1998 Sentra Dash Light/Tail Lights Fix

[BLBrizzi3]

Here's a little fix, along with a story on my Sentra. Bought a 98 Sentra a couple of weeks ago GXE model, got it inspected, emission tested, and licensed only to discover that my dash lights were out, here's my story.

I rigged up a dash light for my broken lights, this consisted of a elastic band thingy around my steering column with a light attached to it, this after checking my fuses in the car, had it this way for most of a week, then got pulled over one night because my taillights were out when my headlights were on. Lady officer said to me, hey your tail lights are out, then said are your dash lights out too?

Me: Yes, they are.

Her: Then your fuse for your tail lights is probably blown

Me: I have checked my fuses, and don't see one listed for tail lights

Her: Just turn on your hazards when you're driving at night, til you get it fixed.

Me: There's an autozone open all night, I will go there and see what they can tell me.

Autozone guy: After I show him the cover that has the fuses listed on it, and tell him the lady officer that just let me off with a warning said my tail lights are connected to the dash lights.

Him: I don't know about that. It's probably your turn signal switch, which will probably cost you a couple hundred dollars to fix, we currently don't have any in stock.

Next day I call the Nissan dealership, tell him what the lady officer said.

Dealership parts guy: I've never heard of those two problems going hand in hand, you might want to try your relays under the hood.

Me under the hood, pop the relay cover, which also has a bunch of fuses that I hadn't checked, discover there's a tail light fuse listed, replace it and tada, my tail lights now work when the head lights are turned on, however it's the middle of the day so I can't tell if my dash lights are working. Thinking quickly, I go to an underground parking garage close by, turn on my headlights, nothing shows on the dash, da#+, then I remember my dimmer switch, turn the dial and bam my dash lights up, and yes, BTW, I had tried that before throughout the week, no luck.

Final thoughts: The two people who were supposed to know their stuff, didn't, and the lady cop did. This is one time I'm glad I got pulled over. Thought this might help others that have this same problem.

BB