Long story short: Any ideas why the dash dimmer switch, even in the off position, would cause my running lights to stay on? Not sure it matters but it's the rally gauge cluster

Short story long: Part of me wants to stump everyone but the other part of me desperately needs help. I bought a new ignition and dash harness from classic and installed, everything seems to work, I reused the original factory dash dimmer and headlight switch. Only thing that was questionable was the dash dimmer switch worked/didn't work in that the dash lights were very very dim and hit/miss. A few months later I noticed my front running lights were BARELY on while the car was parked in the off position, only noticed them because it was at night. Normally I always disconnect my battery after parking but in this case I didn't expect to be parked very long. I assumed the headlight switch was starting to fail, so decided to replace it along with the dimmer switch. After installing both, the driving lights (front and rear) were on constantly, even in the off position. Also, dash lights didn't work (the orange wire ones). I also noticed my new dimmer switch getting warm. I put the whole dash back together with intent of not missing a single screw to ensure grounding. After troubleshooting a few things, I disconnected the dash dimmer switch plug and wouldn't you know it, the running lights turned off, and headlight switch worked as normal. Can't for the life of me figure this out, appreciate any help from the experts!

 

The dimmer switches are notorious for going bad. There is a tightly wound wire coil in there that gets corroded. You can buy a restored one but I don’t think they are reproduced. The best thing in my opinion is to just bypass the switch with a small jumper. The dash lights will remain in their brightest position when the headlights are on. Which is best anyway. I will try to attach a couple of pics.

 

Why would a faulty dimmer switch cause the front and rear running lights to stay on constantly? Even when the car is turned off? Also it's a brand new switch.

 

Does you dome light switch on and off with the dimmer switch???????
Sounds like you have a wire cross connected....

 

That would have been something to check before I tore everything apart again. I had the voltage reducer/regulator on the back of my dash fail which caused a minor problem for me. The wire crossing idea is where my head was going, but I don't know how thats possible since I used a premade fitted harness...it all only plugs in one way.

Looking at some other stuff, do you know if these cars have a headlight relay? I can't seem to find one on my car, and I see several threads about it.

 

Sorry I don't recall the relay? i don't see it in my wiring diagram listed...
Guess you will need to go through the wiring trouble shooting carefully...
Sorry you had to pull it all apart again...
Keep chipping at it... ask away at the question... Hope we can get you up and running... Cheers