Yesterday I noticed I had no taillights or parking lights...but I have dash lights. The fuse is ok (and dash and tails are on the same circuit).

At first I blamed the aftermarket keyless entry that ties in since it flashes the lights upon lock/unlock, but everything seems to trace out fine. The dash lights flash upon lock/unlock just like the parking lights should.

My next guess is that the headlight switch itself is bad, but it seems odd that the parking lights would stop but the dash lights still work. On a side note, the rheostat for the dash lights stopped a while ago, so I can't dim them, but that seems irrelevant.

Any thoughts before I get a switch?

 

I'd be surprised if it's not the headlight switch.

 

get a switch that comes with the wire plug (pigtail) for it, i think most of the time the switch goes bad and melts the plug end. just did mine a week ago.

 

Mine did the same thing and I went to the wrecker and got a new switch, and works great. I would start there.

 

Ha, your lucky, when mine did that, it filled the whole cab up with burnt plastic smoke, definitly just get new switch with new plug, that would be the safe way to go.
-Nathan-

 

where do u get a new switch with a plug? dealer?

 

Dealer is your best bet.

 

i got my switch through a borg~warner supplier. it was for a 96 part # s2064
i'm pretty sure yours will be a different # though, i paid almost $100 bucks for it but it came with the connector pig tail.

anyone compare a 96 switch to a 98? i know the dashes are different but its still the old pull style. maybe they interchange. prolly not .

 

Once again just to let you know that I only paid $15 bucks for mine at the wrecking yard, and it works like brand new.

 

$100 seems awfully high.

 

The pull switch for my 98 was only $30 from NAPA, so it was worth it, rather than risking a junkyard pull. The connector showed signs of heat on one of the pins, but I just cleaned it up vs. rewiring it.

 

Yeah - that's the price range I was expecting....

 

it came with the wire pig tail. the switch only was like 30 or 40 bucks. i wasn't price shopping though so it can prolly be had cheaper.