AC controls, gear shift indicator, and Radio illumination not working

Hey all,

I am stumped. While driving tonight I noticed the illumination on my radio, gear shift indicator, and ac controls inexplicably quit working. The lights on the instrument cluster (speedo, tach, all other gauges) work and function with the rheostat, but nothing else does... I haven't done anything electrical on the truck so I am not sure what could have caused this. Any suggestions?

 

Also just noticed I can also turn my head lights off/on without the key in the ignition too....wtf!

 

Take anything apart recently?

And the headlights on/off w/o the key in is normal. In fact if you turn off ignition and open door the lights will cut off but if you then turn them back on manually they stay on until you either turn off manually or key ignition on/off and lock door. From what I remember last time I did that.

 

That is normal. But your headlights will normally turn off when the ignition is shut off and the driver's door is opened. My bet is on your dimmer rheostat - it's a dual pole unit with two circuits as the cluster illumination is from ignition power - not from the park lights circuit like the rest of the dash illumination.

 

Did some digging last night when I got home. Turns out my 10 amp tail fuse was blown. The only thing I have messed with recently was the license plate lights when I replaced the bulbs and dipped the rear bumper. I am wondering if I put the wrong bulb wattage in as I just grabbed a couple of spares from when I went led in my Camry. Gonna order some leds to rule it out. Also pulled them and made sure I didn't do any damage to the wire when I messed with them when dipping the bumper. Nothing abnormal was found there.

 

Was your other fuse-blowing issue from the past completely resolved? I can't recall now if it was, of what the solution ended up being.

 

I believe it has been resolved. I haven't blown the IGN No2 fuse since I replaced my AC blower motor several months ago. Prior to replacing the blower, I couldn't even run to the grocery store and back home without it blowing the fuse.