PROBLEM SOLVED......updated 4/18/07....turns out the U-Haul trailer plug that the previous owner had installed decided to give up the ghost...once I removed it, problem is all gone....moral of the story??? look at the aftermarket stuff first....

Hey guys, I know I have seen a few threads here on bad wiring or switches and heres my situation....

I have a 2000 D, 5.9L, 4X4, nothing special except an added remote start (that ties in with the parking lamps). I have blown a few fuses here and made an appointment to take it back to the place that put the remote starter in (lifetime warranty on install/parts...) just to have them help me track the short.. The first thing I noticed was that the parking lamps/tail lights and dash lights went out but would light up with the alarm arming/disarming and remote start activated. This has gone on for about a month..replace the fuse, look for the problem, it blows before finding the ground...normally it seems to blow when I rotate the dimming switch to the brightest setting (one notch under lighting the inside dome light). Well, today I got in, replaced the fuse and when I turned on the lights, I noticed the left front parking lamp and blinker indicator in the instrument cluster was lit and did not turn off when I turned the light switch off...then the acrid odor (burning electrical wires) started to hit me...obviously I turned it off, pulled the fuse and got out, but my question basically boils down to this after all that verbage above....when others have noticed their light switch fail, how did it fail??? I checked with the stealership and they want almost $100 for a new one. I am going to check the junkyards tomorrow morning for a new one...any ideas? Thanks and sorry for the long write up...