All dash lights not working

[dgraves]

Ok, so I bought my car in bright daylight and didn't notice my dash lights didn't come on when I checked out the headlights.

Is there ONE wire that could possibly be shorting all dash lights or not correctly attached?

Any thoughts?

[sixbanger]

Ground.

[sixbanger]

Have you looked at the fuzes? Are the bulbs butned oit?

[Steam Driver]

Agree with six banger; ground. That's about all that would kill them all at once other than a fuse.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Did the warning lights come on? Or are you just missing the instrument illumination lights? Center console lights? What year 914?

On the 74+ cars, all the instrument illumination lights except the center console go through the dimmer on the headlight switch. Spin the knob on the switch and they will get brighter or dimmer. Earlier cars also run the illumination for the center console gauges through the dimmer. That's the easiest thing to check.

Are the instruments themselves working? If not, check fuse #8 or #9. Good idea to check them anyway, actually. Pull them out and inspect; they can be popped without looking like it until you remove them from the holders.

The lights share a ground, so that is definitely a major suspect. I believe the ground is up under the dash.

--DD