Technical Dash lighting & n/s tail lamp failure

[pandandy]

Hi folks,
Asking for any help here please. Picked up my lovely new (to me) 1990 Panda Mk1 last Friday. It's a 1000CL. All going well 'til it started to get dark and I put the lights on... no dash or switch illumination. I pulled in to a services... all external lights good apart from n/s tail lamp.
Checked the Owners Manual and saw that there's a 7.5A fuse which does both the above and YES... it was blown. Popped a new one in and it also blew.... and then another!
Today, I've checked over the n/s rear lamp cluster and all looks good... ALL (reverse. indicator & brake) lights working.
The car is mint and very original... less than 14K miles on the clock.
Anyone got any ideas where I might start looking for the short please???
The side/headlight switch feels less than precise and I wondered whether it might be the cause... new one on the way just in case.
Wee 'Gurty' is sooo luuvely I didn't want to start tearing her to bits willy nilly.
Haynes Manual on the way but not with me yet.
Very grateful of any ideas....
Cheers, Andy.

 

[Dragon Man]

id look for incorrectly fitted bulbs. dash lights are common to blow and some pandas never had light up switches, just the clocks.
check the headlights for different/LED bulbs.see if they are fine. ive not heard of earths blowing the fuses but its worth checking them. theres a "fault finding" thread in the sticky section. have a read through that

 

[pandandy]

Hi there Dragon Man,
Many thanks for your tips and advice. I'll crack on with it tomorrow and see what gremlins I can find.
Cheers, Andy.

 

[firstcar-Y10]

May well be that headlight switch if it feels a bit iffy. I remember having to drive home in my first Panda from Edinburgh to Stirling when I lived up there with my finger on the headlight switch because every time I let go the rear light and dash illumination went off. New switch cured it. Didn't blow a fuse that time though.

 

[pandandy]

Hi and many thanks for your input.
New switch arrived today so... we shall see. Fingers crossed!
Cheers, Andy.