(FIXED) Help! Drl and half of dash won’t work

So I started my truck yesterday and noticed the dash wasn’t lit. I usually keep my drl‘s on because I have aftermarket headlights and i like to look cool. So I start my truck and the dash isn’t lit. If I turn on my hi/low beams it will Light up, but that’s all. All other lights on my dash besides the clock and radio are out. Along with that, my drl’s don’t work either, including the white U shaped light in my headlights and the amber lights. Blinkers work still. When I turn the dial to turn the running lights on, I hear the clicking noise I usually do when I turn on my drl’s but nothing happens. Any ideas? I’ve read a lot of threads about similar issues with dash problems but none with the dash and drl’s.

 

Did you check the fuse ?

 

I checked the 1G1 2 fuse which is for the cluster and I checked the one under the hood for the drl’s but didn’t see any issues... haven’t taken the time to check them all

 

I blew 1/2 of the instrument panel lights and fuse looked fine but it was bad. It’s the 5 amp panel fuse inside truck. Good luck. I hope it’s an easy fix

 

Simple guess, it's your aftermarket lights on one issue. Inside lights (illumination) could be the Tail fuse on inside cab fuse box. The Clock and Radio get input from tail (illumination) circuit to dim...

 

Thanks to both of you, I’ll look into these tomorrow when I have the time

 

You were right! Checked the fuse and it had popped. Put another in and it popped again as soon as I turned the drl’s on again. So now I just have to figure out why it’s blowing the fuse. Thank you Caribe! (Ps any thoughts why it’s blowing the fuse? A short somewhere maybe?)

 

Most likely. You mentioned you have after-market headlights. How are these connected to the DRL circuit?

 

They are just plug and play. Same wiring as stock heads. I found a thread saying it could be the towing plug by the spare tire. And I realized my tail lights don’t work either. So much for night driving

 

The fuse that you have replaced powers them also...

 

Does your 2012 have a DRL setting on the light stalk?..Guess not...since they come on as stated below. So the switch you do is to turn ON the TAIL (Parking/Illumination) circuit. So you may have that towing ground issue.

 

Didya read here?
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...hts-and-oem-trailer-socket-blows-fuse.604494/

 

yes that’s true. I unplugged the trailer plug, the tail lights, the two license plate lights and pulled out the three bulbs from my third brake light(which had some condensation in it) then put in a new fuse, turned on the drl’s on the stalk and it blew again. So now there’s either a short in a wire somewhere maybe it’s exposed somewhere or worn or something else that I can’t think of. I will read the link you sent...

 

Just read this and seems to have a lot of interesting info. I have done a few small electrical mods myself so that may be the problem. Possibly a wire I cut has loosened. I’ve done three mods actually. I forgot one...(abs shutoff mod, fog light always on mod and I also did the stealth mode mod to shut off the amber lights while drl’s are on. Maybe this could be the answer to my question

 

Update: found my problem. As I assumed it would be it was simple and overlooked. It was not a problem with wires grounding like I assumed. Turns out my passenger side amber light (blinker) was the culprit. It still worked but still blew the fuse. Replaced it and now we’re up and running again. When I tested the lights, I only unplugged the hi/low beam lights and I never saw the other two plugs for the drl and amber lights. It was when I put in a new fuse and walked to the front of the truck and watched the lights flash that I realized they were still plugged in. I believe I read someone else having the same issue with a bulb that wasn’t burnt out but still caused the problems. Thanks again to everyone that helped me out, it was a good learning experience for me and hopefully this thread will help someone in the future.