Hello : )

I'm new to the forum, and have a serious problem and would appreciate help BIG TIME.

I have a 98 2-door Honda Accord EX.
I swapped out the old Pioneer Head unit for a new Sony one a couple days ago when the Pioneer unit went out. I worked at a stereo shop for a few years so I'm not a total novice at the procedure, but I seem to have blown a ground or something, IDK.


I didn't have this problem with the lights until about 1/2 hour after I got the new head-unit installed and drove about 40 feet, boom, my lights went dead.

The problem is that my instrument panel and parking lights no longer turn on when I turn on my head lights.
My brake lights and all of my other lights function, but the lights wont come on with the switch anymore.
I checked all of the fuses and they were all good. I know the bulbs work because when I unlock my car with the remote, it flashes the headlights and the inside lights stay on for like 10secs, like most cars I'm pretty sure. When I unlock it, the instrument panel lights up, and the parking lights come on for that initial 5-10sec period before they go off automatically. So I know they work, they just don't seem to get the signal when I hit the headlights.

I've heard that there's some control switch under the dash or something that might have somehting to do with it, but i'm not sure. So please, PLEASE, help me.

 

Ah... I remember when I installed my deck into my car when I bought it. I kept blowing the fuses for the instrument panel and brake lights. Traced it down to connecting the dimmer wire in the deck harness to what was said to be the illumination wire in the car harness. Make sure that if you connected a wire to dim your deck with the headlights on to anything in the car that you disconnect it.

 

Hmmm.
I think I only did the speakers and Power, none of the extra's, but I'm gonna double check.

I took the stereo out to check if a ground was loose somewhere because another guy told me that it's a problem with the ground in the wire harness. While I had the harness out though, I turned the car on and checked but the instrument panel/tail lights still did nothing. Off to check the dimmer deal, will reply asap, thx again.