my brother-in-laws 95 subaru legacy L a/t awd 2.2 wagon , dash lights are out , nothing broken , blinkers work , dim/ brights, checked all fuses, would it be the switch or cluster, ? something else ,thanks

Tried the dimmer switch? Little wheel type switch on the turn signal stalk.

yes , the funny thing is when u turn off the lights the dash lights come on

Hmm, kinda sounds like a short then.

 

Do they stay on when you take the key out?

well they did until i must have shorted something out , also the speedo jumps around ,

None of the lights should be on when the key is out. I'm kinda thinking it's a backfeed into the system but it would help to know what fuse (if any) is blown now that has made the lights turn off.

all fuses good

Well, best advice I can give you now is to find a factory service manual for your car. There are links on the boards here to online sources for these if you search. Hunt through the wring diagrams and find the wiring for the dash lights and pull out the cluster and poke around with a VOM at the wires that are supposed to be giving power to the lights. Then you get to figure out where the power is coming from, if it's not coming from the light switch.

 

One thing that can cause some funny issues is a shorted filament in one of the brake light or turn signal bulbs. One filament burns out but then falls and makes contact with the other filament in the bulb. This feeds power through the working filament into the circuit of the burned out one and can cause other lights in the same circuit to illuminate.

yes one of the tail lights were out , replaced it ,thanks

So it all works the way it's supposed to now?

no , no dash lights