dash lights/ rear lights not working???helppp
 

ok the dash lights on the cluster and the tail lights aren't working but the brake lights do..... i checked all the fuses and they are all fine, is this a common problem?? i heard that one connector could cause this? has anyone else had the same problem?

I had this problem when I bought my truck, bought it during the day and didn't think to check the lights! anyways it was the switch, I figured it out because as I switched the switch from city lights to headlights the dash/tail lights went out. I wired a relay in line and have never had a problem since.

try turning the headlight switch a little farther than it should go, don't break it but it will give you a little extra twist, for me this turned them on, unfortunately this doesn't help because you really cant drive while holding the switch but it may help identify the problem.

can the headlight switch that turns be taken apart and cleaned?? if so how does it come apart?

I tried cleaning mine and it didn't work, there are some small parts in there that you have to be pretty careful about. the switch replacements are about $100 at roverland but they are probably still out of stock, and I think upwards of $200 new. A relay costs a couple of bucks and should work just fine.

I would strongly suggest you be sure it is in fact the switch that is bad though before you get too deep into it.

What are you switching with the relay? Are you picking up power from the headlight switch and jumpering it to the taillights thru the relay?

no I use the headlights as the positive trigger for the relay 86, I forget what input wire I used on the 87 terminal but it was the same as the city/parking lights input wire, and then I just wired the output wire to the 30 terminal. then I just grounded the 85 terminal. this way I am just "strengthening the switch" and no extra power is going across any other circuits. This method technically does not require a fuse, although I did throw in a "just in case" fuse as I always do when I reroute power through my own wiring.

the downside to this method was about a week after I did this I flipped on my high beams and my relay switched off causing me to lose the city/parking lights. (however I think after using it for a couple of years now the contacts on the switch may have healed themselves because I think I have used the high beams successfully since then, and I would think forcing power across both sides of a switch over time could strengthen the contacts)

it could have been only one input wire to the switch but I think there was 2, whatever it was I remember I tested for continuity across the switch while it was disconnected to be sure I had the correct power path.

also keep in mind on my truck I had city/parking lights at the first click of the switch, I lost them when I clicked it one more click forward to the headlight setting.

hmm im not to sure what to try, the relay sounds confusing.

I could explain how to wire the relay, what wires to connect it to, and what kind of relay to get if you need to do that, but what you need to do is get a meter and test for voltage at the switch to make sure that is where the break in the circuit is. there is no point in repairing something if that is not where your problem is. If you get the rave manual there are wiring schematics that will tell you what wires are what at the switch, you need to determine that the wire that provides power to the city/parking light circuit has power on it, and that when the switch is on there is no continuity (connection) between the city/parking light input wire and city/parking light output wire.

I did this wiring the first week I had the truck (almost 2 years ago) so I don't remember what wire is what however if you need me to read the schematic and explain it to you I can.

okay thanks, can you go into detail on how i test for voltage at the switch with the multimeter... where do i check the wires.. are they like just below the steering where or just below the headlight switch? do you have the wiring schematic that tells you the colours of them? that might make it a little easier for me:)