My radio lights and instrument panel lights go out or dim when i turn the headlights on in my 2001 ford escape how do i fix this

how bright is the reflector
if it does not have clean mirror finish replace the assembly

Your alternator is failing

You probably have a bad ground in the electronic instrument cluster, or cluster connection to wiring harness. I would recomend you have a qualified auto tech diagnose it. It is not a easy fix.

By some strange reason it happens also if the instrument panel dim light is all way up and you have to keep your dome light switch off or it will light even if all doors are shut. I put the dim light switch into normal position and my remote starter resumed its function! Thanks to F150 forum, I found this remedy there: 2010 REMOTE START

It sounds to me like you may have a defective dimming switch. Are the instrument cluster lights working as they should? Do they dim/brighten with the dimmer? If the instrument cluster is working OK, then it could be an internal problem in the radio unit itself. Your panel lights are computer controlled. The processor in the instrument panel controls them. It uses a digital signal to "tell" the radio to either dim or brighten its lights. If the radio is failing to do so, the radio is the most likely cause since the lights work on "full power" which is also commanded through the same data lines. (this eliminates the signal from the cluster and the connection through the data lines.)

First thing you should do is check the fuse panel for blown fuses. Odds are it is just a fuse and you will be up and running in no time.

this is a pretty simple fix, even though the screen is LCD, the illumination is from a small bulb on the back side of the instrument cluster. pull the instrument cluster out, and replace the bulb!

change fuse in fuse box for instrument panel the dash lights go out to tell you your tail lamps are not working

You have a bad ground, look out by the battery for a bunch of black wires screwed to the body of the car, check that they have a clean and tight connection, scrap off any paint under the wires.

Does it go completely black or just dim? Most displays dim when you turn the lights on to make the display darker so its not too bright. GPS and other displays do this. Do you have any problems with any other of the car's electronics?