Emergency flashers on, dash lights out

My 2001 Taurus has recently begun having an electrical problem. When I turn on either the accessory light or headlights, the dashboard lights all vanish and the emergency flashers come on (they don't flash though - just burn steady). This makes it unsafe to drive the car at night. All tail and running lights/turn signals seem to work fine, though maybe not as bright as normal.

I've checked the fuses of course and they seem fine. Any ideas? It has the original stereo and no electronics have been changed for years, so a loose wire seems unlikely.

Sounds like you probably have a ground connection that is bad somewhere. Any evidence that the car has been in an accident at some point? If so, I'd start in the area of the original damage. Otherwise, you're probably going to have to find a wiring diagram and chase light grounds or start pulling bulbs to see which one causes a change in the turn signal indicators on the dash, then study that circuit.

-Rod

I'll check for damage but I got it with only 8k miles on it and it looked mint at the time so doubtful it's been wrecked. The dealer fixed this same problem a year or two ago but before that I do remember getting shocked whenever I got out of the passenger car. That stopped with the repair and hasn't come back but a short seems more possible now that I've remembered that. :runaround: