I recently purchased a rebuilt 2007 Scion tC and everything when I purchased it was fine. The car also had an aftermarket stereo.

One night when I was coming home from work the stereo would not turn on, the HVAC lights went out,dash lights (the speedometer, RPM, gas etc) would not turn on even by turning the dial, the gear shift lights and the light under the HVAC unit would not turn on. Finally after restarting the car about 20 times they did.

I just recently had the stock stereo reinstalled and all of the lights: dash, HVAC, the light under the HVAC unit and the lights on the gear shift will NOT turn on for anything.

I've heard of 07 having problems with the HVAC lights, but that shouldnt have any effect on the dash lights should it? The little odometer box lights up still and the little rectangle lights that come on when you push A/C come on along with the clock box but nothing else.

Can anybody please help me? If it is a fuse, which ones should I look at? Please help if you can, I cannot drive at night not being able to see the speedometer.

 

do your door lock switch and shift lever light up? does your headlights and turn signals work on the outside of the car, just not lighting up on the dash?

if they all work and just not the dash lights coming on then from the look of things on the electric wiring diagrams, the only way the stereo (audio system circuit) is connected to the combination meter (speedo,tach, temp, etc.) (illumination circuit) is by the illumination and speed sensor inputs on a stock stereo. seeing as how you have aftermarket stereos the stereos should have nothing to do with each other.

now on illumination circuit everything is grounded through the combination meter so i would check to see if the fuses on this circuit is still good and test for power.
it gets power from a 10a gauge fuse, a 7.5a panel fuse, a 10a met ig2 fuse and a 10a ecu-b fuse. these will either be in the engine compartment by the left headlight or inside the car underneath the dash by the hood release.

if it is getting power and all the fuses are good most likely you have a bad ground in or to the combination meter and you will need to find out where the bad ground is because everything is grounded through the combination meter.

 

The door lock switch comes on but the shift lever does not. The turn signal lights do show up on the dash.

How can I test power on the fuses in the circuit?

 

you could just take your car to autozone and they'll find a blown fuse. they'll also check power on your fuses. my buddy had a camry with similar problems, if i recall he said it was $40 to check everything

 

i would check the 7.5a panel fuse. it powers everything. the fuse is right next to the tail fuse under the dash by the hood release.

you can just yank the fuse out with the fuse puller and see if the metal strip in the middle is still connected. if it is bad the metal strip in the middle will be broken.

if you have a test light and you don't want to pull out the fuse just clip the wire on the test light to ground and touch the sharp point (top) to both sides on the metal spots on the top of the fuse. if the test light comes on on both sides the fuse is good.

 

I have some blown fuses in my garage I'll take a pic tomorrow if no one beats me to it to show you what they look like

 

Thanks you guys so much! I had no idea there were any fuses back there. Turns out it was the 7.5a panel fuse so now everything is working!

 

that's awesome!

 

Hello, I don't know much about cars so please bare with me. I recently changed my stereo and afterwards, I noticed my odometer lights not working. The clock lights work, just not the odometer lights. I checked all the fuses (near the foot and under the hood) but nothing's blown out. What could possibly be the problem? Could I fix it myself? Please help. Thank you in advance!

 

I know this is a old thread but i have the same problem with the shifter lights, heater/a.c. *****, and dimmer switch not working or lighting up. I found the 7.5 blown fuse and I swapped it...twice...and it blows immidiatley when I turn on my headlights. And idea what else could be causing the fuse to blow right away?