[ruiterman]

I just bought a 1996 Dakota SLT with 50,000 miles on it. Sometimes the instrument panel backlights don't work.

It appears that it could be temperature related. It seems so far that the first time I use the lights, they work, but if I shut them off and then turn them back on, the instrument panel lights don't work. All the other lights work, the radio backlight, the temperature control backlights, they all work.

I tore into it tonight and couldn't find anything at all that seemed like a loose connection anywhere. The fuse isn't the problem, I pulled it and then some of the other lights that did work, stopped working.

Is there any kind of a temperature type fuse in the instrument panel itself that could be the problem? I'm thinking about taking the instrument panel out, but I'm not sure what else to look for?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Ed