Speedometer & tachometer lights not working

Hey everyone! I'm brand new to the forums and am in need of some help. I have an 03 Tacoma 3.4 4x4 194k miles. I am not a mechanical guy AT ALL, best I've done with the truck is replace the exterior door handles, and really just the battery and spark plugs under the hood. I am the original owner of the truck.

The lights for the speedometer went out years ago and the dealership wanted an arm and a leg to even diagnosis it so I went without making nighttime driving entertaining. I recently decided to dump some money into repairs/maintenance and drive it til the wheels fall off. With the decision to keep it for years to come, I decided to try to replace the bulb after finding a couple Youtube videos and it seemed like something I could handle. I ordered some Phillips 194ALED lights from Amazon and was excited when they came in.

Today, I attempted to tackle the project and everything seemed to be going well until I actually replaced the bulbs. None of the new bulbs worked. I changed the bulbs orientation in the "holder" as well as rotated the "bulb holders" and none of them worked. I tried putting the old bulbs back in and they don't work. I switched their orientation as well.

The turn signals don't come on either on the dash or the exterior of the truck. I have one working tail light (could've been out before?). The lights for the gear shifter indicating drive, reverse, neutral, etc. don't turn on. The radio is stock, has power, and lights up. I had an additional Sirius radio, mounted to the center console, put in around 2005 which I just unplugged the unit years ago (I plugged it back in today to check and it still has power). The A/C light is on, but I don't think two outside dials light up, only the center.

I plugged the dimmer back in to make sure it didn't get turned down during removal. I visually inspected the fuses inside and under the hood which appeared fine. I have a very cheap tester, figured out how to use it, and was able to check the fuses in the interior and under the hood. They tested positive (as in they lit up as working).

I've looked for loose connections or stray wires, but haven't seen anything obvious. Is there a kind soul out there that can walk me through this. I've seen people post similar, but not identical situations (many times being the tail light fuse), and the threads generally end without resolution. I've seen people post circuit or wiring diagrams, which don't make much sense to me. I want to fix this but I am worried I may have bit off more than I can chew.

 

im thinking its bc of the LED bulbs

sucks, but try putting the old bulbs back in and test (b4 re-assembling everything)

LED's use so much less energy than conv bulbs, wreiks havoc

i installed new tail lamps and decided to swap LED's for the brakes only(not the signals)
(these LEDS left over in the toolbox)

the tail lights were possessed
no signal one side
brake lights on NP when lights on
only one brake light when pedal pressed
then a short flash opo side BRAKE lamp when signal stalk used

after 45 mins of banging my head.......i put the 2 conventional bulbs for brake lamps back in.........
no issues

 

I did try putting the old ones back in without any luck. Some of the bulbs worked before, but now none of them work.

 

how about all the pigtails/plugs that go into the cluster?
heard a audible 'click' on each?

100% sure the dimmer is turned to bright(not dim or off)

 

I just unplugged them and replugged them in again. I forgot to mention that the gas light (I am low on fuel), seat belt light (not wearing it), airbag (passenger control is currently disabled and unattached) and wiper fluid (reservoir dry rotted, broke, and is empty) lights all come on and stay on after each attempt. So it has power going to it.

Dimmer is on. I’m guessing the key to this is the turn signals are 100% out.

 

Try the easy stuff first.

Check the 10A Gauge fuse.
make sure you have power to BOTH sides of the fuse.

 

Try turning on the Hazard lights.
It uses a different fuse. Plus it helps eliminate an issue.

 

hmmmmm

is there a 'click click click' sound when signal stalk engaged?
signal relay?


TNshooter to the rescue! TG.

 

Both sides of the fuse are good.

 

Try the Hazard lights

 

Nothing audible

 

I got them plugged back in and they work.

 

To clarify, I currently have it mostly disassembled. I plugged the hazards back in and the turn signals now work! Appreciate that. Dash lights still not working. Could it be that’s still disassembled, with various parts unplugged?

 

The turn signals go through the Hazard switch. So that makes since.
Yeah, put it all back together and see what happens.

 

Oh man you are blessing! Everything would have just worked fine if I completely reassembled and completed the circuit from the start. I did have to take it down a few times to reorient the bulbs to get them to work, but when I put it back together I saw one working!