Did my radio disable my gauge lights?

[SlicksInRain]

I have had this strange problem for over a year. I must explain everything first. When I would start the truck when it was very cold outside a few of the gauge lights wouldn't work. Half of the speedo would be lit, half the gas gauge and all of the left side gauges would be out. When it would warm up, all of the lights would work.

Last year the gauges decided to all stay in "cold" mode, even in the middle of summer. I knew it wasn't the lights even though everyone said it was, but the other day someone asked me if I changed the radio. I did, to a Pioneer a few years ago and the "cold" mode started happening a few months later, but only when it was cold outside, like 15 or colder until I got the interior warm.

The guy said this could be related to the install of the radio with the wiring. I didn't install the radio and don't know anything about electronics's other than I like to stay away from them. This seems like an easy task to find a bad wire or a loose one, but does anyone know what exactly to look for in relation to the gauges?

 

[lectric80]

Most likely, and I don't know what year you have, it has nothing to do with the radio and everything to do with a worn circuit sheet. The sheet on the back of the cluster wears over time, and the point where the light socket connects will wear a hole and not get a good connection. When it is cold and everything contracts, the connection on the most heavily worn breaks. When it gets warm enough the materials expand a little giving a good contact and lighting the lights. Over time this will even quit working, then you have a partially lit dash like Krusty. It is a factor in my decision to strip all the factory gauges out and replace them all with Autometer Ultralight II's.

 

[4X4HIGH]

Sounds like a bad contact where the light socket twists into the printed circuit board. This could be caused by not enough tension on the metal terminals of the light socket so i would pull the sockets out and bend the terminals outward some so that they will make better contact. I've had this issue before and what i just described fixed the problem. While the light sockets are out is a good time to inspect the printed circuit board at those locations for any wear.