Dash Lights Don't Work

Since I am getting such good responses here in
this forum, I thought I might be able to ask
another question.

My dash lights don't work. Bulbs look good,
and when I turn the lights on, headlights,
taillights, and running lights all work. The
light in the auto shifter works. The side markers
do not work, but they may have bad bulbs. (Those
have not been checked yet)
I went through the car with a test light, but
have not hit everything yet. Was hoping someone
here might have had a similar problem, and was
able to fix it. Dome light also works when
headlight knob is turned all the way left.
Thanks.

~Wade

What kind of car do you have? When I had a 66 mustang, I had a similar problem. All the in dash bulbs looked good, but no light. I ended up trashing all of the bulbs for new ones, and lo and behold -- light! I would replace all bulbs before I start looking for something more complex.
[addsig]

Did you check the fuse? On a stang, it's only a 4 amp fuse and don't control much else.

69 Mustang. I did check the fuses, but there
weren't many in the fuse block. I think it was
about 3" x 3". All fuses in the fuse block
were good.
I think you are right about starting with
fresh bulbs though. That would be a good place
to start.
When I removed the instrument panel though, I
unplugged the power going to it, and used a
test light on all of the prongs. Found the ones
that control the blinkers, and the constant
hot ones, but never got one to light up when
the headlight switch was moved into the "on"
position. This is what makes me think its more
than just the lights.

i had the same problem with my fairlane. the culprit was the headlight switch, in that switch i believe there is a pentitometer(sp?) that controls the dash lights. i just replaced it(with a mustang light switch, they didnt have any fairlane switches) and works great now. if i remember right those arent that expensive. hope this helps!

Jace

Looks light the headlight switch is the culprit.
After hours of wire tracing and simple testing
to figure out which wire was the actual dash
light wire, it lead all the way back to the
HEADLIGHT SWITCH. $17.99 at O'Reilly. Good call
Jace. Thanks for all the help guys. Next question
coming shortly.[img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_lol.gif[/img]

~Wade