98 escort hatchback lights problem.

help !! why do my tail and dash lights only work sometimes ?? everything else works fine,switch on lights-no tail lights come on. turn off lights with engine running,turn engine off. start engine, turn lights on ALL WORK. if i switch engine off before lights, the tail and dash stay off... had a look today, tried lights about 20 times and it worked once,,tore the rest of my hair out, gave up. be grateful for any help thanks, RICH.

bad earth and or faulty connetion

bad earth and or faulty connetion

thanks, but where do i start ? tail lights, or switch itself.earth from battery to body? RICH, by the way Scotland were robbed against Italy...

Switch is easy to test... I'd start there.
It does sound more likely to be a bad ground though.

Switch is easy to test... I'd start there.
It does sound more likely to be a bad ground though.

thanks mighty i,ll give it a try

Switch is easy to test... I'd start there.
It does sound more likely to be a bad ground though.

tried it all seems ok,still no lights only came on the once. just noticed that when front fogs work so does everything else. is this all one circuit ?