Nissan Repair: DASH LIGHTS, low beams, aftermarket radio

Question
i JUST BROUGH A 96 SENTRA AND NOTICED THAT THE DASHBOARD, HEAT/AC DISPLAY AND FLOOR SHIFT DO NOT ILLUMINATE WHEN i PUT ON THE LIGHTS. I LOOKED AT FUSE DISPLAY BUT COULD NOT FIND ANY THAT LISTED DASHBOARD. HOW CAN I CORRECT THIS PROBLEM?

Answer
Joseph,

Usually, you either have an aftermarket radio that was wired wrong and since Nissan uses a floating ground the fuse is blown.  The fuse is the illumination or instrument fuse.  If the fuse is fine and the radio is factory the other issue is that the headlight switch has failed.  Inside the headlight switch are may different contacts and one of those is the instrument circuit contact.  The remedy is to replace the master switch that the headlights, turnsignals, high and low beams are on.  rockauto.com or courtesyparts.com are both good and cheap sources if you do not mind ordering on the internet.  Usually about $100 bucks for one at the store and around $65 on the internet...