1966 Tail light and dash light not working

[cavikingPontiac]

My 1966 Bonneville tail lights and dash went dark. I have replaced the fuses and checked cables under the dash without any success solving the problem. Can anyone help please?

[RJolly87]

Have you checked the headlights switch to make sure you are getting power from it? That would be my guess on what the culprit is.

[cavikingPontiac]

Thanks I'll check it. The headlight button control headlights and dome light and that is working just fine,
But I will replace it to rule one more thing out.

[BBamm]

Dash light intensity is tied into the dome control as well. It being a 66, if the contacts get dirty or old, like with any rheostat type of switch, it will short out a certain positions... That very well could be the culprit.

[cavikingPontiac]

I have now replaced the headlight switch without any luck. Does anyone have other ideas what can be wrong?

[cavikingPontiac]

I have a real head scratcher my Pontiac lost light on the dash and tail lights. Since then I have replaced the fuses and headlight switch. I checked the two fuses for interior light and the one for tail light and there is NO POWER to the fuses. I have followed cables and checked power at my headlight switch and nothing seems to help.

Please if anyone has experienced anything like this and have a clever suggestion I would appreciate any feedback.

[RMeGirl]

Did you ever find out how to fix your lights? I just bought a 1966 Pontiac Bonneville with light problems. I can turn on the headlights but no dash lights. After awhile, the headlights start flashing and so do the dash lights. I have a headlight switch and dimmer switch on order. Mechanic checked fuses and their all good.

[Sirius]

See what happens after you replace the switches. If that doesn't fix it, I'd start going through the light circuits and check the wiring. Maybe there's a bare wire shorting somewhere. Pay particular attention to ground points (all of them, lighting or otherwise) and clean them up - poor grounds can cause sketchy things to happen. A '66 isn't going to have electronics as we know them today (processors, etc.) so the wiring should be pretty straightforward.

[RMeGirl]

Thanks for answering my question, Sirius! I don't know anything about mechanical and electrical on this car. That's why I joined this Pontiac Bonneville Club. It's hard to order parts when I don't know what it looks like. I ordered 2 headlight switches: from Original Parts Group and Ames Prefomance.