I was driving home and the dash lights went out. I checked all of the fuses and they all check good. Any ideas?

Thanks
Chris

 

I would give the dimmer switch a whirl and see if that helps the situation.

 

yea did that

thanks

 

If your talking only the illumination lights in the dash, check their ground over in the passenger kick panel.

 

I think your right, but there are 2 hundred cables under there. Do you know what cable it is?

 

I checked the only grounds I could sèe. Are there more?

If not are there any other suggestions?

 

Black. It also provides a ground for many other things, like the ashtray light, 4WD switch light, etc. Did they also go out?

 

For 97/98, there are THREE ground terminals under the DS Kick Panel. One for the radio/amps/CD Changer/sub and TWO for the dashboard items PDQFord mentioned. Clean them up with a dremel, both the sheetmetal and ring terminals till they shine, temporarily bolt them back down and try it again. If it works again, rust/corrosion was the issue. If not, the next suspect is the Main Light Switch. Consult the Factory Service Manual for a pinout of its connectors and try bypassing it to see if the interior backlights light up. If they do, your switch is the culprit.

The reason I said to TEMPORARILY bolt the ground back on is because it was only to rule them out. If they are corroded, cut the ring terminals off and replace them with new ones, a STAINLESS STEEL BOLT and dielectric grease to prevent moisture from getting back in. This method works every time and will be trouble-free for years to come. Between this and exercising the actuators a bit, it cured my power lock 'wiggling'

 

no the airbag cel ect are still working

 

no the airbag cel ect are still working

 

ok call me blind but I can only find one ground. it does have two wires on it

 

I cleaned the ground with a dremil. weird thing the ground disconnected it sounded like g he flashers where on an the door chime was on. weird huh?

 

Is this vehicle the F250 listed in your sig line?
If it is, and its a Super Duty, the instrument panel illumination ground is up under the dash between the instrument cluster and the radio.
Maybe its a diesel?

 

ok fixed it, thanks for the help!

 

Good to hear you gotter fixed.
What was the fix?