Have you ever seen anything like this? (electical problem)

[snafubar]

Have you ever seen anything like this?
I have a 91 Navajo. When I turn the key to start it, the dash and parking lights come on. The "WEIRD" thing is I can "TWIST" my light switch and actually "DIM" my parking lights (kinda' cool) like you would your dash lights. I immediately thought my light switch was shorting out and replaced it. It made NO difference. Any ideas, I know there must be a short somewhere (weak battery sometimes) but I don't know where to start. Is there a relay or something other than the light switch, that controls the parking lights and dash lights?
Anything else that they might share in common?
Thanks,
Steve

 

[mattadams]

as the guy at the dealership would say "its a feature not a bug!" . Seriously I don't know if that's normal or not... I've never heard of that happening, after all parking lights are not "dim equipped"

 

[Ira]

Is it possible that your dash lights and parking light wires are reversed on the light switch?

 

[Raceit]

First off I'll assume that you didn't add a stereo or an amp or something like that at the same time this all started. If so you may have spliced into a dash light wire and made a short.
I looked at the shop manaul I had and obviously it does have both the dash dim switch and the headlight switch wires going into that one switch that you replaced. A few things I would check would be the wires and the connecter itself for shorts and breakage.
It sounds like it would be in between the fuse box, the switch that you replaced or that connector, or were that circuit ends up (not 100% about the rest here) in the steering colum were it goes to the flash to pass-turn signal and bright switch. Which is the big stick on the left side if you want to get technical about it. Or any of the wiring in between those things.
That's just my .02 cents though and I hope it helps.
If you do fix it tell us how so we can make our trucks do that at night. I think it would be cool. But then again it could set fire to your Navajo too.

 

[snafubar]

Thanks for the reply's. The wiring is all "virgin" stock.

Ira: The headlight switch uses "one way" plug ins (idiot proof)?. You can't reverse em.

Raceit: I never thought (brain fart) about the "turn signal/flash to pass/bright" switch in the column. Sounds like a possibility.
I'll try to look at it this weekend.
Thanks again.
snafubar