I've had that similar problem on my 2002 Ford Taurus about 2 years ago.
It is an electrical issue. It seems like there is a bad ground in your
circuit board and the ground pin may have melted onto the circuit board.
Another possibility is that the fuse panel has shortened out. You may want
to take your Explorer to a dealer and have them look at it. They may have to
replace the circuit board or the fuse panel. If you still have extended
service plan, your warranty will cover it. If not, you will have to pay
about $350 to $400 to replace either parts including labor. The dealer I
took my car to had repaired the circuit board and replaced the fuse panel
under my extended service plan. So, now my dashboard lights (instrument
clusters) and autolamp feature works fine. You might want to consider my
advice seriously.
~CyberWolf
<pcasey.elliott.DeleteThis@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1163434037.243179.115520@m7g2000cwm.googlegroups.com...
>I have a 99 Ford Explorer. I have started having an issue with my
> dashboard lights. When I turn on my headlights the dash board lights
> don't always come on. On some days there isn't a problem the lights
> work great, on others it takes awhile and they come and on some not at
> all. I do have the light delay switch on my mirror and it doesn't
> matter which way I turn my light on from either the switch on the dash
> board or I use the mirror.
>
>> Stay informed about: Dashboard lights