The backlights on my gauges stopped working but the turn signal lights and the brights and shift up lights work fine. Checked all fuses. Checked all light bulbs behind gauges, checked gauge connections, tried different gauge cluster... Is there a hidden ground on the dash harness that would be loose/busted? Ive never torn the dash apart before so i have no clues. Im out of ideas.

 

Sounds nasty. Your best bet is to bust out a DVOM (digital volt ohm meter) and start tracing the electrical path back to narrow down where the break is. I agree it sounds like its on the ground side as you didn't blow a fuse.

 

Your headlight switch and harness have just burnt out.

To repair: clean corrosion out of your front turn signal lenses, apply dielectric [bulb] grease to the sockets and reassemble. Next source a new headlight switch AND[!!] harness [remove the speaker to make the harness much easier to get at], and optionally [highly recommended] solder a relay in [search for Icemark's how to post], and reinstall.

If you do NOT install a relay.. Make sure you do NOT leave your headlights/parking lights running during the day, as this greatly increases the wear on the harness/switch. [I warned a friend of mine about this when she bought her vert.. A couple years of her using the parking lights all the time later.. Burnt switch/harness.. And that was a super low mileage car]

 

its true. burned one out myself. drove all day with them on everywhere i went. connection got real hot and melted the plug.

 

Ill get on it

 

Derekcat is correct. Definitely add an external relay. Good luck.

 

I third Derekcat's motion.

 

The thought of crappy FC electronics didn't even cross my mind.

Those switches are failure prone.

 

Im getting everything together this weekend. 'tracking down everything.

 

I tried just using a different "newer" headlight switch and it blew a bunch of fuses when i turned the lights on....

 

s4/s5 not the same, Hopfully thats all that happend... can I have the old bad switch please. I'll pay shipping.... The S4 one, not s5

 

They were both s4.
New harness and switch and everything... didnt work...
I took the $9.99 ebay way out and hooked some blue/white face guage covers up.
I can ship you the one i didnt use, the one that blew fuses.