starting car causes headlights to turn on

hey, i have a 93 sable stationwagon. this just started happening last week. whenever i turn the ignition and start my car the headlights turn on too. the dial/switch that turns on the parking lights and headlights is turned off but the lights turn on anyway. when this happens the headlight dial becomes unresponsive. after i turn off the car the headlights stay on, but fortunately turn off after about 5 minutes. after they turn off then the headlight dial becomes responsive again and i can turn the parking lights and headlights on and off. also, when the headlights are stuck on the interior dash lights don't dim like they normally would.

i tried checking some fuses but the manual says the headlamp fuse is behind the switch. i know the switch pulls off but then there's a nut i would have to take off, is the fuse behind there? if not where is it?

thanks for any help you can give.

Does your car have the auto-lamp feature that turns the lights on & off automatically? My 97 has 2 thumbwheels located next to the headlight switch, one wheel works the courtesy lamps and the other works the time dealy for the auto-lamp function. If auto-lamp is active the headlight switch is over-ridden and the headlights will stay on for a period of time depending upon the position of the wheel. If you have stuff on top off the dash you may be covering the light sensor and the lights will come on in the daytime.