Instrument Cluster/Dash lights all out. Any ideas?

I drive a 2003 toyota tacoma xtra-cab. I recently purchased the truck, and sadly sound out that none of the dash lights work(needle,gas,mpg,fuel,oil, etc.) I have checked some of the fuses, but could not find any brocken. I just think it's odd that all the lights are out at once, seems more like a fuse issue than bulb.

 

ANYONE????

 

10amp fuse under the hood.................

 

Did you check all the fuses? ^is the instrument panel fuse under the hood? Start with locating the combination meter fuse.

 

Check your fuse then check all the wires because something had to happen to blow the fuse, my dash fuse would blow as soon as I turned my lights on ended up being a short behind the radio

 

Umm, also check the reostat setting on the dash... I have worked on a few vehicles in the past and that was all that was wrong when they brought it in.

 

What is the reostat setting wesb1023

 

Not to be a douche, but the dash light dimmer isn't turned all the way off, is it?

 

haha no that was definitely the first thing i checked! but thanks for the input

 

Haha man that would have been so funny if it was

 

Reostat = dimmer switch....

 

Also, are the lights in the radio and everywhere else working? I had my dash apart today and noticed that if the dimmer switch was not plugged in, nothing would work. So, if its not turned all the way down, it still could be faulty.

 

I too am having a very similar problem at the moment! Installed a new in dash DVD touch screen in my 04 Taco and as soon as I went to turn on my head lights, i heard a little pop and all my dash lights went out... (Found the ACC 10a fuse popped and replaced it with new 10a fuse.) I have been struggling now for the last 2-3 days trying to get this dang dvd player to work and also trying to get my dash lights to come back on but no luck!

After fighting with this new DVD player I decided to put my stock stereo back in PRAYING this would fix everything but nope!! Still no dash lights. The headlights and all exterior lights still work normal but when i turn on the head lights, the dash lights should come on but they are not! So now my truck is fully back to its original form with harnesses and all connected again correctly but having issues.

For obvious reasons I checked the basics... dimmer switch isnt all the way turned off, checked every single fuse in the fuse panel inside the truck as well as under the hood, no blown fuses. Even the lights that illuminate the letters/numbers on the shifter are out.

PLEASE HELP!!

 

Is the stereo grounded?

 

Use a multimeter and check for voltage at the dimmer switch harness. Did you hook up the illumination wire on the new deck when you installed it? If so, did you check if you hooked it up to a positive or negative polarity dimmer on the truck harness? If you got it wrong, it could have fried something.

Once we know the dimmer is passing voltage, then you can move on from there. If you have no power to the dimmer, re-check your fuses. If you have power in, but no power out, then it is a dimmer issue. If you have power in and out, but no lights... then... well...

 

I will check the dimmer switch harness, this may sound dumb but how do I remove the dimmer switch. Im hoping I didnt fry something. I did hook up the illumination wire to the new deck to the illumination wire from the truck. Thats all it was connected to.

 

You might be able to get to it by dropping the dash panel under the steering column. I just had mine apart last night but can't remember if you will have to pull the bezel too. Do a search for "dash light replacement" and there are a couple posts that show how to get the bezel off if you need to.

 

Thanks!

 

RAGHORN is correct….at least for me. It was a blown 10 amp fuse under the hood identified as taillight… Thanks

 

bumping this thread since I had a similar issue. Installed a set of otrattw switches and tapped into the green/green-white switch illumination wire. After doing the install, none of my switches (factory and add ons) illuminated and even my factory entune head unit no longer dimmed when the headlights were turned on.

I eventually found the busted fuse and it was in the fuse panel under the dash marked "tail" (10A fuse).