Parking Lights Acting Weird

[KYRangerDude]

This happened quite suddenly. My park lights come on when I turn the ignition on and stay on until I turn the ignition off. Not a big issue I guess, but if a short or something is causing it, I need to locate it. Any ideas of where to start looking?

 

[KYRangerDude]

Thinking someone out there would have some idea. I've googled and yahoo'd attempting to see if anyone else has/had this issue. Should I start at the light switch or ignition switch? or fuse panel? My main concern is a short and afraid of burning my truck.

 

[KYRangerDude]

Any ideas?

 

[KYRangerDude]

Does anyone know where I can find a wiring diagram for my 92 ranger? I've got a haynes but I can't understand it and it doesn't specifically say its for a 92, it says 1990...I'm presuming that its the same for a 92, but it's too complicated for me....lol just basically needing to know where parking and dash lights get their power and if it comes thru or routes from the ignition. I've got a tester and planning on tracing out the wiring to see why my park and dash lights come on when I turn the key on.

 

[RobbieD]

Aftermarket radio? If so, that's where I'd start looking.

 

[Snoranger]

Aftermarket radio? If so, that's where I'd start looking.

I've seen that happen before.

If something is powering your lights with the key on, then your lights will also be feeding power into whatever the problem is with the key off. Try leaving the key off turn the lights on and see if anything comes on that shouldnt.

 

[KYRangerDude]

OEM radio had been screwed up by the previous owner, finally got it wired back up correctly. Dash lights still come on when key is turned on. Guy at advanced auto said it could be a short in the instrument cluster. I attempted to remove it yesterday and couldn't. Got to the point where I was to reach up in the dash and unhook some kind of clip. I'm guessing the speedometer, but either my hands are too big or I wasn't going up in the right place...anyhows...unless there was something obvious I could see on the cluster I wouldn't know what I was looking at anyways.

I guess there is a question in the above, but I have another question....My RPM gauge isn't working right...as soon as I start the engine...it goes to around 3200, and as I'm driving it's around 4K....anyway to check RPM gauge without removing cluster? or bypass the RPM gauge and install another one somewhere else? or...just not worry about it? Obviously it's not running at those numbers...but it just aggrivates me that something isn't working correctly.

And....could all this be related? Dash lights coming on, RPM not working right? The other gauges appear to be working. I might add that until I got to messing around in the fuse panel, the dome light, and the light on the rear exterior of the cab stayed on all the time. The previous owner had removed the fuse...I didn't do anything in the fuse panel except pull out fuses to check and re-insert.

And...the parking lights used to come on when I turned the key on, but after messing in the fuse panel they quit coming on when I started engine. Like I said...I didn't do anything in the fuse panel except remove and re-insert fuses..so that issue may return at some point.

I bought a tester to check wiring, but after getting it, I can't figure out how to use it. I know...forest gump syndrome...but hell, even he had a shrimp boat...I don't!

 

[KYRangerDude]

Never mind....I went out just now to go get some breakfast...and everything was working correctly...RPM, no dash lights on, radio works....It must have been the loose and bad wiring on the radio.....it even idles better!

 

[CSyd77]

got the same kinda problem with my truck, only its with the brake sensor...