exploratory" work and tests. I have a 2004 S60.

 

My first guess is that you either have a ground point problem or a voltage source problem (ie a wonky relay). After the rain, did you notice any dampness on the floor or under the dash that could suggest some water getting into the CEM? The tech would need to look at a wiring diagram and remove/open the CEM to inspect for any corrosion, then check connectors, wiring and common ground points which is very time consuming. Plus, its always difficult to pinpoint an intermittant fail when you are testing without the symptoms present.

 

I did not notice any, but we are supposed to get more hard rain again today...so I will be sure and check right after the rain ends!!