Why do only the headlights work when you turn on the lights in a 1995 Pontiac Grand Am but neither the tail lights or dashboard lights are working?

Answer 1

The dashlights are connected to the taillight circuit with the same fuse so that when your tail lights go out, the dash lights will too and you will know so you won't ride around with no tail lights. Replace the fuse.

I did not find this to be a solution for my problem - fuses were not the issue. Following is my solution:

I had the lights on my dash and tail lights go out on my 1995 Grand Am 3.1 V6. After much investigation, it ended up being that the turn signal switch had gone bad. I got mine at Autozone - $79.99 for one with cruise, $69.99 for one without. SW860 for the non-cruise, SW859 for the cruise version. It is sometimes referred to as a multifunction switch - however, when I called and asked about that, it seemed as though the parts are NOT the same (MFS was much more expensive). Make sure you specify turn signal switch (that also controls the tail lights, headlights, etc).

In order to replace it, you need to remove the cover around the steering column - we couldn't get the lower part of the cover off and subsequently also had to pull the steering wheel (which also meant disabling the air bag), then remove the bad turn signal switch (which also controls the headlights, parking lights, tail lights, etc), pop in a new one, put everything back together (re-enabling the airbag) and then you can enjoy a life of dash lights and tail lights once again.