I was recently troubleshooting a problem with my instrument cluster (unrelated) on my 96 LS400. I checked a few interior fuses, I think fuse 5 and 7, and I removed, repaired and re-installed my instrument cluster. Then the next time I started my car, it had all these problems.
The shifter lights never come on
the headlights wont turn on when switched to auto
when the headlights are switched to auto the headlight turn off and the radio/climate control lights come on
when the headlights are switched to on the headlights turn on and the radio/climate control lights are off
the cluster light dimmer no longer does anything (the lights are always at their brightest)
There is a mystery wire with an unusual terminal attached (it looks like a fork terminal with only 1 long prong that is folded in half. Maybe it's from an old repair?) hanging near the fuse box which is currently not connected to anything. I recall this wire being inside the fuse box when I was checking the fuses because i though was odd that there would be a lose wire inside the fuse box. I'm wondering it may have disconnected from somewhere when I was pulling the fuses, but I can find anything to plug it in to and I'm not even sure if it was connected to anything in the first place.
This is the first time I've worked on the electronics in the interior of a car. Is it normal to have seemingly unaffiliated wires hanging around, because there are several others with different terminals on them. Also on the back of the instrument cluster bezel (the part with the instrument cluster dimmer switch and odometer buttons) some of the wires appear to be taped together. I'm wondering if the car underwent some makeshift repairs to the wiring.
Anyway, does anybody have any idea if these relays and lights that are malfunctioning are on the same circuit or if they are related to this mystery wire?