Car: FORD FOCUS 1.6 (10ON) SPORT 5 Door prior focus model 2011 61 plate (not new new model!).

We have the above car which is about 5 weeks old. When we first purchased the car, the CD Sat Nav screen in the centre console used to automaticaly dim when it was dark, we have the light control dial set to AUTO so that the lights automaticaly come on when it is dark, however the centre console screen no longer dims - it stays in normal mode and doesn't seem to shift to Night mode when it is dark like it used to.

We have taken the car back to the ford dealer and it has been looked at by one of their mechanics but they say nothing is wrong with it, annoying thing is we know it used to do it but no longer does.

Another strange issue is that we have 2 Iphone 4'S with the latest IOS 5 installed and the display on the centre console of the car no longer shows signal strength like it had before.

Not sure if their is anyone on here who may be able to assist?

Thanks in advance

Ive got the same car and system as you but have not experienced any problems.

The screen will only dim if the lights are on, no matter if they are set on auto or not. Does the screen dim when you turn the headlights on manually?

The signal strength indicator shows the phones signal strength. It is not the strenght of the signal between the phone and the radio.

PM me if you need the full pdf instructions. You only get some basic instructions when you buy the car.

And well done for getting one of the last Focus Sports. I thought I had bought one of the last ones in April.

I have the same problem , i had to manually turn the screen brightness down as the Auto does not seem to work , at nightime on an unlite road it was far too bright , Its better now i reduced the brightness but as you said , mine is not auto dimming either.
But since reducing it's no longer a problem

[quote name='btmaldon' timestamp='1320445569' post='151344']
Ive got the same car and system as you but have not experienced any problems.

The screen will only dim if the lights are on, no matter if they are set on auto or not. Does the screen dim when you turn the headlights on manually?

The signal strength indicator shows the phones signal strength. It is not the strenght of the signal between the phone and the radio.

PM me if you need the full pdf instructions. You only get some basic instructions when you buy the car.

And well done for getting one of the last Focus Sports. I thought I had bought one of the last ones in April.
[/quote]

Just sent you a PM regarding the PDF instructions

Yeah, the screen used to dim but this only happened the day we purchased the car, ever since it hasn't worked - it used to dim as soon as the lights came on, or when we turned the lights on manually, but no longer does.

I knew about the signal indicator being the phones network operators signal. Problem is I think since upgrading the I phone to IOS 5 the Bluetooth has changed and as such the ford sat nav unit no longer displays the signal bars at all - tried everything, not a major issue but annoying!

Yeah, don't really like the new model Ford Focus, so we hunted around for the prior focus style and we got it new from a dealer in Ipswich - could even choose our own number plate and colour, so pretty happy!

Thanks both for your replies.

I've Just worked it out!

You have to set the Dim control on the right of the steering column to the desired brightness (for instance, 50% of full brightness) with the light dial in the 'On' position, then when you change the light dial to the 'Off' position you can also increase the brightness on the Dim control to 100% then when you flick between 'On' and 'Off' the dash and CD display/sat nav display Dim's accordingly - this also takes care of the brightness when the lighting dial is set to Auto (It just flicks between on and off settings set earlier).

I must of messed around with the dim control on the dash without realizing it!

So if anyone else has this problem, that's the fix.

P.S. - Could still do with that PDF instructions if poss, thanks again!

Just had a fiddle with mine on the way back from Shropshire this morning. The Auto setting is directly related to the dash dimmer setting. So if your radio screen is not dimming when you turn the lights on, you must have the dash dimmer control set to maximum. Reduce it a bit and the radio dims with it. Turn the lights off, it goes back to maximum.