Headlights gone haywire
 

1985 Chevy S10 Blazer, 2.8L, 4x4.

Whenever I turn on my headlights, half of my gauges stop working, and all the lights on the dash (both indicator, high beam, and seat belt) lights come on steady. Also, the radio will cut out and the warning beeper makes a horrible noise, like its a dying dog.

I'll turn the gauge dimmer knob and all these symptoms will vary with intensity, and when I turn on the interior lights, all my gauges and dash lights cut out. Whats going on here?? Its like everything has gone haywire, I don't get it.

Thanks for the help!

Since the dimmer seems to effect the symptoms, that is where I would start looking. You may want to try a junkyard dimmer and go from there. Pull off that little panel where your dimmer and headlight switch is and do a little sniffing around, actually sniff for something burned! Take a look for loose connections and charred marks.

Problem solved. A guy on S10 forum said to check the dash ground. So I sanded the ground to the bear metal and tightened the ground bolt. All systems are go.

My radio still shuts of when i turn on the headlights, however since I have a big amp hooked up in my system, I think its cutting out from drawing too much power. I think I'll invest in a high amp alternator.