I cannot get my dash lights to turn off- all lights work fine ( turn off and on ) the gen light and blinkers work fine- the back lights are the ones that stay on around dummy lights , speedo and odometer. I used to wiggle stuff back there and they would go out when lights were off. I just changed out lightswitch thinking that must be the problem and they still stay on ??. It doesnt seem to change the dim either as Im sure that switch is supposed to adjust dim on these lights- any ideas ?? thanks

 

If the instrument panel light dimmer is having no affect on instrument lamp brightness obviously it is more or less being functionally bypassed. The problem may be in the headlight switch socket or other socket or switch within any part of the circuits which can receive power through the headlight switch. It does sound in your case there may be one or more bad instrument panel light sockets. Replacements are cheap but you need to know whether the ones in your car are for a 1/2" hole or a 5/8" hole.

 

Has any non-factory wiring been added underdash or at the fuse block? (Like for an alarm?) If so, investigate that first.
Is there a 4A fuse marked INST LPS? If so, pull it and report back the results...

 

Well firstly thanks for the replies and help. I got back under there and did some more digging- light switch harness looked good - pulled the 4a fuse and lights were still on -even with light switch disconnected they were on - started pulling lights and there sockets swapping them over seeing if anything changed- inadvertly bumped the wiring harness to the dummy light cluster and they went out. I then pulled the harness off , the problem was obvious when half the prongs came out with the harness. Guess those little copper prongs had given up. So its off now and the speedo dash lights work on and off with lights now. Not too bad as I only cared about the gen light - does that plug affect gas reading ? would explain why I ran out of gas with half a tank reading the other day. Now I thinking of rebuilding some custom gauges for everything- never liked my after market triple gauge cluster attached below dash anyhow.

 

No problem!

I have seen this happen in the past on other models...

If that cluster had the gas gauge, it would have affected it. Sorry to hear about the ran-out-of-gas experience...

Maybe install a rally pac now?

 

I dunno still looking at stuff- saw your redo and I really liked the night time shot- looked real good. Im thinking tho I dont want to deal with that whole type of setup again (scratched hand and crook neck) and pull dash and custom up something in there -maybe digital stuff ??- good thing when I ran out of gas I was behind a gas station- pitty it took me a hour or two to figure out. Thanks again all.

 

Your gas gauge woes may be a bad or corroded connection back at the tank. Worst thing would be the whole sending unit assembly and/or float has a problem.

 

Yeah you could be right- but for now at least I have that issue resolved with it unplugged. Ive been looking into the gauges - guess Ill call and find out what kind of compatibility they have with the sending unit. Dont suppose theres any way of checking that sending unit / wiring without dropping tank ? Thanks again

 

There is a 1/4 inch screw to the left of centre at the front of the tank with a wire (hopefully) attached, near the tank strap...this is the ground wire...remove screw and make sure it has a good clean connection...NO SMOKING