Out of nowhere I lost my parking lights and dash lights, thought my headlight switch was bad so I replaced it, but no luck? Is their a fuse? If I turn my headlights on they work though.

 

Sounds like a fuse. Typically, the marker and instrument panel lights are on a fuse separate from the headlights.

 

yep, fuse for inst. cluster, or marker light.

 

Nope not a fuse checked all the ones under the dash. They are all fine

 

Subscribing, I have similar problem, no dash lights most of the time, but occasionally come on like there is a breaker throwing.

 

Ok, so whatever its doing, it keeps blowing the number 8 fuse in the engine compartment. The book says its the Trailer Parking Lamp Illumination. Yet I dont have a trailer hooked up.

 

Do you have Remote Keyless Entry (RKE)? I'm not sure of your trucks year, but my 99 shows #8 also as being the trailer marking lights. Looks like from the #8 fuse you have a Tan/wht striped wire feeding your Main Light Switch (Also your RKE if you have it) From there it is switched and departs on a solid brown wire. (which also feeds the cluster lighting) This is the wire your looking for, unless your trailer relay has shorted some how on the control side (unlikely), this wire only services your actual running lights. You may have to inspect them each to see if one is damaged internally shorting your circuit. (also rare) I have had this happen though on one of my 1157's (rear S/T/T) bulbs. The filament broke, fell and draped across the brake circuit. You guessed it, every time I hit the brakes... Hope that helps.

 

If you can't trace this to something obvious with the fuse or the trailer connector, try looking up under the dash to see if a wire cluster is rubbing on the steering column and grounding out.

I had similar issues with the lights that bugged the hell out of me for a week until I gave up and took it to my repair guy. He couldn't find anything obvious, so we both climbed up under there for an hour and eventually found it. I smacked my head for being an idiot when I finally "fixed" it with a little electrical tape and a zip tie.

 

maybe the connector where a trailer light rig would plug in is causing a short somehow ... by being full of snow for example

 

These trucks have an excellent configuration for trailers. The truck and trailer exterior lights are segregated up until the light switch. The trailer has it's own light fuses and relays. (1 and 3 [7.5amps] for S/T/T IIRC) plus relays for reverse lighting and battery charging. So if the trailer lighting circuit was shorted out, it would blow one of the "trailer" lighting fuses. The truck fuses are separate.

One instance were this is great is if you're backing your boat down the ramp and forget your lights are on... obviously once the water floods the lights, they short out and blow the fuse. But your truck lights are still fine.

 

I had the same issue with my 2000 truck. A dime had fallen down between the passenger side pillar and the dash board and landed in an unused connector down by the kickpanel. The dime shorted out the two contacts on the connector repeatedly blowing the fuse. Pull your passenger kick panel off and see if you have the same problem. It drove me nuts and I only found it by dumb luck.

 

If it's a fuse connected to the trailer lights that is blowing, I would check the trailer wire plug first, even if a trailer hasn't been used recently. Then I would follow the wire back from there.

I had a rough morning last winter...speedometer just completely gone. It was after overnight rain had melted all the snow in the area, with a very heavy fog; near 100% humidity conditions. By the afternoon, the sun came out and the speedometer came back. This thread reminds me that I need to follow those wires around one of these days before the little split in the casing or whatever it is gets any worse.

I had a marker light fill with water recently. I had hit a deer a month earlier; it was hard to tell where it even hit the truck but finally I did see a few hairs sticking out of the gap between the headlight and the marker light underneath. Eventually one of the guys on my crew told me that the marker light was full of water...though still working. My point is, maybe water or snow is collecting somewhere it didn't previously and causing a short...