This is what I discovered when I pulled my dimmer switch - due to cluster lights not working. (see attached)

2 of the pins melted/broke off the switch & are now one with the connector.

I'll be picking up a new switch & either get a connector from a junk yard or do something with spades.

Anyone ever seen this happen before & what could have caused this?

 

I Have seen this before but not on a third gen. What Type of Headlights do you have? If you use HID's and not use a relay, it will burn up your switch.

Hope this Helps.

 

they are stock headlights.

I finished replacing the switch & the cluster lights still don't work!

I pulled the gray wire from the fuse block and ran a hotwire to it, still no cluster lights.

What should I check next? Where are they grounded?

 

start with fuses. It might have been a short. Did you smell/see any smoke when this happened?

Anything else damaged that you can see?

 

I discovered that the previous owner had a 20 amp fuse in the spot for interior lighting, WHERE THE 5 SHOULD BE!

So that explains the meltdown, but I dont know where to look next to get the cluster lights working.

I didn't notice any smoke, I just noticed that my cluster lights would no longer come on. There is nothing else damage that I can see.

Does anybody know where the cluster lights are grounded?

 

does your car have any other accessories (other than stock stuff) or a hack job wiring?

It may be that he was running more than one thing for that fuse, and put in a 20A fuse. While youre at it, did you notice any other highly rated fuses in other banks?

I would imagine if it melted the switch, it would have also done a number on the wires.

I dont think this is gonna be a quick fix......

DO you have a new switch? How do you know they still arent working?

 

[quote=Alminate;3841775]

I finished replacing the switch & the cluster lights still don't work!

quote]

The last owner did a hack job, but Im not going to deal with it (right now anyway).

I'm just going to run another switch for now so I can drive the car at night and know my speed.

 

If the last owner did a hack job, all bets are off. You may want to invest in a shop manual (check ebay). They basically tell you how to take the car apart and build it all over again.

In the mean time, give your fuses a quick run through, but more importantly, you need to install a couple of fusible links. youre lucky the switch melted, and you didnt have a fire.

So do what you need to do to make the lights work. A DVM or even a test light is your freind, and you will just have to trace wires till u find what u need.

I would install a fusible link (say 30-35 amps) on the main wire that comes out of the alternator. That way if you have a short, that fuse will save the rest of your wiring and possibly a fire.