Well here i am again with no dash and taillights. I thought i fixed this issue 6 months ago but i guess not. any ideas why they dont work, all fuses are good, did not install any aftermarket head or taillights. they just quit working the other day, yet sometimes they do work, but more than not the don't work most the time.

 

Do the dash and taillights always function or not function with each other?

 

whenever the dash lights don't work neither do my taillights

 

Happened to my friend's 98 vette...totally different car I know but same principle, it was the headlight switch...I took apart the switch, cleaned all the contacts and that fixed it. Try moving the switch back and forth real fast or something if you need them to work...It worked for us until I cleaned the contacts....

If you're on a budget and dont want to risk changing a part that might not work and can use a voltmeter, check the wires coming out of the switch for power to that circuit, if there is and the lights aren't on then you know its not the switch...if there isnt power then it should be the switch (assuming there is power Going to the switch, and if the headlights work then I would assume there is)

 

Let's state with what year Accord you drive.

 

Its a 92 accord lx. and i cleaned the headlight switch last time i thought i fixed it, but it didnt help back then so...

 

I can not speak specifically to an Accord, but what I'm about to say applies to 95% of vehicles.

The dash lights are powered by the fuse that powers the tail lights. If you've got no tail lights and no dash lights then focus on the tail light circuit, when you restore power to the tail lights the dash lights will work. It's done that way so you know something is wrong when your tail lamps fail.

My guesses (speaking in general)

problem in the fuse block with loose terminals/wires/corrosion.
problem in the headlamp switch
problem with the tail light ground (not likely, as you would still have instrument lights)

Inspect all of the wiring carefully, probe the fuse block for 12V at the proper fuses, then move onto testing the headlamp switch.

 

If it is intermittent, it is not a fuse.

My vote would be on the dimmer switch going bad.

 

is there a way to test the dimmer switch without getting a new one?

 

well maybe this will help, the first time i fixed this, i found a diagram that showed what wire has power when the lights are on. when testing it, one wire was grounding out when it was suppose to be live. which i traced to a wire behind the cd player. now when the lights are off the wire is not grounded and when the lights are on the wire is ground and its not suppose to be. Do you still think it could be the dimmer switch?

 

tried a different dimmer switch and the thing at adjusts the brightness of the dash lights and they did not fix the issue.

 

Probably a problem with the combination light switch or one of the two grounds on that are located inside the car on the front driver and passenger sides. I would lean more toward the light switch though.

 

I tried a different combination light switch unless it has the same issue..idk, and i checked about every ground i could find the two under the dash, a few in the trunk, and the ones on the motor. all good. but still can not figure out why my dash and tail lights dont work

 

So after checking some wires, i know the dimmer switch is good, but somewhere between the blue wire harness and the piece that adjusts the brightness i lose power on the red/black wire

 

I guess what i need to know now is where the blue wire harness leads to, i know one side goes to the headlight switch but where does the other side lead. or where is the first harness for the brightness adjustment ****?

 

Could be a pinched or damaged harness somewhere. the movement and the vibration from the vehicle can jar it on/off when you're driving. Happened a lot in the 240sx crowd when they lowered their car too much without tucking the harness away from the body/tire. they'd hit a bump and epically screw things up.

So your tails are good
Cluster works
You checked the switch
Your fuses good
probably gonna have to say bad wiring or relay if applicable.

 

Had the same problem in my 1992 honda accord lx, no dash lights or tail lights but I did have brake lights. The fix for me was the combination light switch, turn signal on the column.

 

checked some more wires today. the option connector c on the fuse box is suppose to have power to with when the headlights are on, but it doesn't. So i think that my issue is ether before the fuse box or at the fuse box. I know then the lights are on the Red/black wire has power, it runs to the back of the fuse box, and it i check the wire coming out of the front of the fuse box there is no power. What are the odds of the fuse box failing?