This weekend i noticed that my cruise control wont work when my lights are on, then i noticed that whenever i touch the brake, my dashlights come on and my clock dims as if i just turned on the headlights??

does anyone know where i should start looking to resolve this problem. it has me confused to say the least. :confused:

When you say your dashlights come on, do you mean the warning lights that you normally see when first starting the car?
Sounds to me like you have a weak battery and/or alternator. Check all the connections to the battery and make sure they are clean and tight. Look at the system voltage right at the battery with a voltmeter- it should be no less than 12.5V with the engine off after sitting for a while, with the engine running it should be 13.5-14.5 at idle with no high-current accessories turned on. If the battery reads 12V or lower at rest (engine off) it is weak (assuming nothing is draining it abnormally), if it reads ok but stays around 12V with the engine running there is probably something wrong with the alternator.
If you have the OEM battery with individual cell caps check the water level in all the cells and top off any that are low. If one or more cells are much lower than the others those cells may be bad. You can pick up a cheap battery tester at the parts store to check the actual state of charge in the battery cell-by-cell.

no the lights behind the guages and HVAC light up when i press the brake. Just as if they would when you turn on your headlights.

sounds to me like you have a shorted wire in your tail lights.

First check the brake light bulbs and the sockets and see if they are melted and check the harnesses. Take the bulbs out and and step ont the brakes, if the dash/hvac lights dont light up you know its something to do with the bulbs. If they do light up without the bulbs in, you have a shorted wire somewhere.

i bet one of our brake light wires is shorted to the tailight wire, when you step on the brakes the power is being backfed through the tailight circuit wich is inturn powering up your dash/hvac lights.


Jay

I agree with Jay. I originally interpreted your post to indicate the warning lights were coming on when braking, which would indicate a voltage drop under load. However if the actual dash lights are coming on a short between the brake and tail light circuits is very likely.

Check all your bulbs. Sound like you have a single filiment in a dual filiment location. IE parking light bulb in a parking /brake socket. If the socket has 2 silver dots in it the bulb should have 2 silver dons on the bottom

Ill check the wires and whatnot but i dont think i have a wrong bulb in there since i have never chaged them, they are from the factory,

but thanks for the tips, ill get on it right away.:D