Instrument Panel Lights dont work after New Radio

[slow_90firebird]

Ok guys quick question. My stock radio finally gave up the ghost last week so I ordered a new aftermarket head unit. Came with a free dash install kit and wiring harness all for $39.99

So today I got around to installing it and I spliced the harness together with solder. The new radio is cheap though, and does not have the option for illumination when the panel lights come on. So for the orange wire I originally just tied into the yellow wire which was a mistake, because the panel lights would not go off at all (12v constant).

So I cut the orange wire and taped it off and the dash lights went out. Everything seemed ok until night time, then I realized that my dash does not light up now at all even with the headlights on!

I pulled the fuse and it was good, and actually if I take the fuse out and in while the lights are on, and door is open, the buzzer changes tone just by removing or installing that fuse. So it is good.

Is there a function that the radio does to allow the lights to work? If I un tape the orange wire and touch it to 12v hot, all the dash lights come on. But with it disconnected they never come on...

thanks

[slow_90firebird]

saw in ellis's wiring diagram there are 2 wires for these lights? I dont understand...

[ellis93]

Sounds like you back fed the resister coil in the light switch and something discombobulated. Try twisting the light switch knob while pushing up or down on it. The little finger that touches the coil might have relaxed.

Ignore the radio wiring till you figure out the dash, unplug it and set it aside

[slow_90firebird]

So on a stock truck would the dash lights normally work even with the radio taken out?

Also are you saying I might have fried the headlight switch? I can get that pretty cheap.

[ellis93]

Yep lights will work without the radio.

Yes the light switch could have shorted,basically it's a guess on my part,after all I'm not there to test it out.

[ellis93]

Diagram #12 in the wiring diagrams has the switch wiring. The wire from the switch is black a/yellow tracer that powers up for cluster/radio lighting. Test it at the switch and see if it's dead

[slow_90firebird]

Alright I found the problem, and I feel like an idiot. It was a blown fuse, but not the one I kept testing! I was testing the fuse that said "guages" on it. I never even saw the other two that are like way on the other side of the fuse block because the P/O had some duct tape over them. It was a 4a fuse in there i believe #14, I put a 5a back in because thats all I had, and it seems to have fixed it. I did end up taking the headlamp switch out and testing it and the switch and rheostat are working good.

Other bonus is that last night I was planning on calling for a RMA on the new head unit because 2 of the LCD letters were not working. So after un plugging the new radio and plugging it back in later, everything seems to be working great! Not sure why, maybe it needed a second chance at life...



Thanks for the help tho. I did figure out that there are indeed 2 wires that go from the headlight switch to the radio. One supplies the variable power from the rheostat (orange) and the other one (black/yellow) supplies 12v whenever the parking lights or headlights are on... Cant for the life of me figure that one out...