Rep Power: 0

ok so I got a 2000 civic ex and a guy wanted to trade me for a integra but I didn't cuz it was a piece of crap lol but any ways he hooked up a code reader to see if any codes came up which none did and after that I left and didn't think anything of it but in the morning I turned my car on without turning the headlights on and the cluster lights and climate control lights where on but when I turned my headlights on they went off.... they are still doing this and I tried unhooking the battery for a hour and even unplugged the ecu and it still does this... can anybody tell me why

 
Rep Power: 518

Turn the headlights on.
Jump out and look if the parking lights are all still on when the dash lights turn off.

 
Rep Power: 0

I did that when it first did it cuz I know that if you don't have any cluster lights when you turn your lights on that means you don't have tail lights but I do and what gets me is that the cluster and climate control lights are on when the lights are off but go off when the lights go on and the cluster lights do the same thing

 
Rep Power: 314

He probably turned the dimmer down when he was in the area. TURN IT UP!!!

 
Rep Power: 518

Wiring diagram and a volt meter would be my next plan. Test, don't guess!

 
Rep Power: 0

like I said they are on when the lights are off... and when I turn them on the cluster lights turn off and if I mess with the dimmer they don't get lighter or dimmer or even turn on when lights are on... I tried that already.. they don't work at all when the lights are on but work with lights are off and the dimmer don't work with it like that

 
Rep Power: 314

That was just my guess! My second would be to check grounds and fuses. As unlikely as it would be that's where your at. Then the volt-O-meter

 
Rep Power: 0

looks like that's what im going to have to do I never heard of that happening and it happened only after he used that portable scanner... has anyone ever heard of something like this happening?

 
Rep Power: 518

That should have nothing to do with the lighting.

 
Rep Power: 314

I was thinking that too. It's probably just a coincidence. Never know though.

 
Rep Power: 0

i don't see why It would be the fuses when it works when the lights are off but ill give it a try im going to try and unhook the cluster and if that doesn't work then im going to try and unhook the blinker assembely to see if that works.

 
Rep Power: 0

ok so I tried to unhook everything and see if it made a difference and it didn't.. I unhooked it and turned the car on and did the same thing... a guy told me it might be that the dimmer switch is bad and might need to be replaced.. has anybody ever heard of this and does that even sound right?

 
Rep Power: 308

The 6th gens have the brightness controller electronics in the box behind the dimmer ****, they were pretty common to fail.... but yours sounds strange. (hvac illumination on with lights off)

 
Rep Power: 0

im going to pick and pull tomorrow to buy the dimmer switch.. auto store cant get it so going to get it cheap from pick in pull nd see if it works