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I'd be more apt to believe the ground wire inside the dash has some oxidation causing the lights and gauges to act up.
And no, it's not normal.
What you're talking about is the side marker light, which is wired up "wigwag" style. It's a 194 style lamp; I've got amber 194 LEDs in there right now (non-polarized ones from SuperBrightLEDs so that it WILL wigwag) and actually only my headlights and my front turn/parking lights are still incandescent - well, that, and the key light in the steering column. Everything else in my truck is now LED.
The dash lights flickering has nothing to do with the ignition switch; unless you're talking about while it's cranking. Again, I'd check the grounds to that cross strap inside the dash, down low.
One thing to keep in mind is that the truck IS old; stuff that isn't fixed now may quit quickly, because, well, it's old. Mine was made in 1987, that makes it 33 years old this August.
There's no solenoids in the computer, but there ARE capacitors.
So turned on the lights today and ever conceivable bulb on the dash lit up and EVERY gauge maxed out for about 5 seconds and then reset and lit up like normal. Hadn’t fired it up yet. Only pulled the **** half way out. No fuses blown. Guessing the switch is bad.. hah ?
Again, I'd check that ground inside the dash; the light switch isn't connected to the gauges, but if the ground is floating, that electricity has to go SOMEWHERE when you turn the lights on, so it may return through the gauges.
Now the tach is reading lower than it should 250rpm at idle.. yeah right.. I’d hear, let alone feel that change. thinking not just the light switch so much any more.
side note
taking off the top shroud around the ignition switch seems like some wizardry.. there has to be a way to get it off I mean they put it on... but how?? The height adjuster on the steering wheel looks like it screws on but it’s much looser as in it jiggles and jaggles as opposed to unscrews... needless to say I stopped messing with it. It might slide off if the hazard light switch wasn’t there. Couldn’t find anything in the manual.
