[RJ285]

Last weekend I replaced all of the bulbs in my instument panel because all of the illumination lights were dead. Worked great. Yesterday I go to a friends and pick up aftermarket radio harness plugs to hook up the radio. I hook up the plugs to make sure they work, and I leave them pluged in with loose wires hangin out. I stuff them into the sterio hole and go to leave, none of the lights in the dash work. No instrument panel lights, HVAC lights, nothing. I have no idea what happened. I don't believe there is a fuse for the dash lights, so does anyone have any suggestions as to where to start looking/ what the heck happened?

Thanks guys.

 

[RJ285]

So as I was writing the problem above I had an epifany and solved the problem. I blew my dimmer switch. Case closed.

 

[Escort92Man]

blown dimmer switch or fuse, you got it! don't you hate it when that happens lol, you post and the answer just comes to ya, oh well it'll help someone else who has that problem!

take it easy!

 

[noifwoao]

I'm a car audio installer. The orange wire on ur after market is ur illumination wire and has power if it grounds out u will pop ur fuse. Some radios have a orange white wire also and that is dimmer I'd rcomend not even hooking up these wires unless u have an eclipse radio other wise u could run into problems down the line. I pull these wires right out of the harness. The pretty much useless on new radios other then eclipse ones cause new radios as of 10 years ago have there own built in illumination.

 

[noifwoao]

I'm a car audio installer. The orange wire on ur after market is ur illumination wire and has power if it grounds out u will pop ur fuse. Some radios have a orange white wire also and that is dimmer I'd rcomend not even hooking up these wires unless u have an eclipse radio other wise u could run into problems down the line. I pull these wires right out of the harness. The pretty much useless on new radios other then eclipse ones cause new radios as of 10 years ago have there own built in illumination.

 

[DrunkinMist]

Always wondered why no one ever connected the dimming wire in the back of the radio. Good to know i was going to install it on mine because i like being able to dim it because they are always to bright even when u turn down the internal one on the deck.

 

[88scortgt]

I don't believe there is a fuse for the dash lights, so does anyone have any suggestions as to where to start looking/ what the heck happened?

Thanks guys.

Just to let you know, the dash lights are protected by the Radio fuse.

 

[Bomdoutscort]

Its the meter fuse in the car.

 

[88scortgt]

The '95 Ford service manual lists the meter fuse for the instrument cluster, which I take to mean the gauges & warning lights, and the radio fuse for the illumination. After looking into it closer, it states the rear wiper fuse covers the climate control panel illumination. The tail fuse covers instrument panel illumination as well.