i am trying to figure out the instrument panel light (gauge light) on my 1992 cherokee xj. i have headlights when i pull out the know but when i am driving at night i can't even see my speed or anything. does the headlight **** work as a rhiostat?? is there a fuse?? or do i have to remove the dash to get to a bulb behind the gauges. any help would be appreciated. thanks

 

Yes, twisting the headlight *** changes teh brightness control on your dash lights. Check your fuses too. After that, well... I'll let someone else more knowledgeable help

 

It is a separate fuse its a 5 amp

 

thanks for all the help! i will look for that 5 amp fuse and go from there.

 

Any other ideas on this. I have the same issue and have checked the fuse and its good and getting power.

Thoughts?

Also, when you turn on the lights the clock normally dims. Currently it is not dimming when I turn on the lights. Just and FYI.

 

Have you tried a new switch?

 

Well, rain stopped my search. But have my "parts dept" showing up this week and I will see about swapping that first.

 

sorry it took me so long to get back on here. jeep has been sitting because i have been trying to get it titled. checked the 5 amp fuse today and the fuse was bad so i put a new fuse in. as soon as i put the new fuse in it popped. is the circuit overloaded. what can i do to keep it from popping?? do i need a ndew headlight switch, thanks

 

I found when dash lights are out indication tails light are not working, blowing a fuse, have found shorted bulb in tail light or wiring for trailer lights and brakes.

 

yeah i thought something else would be affected but its not. my front marker lamos work and so do my headlights. my tail lights and dome lights also work. everything is working as it should. i am going to unplug everything and plug it in one by one to track the short.

 

does anyone else have any ideas??? all lights are working (park lamps, tail lights, and headlights). i got a switch from the junk yard and installed it. now when i put the fuse in it does not blow right away but once you turn the **** all the way to the left, the fuse pops right before you get to the dome light setting. any suggestions???

 

use a bigger fuse use a 10 try that

 

Big no no.....
Check your dome light wiring for a rub through condition that would result in a direct to ground short. The headlight switch is a bypass for the ground circuit switch in the doors for the dome light.
Check the RED w/white wire on the ignition switch for loose or corroaded connection. Follow that wire throught the hardness to the pigtail connector for the keyless entry system, if you have it, and to the illumination relay. Look for cracked or chafted wires.

 

why is big a no no?

 

If the dash lamp circuit was designed to handle a load of no more than 5amps and you replaced that load ceiling with a 10amp fuse ....then you added 5 amps to the stress of that circuit, so if the short that blew the fuse was ..say 8amps, the 10 amps fuse would work and the lights would work, however the circuit would over heat because of the increase of the load amps (3) that are following through the circuit and eventually the system would begin to burn out, ie bulbs ,wires and even the dash circuit board which is fragile to begin with. 5 extra amps never sounds all that bad , but I have seen some wild circuit fires caused by less.