Hi there,
I have a mazda3 '04.

When I turn my headlights on, the dashboard and the console lights will switch from day mode to night mode.
The problem is that sometimes they do not. I do not know if the problem is in the headlights switch that does not switch the day/night mode or there is a light detector that is not working properly.

I bought this car a year ago so I do not know how this is suppose to work.
Does the day/night mode gets switch by turning the headlights or it is suppose to switch automatically after dark.

Can someone explain what switches the interior lights from day mode to night mode?
What is causing the problem. What should I fix?

 

the dash lights go to 'night mode' when the running lights get turned on.
I'm not sure how it changes between models, but on mine there are two buttons on the instrument cluster. The right one toggles between the brightness in the daytime, and the left one toggles if the dash is on bright when the running lights are on. This left button could be bad on yours, making it work only sometimes.
Does anyone else use the car who may be pressing this button or changing something?