Greetings to all!
Just got a new to me 92 dakota 3.9 4x4. Runs great, but electrical bugs are driving me crazy. The gauges work fine but none of the instrumentation lighting works. All fuses check OK. I took the dash apart & checked voltage at the two connectors & got nothing. Checked the bulkhead disconnect & it looked ok. I'm ready to give up & just keep guessing how fast I am going after dark. Any and all insight would be appreciated.

 

There are solder points on the back of the instrument cluster that tend to have issues, and also continuity issues with the wiring back there, moving it the right way allows current to flow, but then once it's back to where it was you'll have trouble again. On my '95 if i hit the dash when the lights don't come on, they'll work. This is a common problem on these

 

how about the switch itself, mine had a wire shaped spring that melted out, could have caused a fire if i didnt react quick enough. not surer when they canged to a different config, but the replacement was alot different, mines on an 89. a mouse was building a nest on the switch which may have caused the dimmer part to fry

 

Yeah, I've never had a problem with the switches on these, I've owned 3 of these now, but none from earlier than '92. I hear ya on the mice, my dad's Ram Van got to the point of disrepair because of the little buggers, there were also cats living in the thing, and i have no idea how they got in. He parked it for only a few weeks while he was away and that's all it took too.

 

something i should have also mentioned about the switch, its tied into to the running lights, if you have no dash lights, your running lights might not be working, and maybe vise versa with a faulty ground or bulb that just isnt working right. ive had enough problems with the rear tail lights that i just change those bulbs when somethings up with pretty much any lighting problem. sounds stupid but i always check those and change them out

 

Thanks for all the input!
So far, I installed an OEM radio (the original was long gone when I got it) and found that when the headlights are on the clock is dimmed to the lowest setting regardless of the headlight switch setting. Hopefully my problem is in the switch. Cheap and easy to replace. I'm getting to the point where I can take apart the dashboard with my eyes closed

 

Quick Update:
Got a new switch & still nothing. Running lights have always worked. One thing I just noticed is that the dome light doesn't work with the doors, but it'll come on when you turn the headlight switch all the way to the left. I kinda think its a grounding problem but have no idea where that circuit grounds. Guess what I'll be doing this weekend...

 

Problem Solved!
The wire from the headlight switch to the instrument cluster was open somewhere along the way & I just spliced in a new wire & it all works fine. Thanks again for the help!