what's going on with my lights?

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like_A_pike

like_A_pike

that's not factory
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1968 barracuda was 318 when it left Hamtramck but been sporting a 340 for these last 10 years. All aftermarket gauges as long as i've had it but the instrument dimmer switch was still operational. Until last weekend. I lost all of my instrument lights and running lights, thats my taillights, side markers, and parking lights. I thought ok, the first position on the headlight switch has puked out so I bought a new switch. It was a little corroded after all. No change. I've replaced the instrument fuse and cleaned up the terminal. No change. My blinkers, gauges, headlights, pillar lights, tach all work. the car runs and drives. The "stop/tail" fuse has battery voltage. I haven't checked all of my fuses but they do not appear blown.
I have a manual and Im chasing down wires to and from the headlight switch and fuse block but I'm finding that the orange wires disappear at a couple of points. they go into the No. 5 slot in the terminal going to the the column but there are no wires on the other side... The orange wire in that disk shaped junction have nothing connected there either. I fear the instrument lights are all connected somewhere ELSE ??The black wire to the headlight switch has juice.
Additionally, I had an incident awhile back where I replaced a broken tach, my lights were left on when I connected my battery ground. I got some sparks and learned that I had burnt out both of my taillights. I replaced the bulbs and the 32amp fuse that was in there with a standard 20amp and cleaned up the terminal. they were working at that point.
Do ya'll think I could be wired funny? Where would you look that could take out this combination of lights?

thanks in advance.... I'll check back in the morning
 
Well this is why you need (don't take this as lecturing) to get into specific circuits so to say

This is either power to the tail fuse, the fuse clips, the fuse, or the wiring to the light switch (or could have been the switch)

The HEADLIGHT switch has TWO power sources. B1 is for ONLY the headlights and comes off the ammeter circuit. So the headlights can work but no other lights

B2 is the second power terminal on the light switch and this comes from your tail fuse
This powers tail/ park and of cours marker, and / dash dimmer controlled lights

The dash dimmer gets power from the light switch tail circuit, that dimmer controlled power LEAVES the light switch on the tan wire and goes TO the INST fuse in the panel, then out to all dimmer controlled lighting. So the INST fuse is a "bit of a trick" and is the ONLY fuse that is wired that weirdly "All that" orange wiring in the fuse panel is the dimmer controlled dash light wires LEAVING the fuse box for their respective lamps

So basically you need to make CERTAIN the tail fuse is hot on both fuse clips and if so check the (short length) of wire from there to the light switch, and especially the terminal connections at each end

The tail/ park lights need to be your focus as again, the dash lamps are powered from that circuit.
 
Do your aftermarket instruments use the 5v regulator like OE?
 
Jos51700: i don't know the answer to that. the amperage rating in the manual is like 2 for the instrument fuse.

I'll pull the bezel and test/clean up the top of the fuse block, the pink, and tan wire connections.

I sure wish my eyes weren't going. I use drugstore readers (1.25) for most things close but under the dash they're about useless. I wear like 3.5s to really magnify stuff close up. It would be amusing to watch me working under there - switching glasses, cleaning lenses every other time- but amusing is not how I'd describe it.
 
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